GMB

I tried a couple of 300h cars and found them boring. Sorry! But the CVT gearing and the way the engine revs highly on brisk acceleration does not float my boat at all. One man's meat etc etc. I had a brand new VW for a year. Got rid of it after it broke down a couple of times. If you want performance..... Nissan GtR, 370Z, need I go on. Just avoid the German makes after they started making them in tax subsidised countries instead of Germany. BTW Mercedes are now made of Renault bits I am told?

If you are driving around town in lower gears then 22 mpg is normal. You can get lower if you have a heavy right foot. The worst I saw was 17mpg after the car had been in for a service. I think the mechanic must have been called Evel Knievel. Whether it is relevant I do not know but the car always has Shell V power or Tesco Momentum 99 octane in it.

Following Linas' comments I looked up unintended acceleration and found this interesting article: Toyota is reportedly planning to roll out a new feature to prevent accidents caused by pressing the accelerator instead of the brake pedal, resulting in unintended acceleration. The safety function will suppress engine output if the gas pedal is mistakenly pressed when there is a person in front of the vehicle, thereby preventing the vehicle from accelerating towards the pedestrian. The introduction of the new function comes following a spate of high-profile accidents involving elderly people who made mistakes using the gas and brake pedals. In early July, the country’s land, infrastructure, transport and tourism ministry asked Toyota and seven other major domestic automakers to take urgent action regarding sudden acceleration caused by mistakenly pressing the accelerator. Sounds like a stupid idea to me. It defeats the object when you want to burn off the git in the mini cooper. Many years ago I had a sports car with twin SU carbs. The throttle return spring ( attached to the heat shield ) snapped on the M1 at 70 mph and the car was accelerating with no return. The only way to stop was to turn off the ignition and NOT turn the steering wheel. Problem solved with an elastic band and still living to tell the tale.

Hello Kam Here's my experience with the 200t. I have had it just under 2 yrs and it has been rock solid reliable. The best mpg I ever got was a momentary 40mpg on a long ( a bit downhill ) stretch of the M6 near Kendal doing about 65mph in 8th gear. Normally 27mpg around town and country, driving carefully. The car is not a traffic lights racer, in fact most sporty cars will leave you for dead up to about 45mph, but take off from 60 plus is indeed rapid and well over 100 is quickly achieved. Not in the UK I might add😚. Once you get used to the quirky nature of the car I found that it is nice to drive, as long as you let the car do what it wants to do with the engine and gearbox peculiarities. It is fast, quiet and very comfortable and is at its best on long fast roads, not so good around town with the lag and lethargic take-offs. If I want to go faster I take the IsF, not that you can get away with fast driving and keep your licence for long in this country. But that is being SORNed soon due to the recent excessive tax and Insurance costs. Government - 1: Me - Nil. I think you will grow to love it if you give it a chance. BTW it is the only car that I have ever had that has attracted compliments about the way it looks by some passers-by.😕

You could always go upmarket and go for the Wartburg ES 300h. It's a bit like a fatberg but not as greasy.

Here's a bargain at under £40K 1987 Trabant 601S 2 door wagon. This is a very interesting car. manufactured by Veb Sachsenring, this car is most commonly seen in East Germany. It was produced from 1964 to 1990. It has 594CC two stroke 2cyl engine with a 4 speed manual transmission...with a column shift. It boasts a good body and paint. The interior is original. It runs and drives. Guaranteed ULEZ Euro 6 compliant🤣. About £12K plus shipping. Comes with free gas mask and gloves for pushing it. Or you can even get a NEW one but I do not know the price. The "newTrabi" idea becomes the "Trabant nT" concept car The new Trabant nT is supposed to emphasize the trend to simplification and ecological responsibility – without abandoning fun, emotion and safety. Its seed money is the publicity, the sympathy and attention, which the brand Trabant attracts. It already has its fans today. The continuation of the newTrabi story at this year’s IAA in Frankfurt/Main is highly anticipated. In hall 8, the prototype of the “Trabant nT” will be presented to the world public. “We are past the vision– we are in the implementation phase”, emphasizes IndiKar-CEO Ronald Gerschewski, one of the initiators and main actors for the vehicle development. He continues: “Our goal is the series-production-readiness.” In the past two years since Herpa began the “Initiative newTrabi”, they’ve come closer to that goal. The concept is sound and ready for a strong investor to become involved in the serial design and –production. The best-case scenario would see the first “Trabant nT” with electric motor ready for sale in 2012.

Sorry Malcolm Did not mean to be rude. It seems like this is the way it has always been. As this old US cartoon depicts.

Yes Malcolm, that is all we do - moan about our exploitation. We should follow the French example and do something about it. Or do what you suggest Look on the bright side and just be a mug instead.

Mine is £695, and don't even mention the insurance increases. We all know where the money is going - The Tories rich mates at the expense of ordinary decent folk being hammered by the increases in tax and the cost of living. I don't know what we can do about it apart from stopping spending on cars, holidays etc. Then, no consumer spending = no VAT revenue or punitive taxation = Gov't rethink maybe? I really think that this government wants us all to live in some kind of post war East German economy. How much is the tax on a Trabant?

Good idea, but it will be parked on its own after 20 minutes😕

Well the gov'ts strategy is working on me. For the first time I am SORNing the IsF this coming winter. With road tax at £695 and insurance going up and up, I am admitting defeat. We also avoid hire cars and motoring holidays due to all the tricks and traps on UK and foreign roads. At least I have the satisfaction of not feeding money to the robbing bar stewards. I get the feeling that we are all being driven to poverty and subservience by this gov'ts recent policies. Everything is getting much more expensive and even the modest pension increase is eroded by tax thus making the alleged 10% equate to 8% when private pensions are taken into account. Oh well, at least the sun is shining today😎

I asked about this at the Lexus dealer a while ago. "What do you do if the battery in the remote key fails?" I was told that you simply put the remote key right next to the start button and it will work. Does anyone else know if this is correct or not. I have not tried it myself.

Thanks I will mention it next time I visit.

They must be the Lexus ones because the Lexus garage fitted them and they were not cheap. The boot now just stays in whatever position you leave it. i.e. half way open or whatever. These struts will not lift the boot by itself.

I replaced the boot struts on the isF because the boot was so heavy. I thought they had failed. The new ones make the operation just not quite as heavy, just a bit better. An expensive small improvement. Shouldn't have bothered really.

Hello Herbs, as you probably already suspected regarding insurance statistics: We have some friends who have lived in Fulwood at the same address for 40 years. The quality of life has gone down a bit recently we are told. The big issue seems to be bad parking , bad driving and inconsiderate/agressive drivers. This is (allegedly) mostly related to parking issues at the (not so) nearby hospital. Parked cars have been damaged by careless, or worse, drivers. It is still one of the better places to live in Preston. To be safe just keep away from Bolton.🤕

We had a brand new VW Up Gti. It broke down within the first year - battery gone flat! It also had almost no suspension travel , on very low profile tyres which got wrecked over potholes. Not suitable for UK roads but it was a hoot to drive, but had to go.

Hi Dave I got this one. The "monitor" seemed to be the best value and they were doing free fitting and including the first year's subs in the price. A very good job done at home too. They were also fairly local to me. The renewal is £179 per year. There are lots of other companies and prices but this one is professional and accepted by the Insurance companies. I only fitted a tracker because Direct Line refused to insure me without one. Since then I have had quotes from other companies that do not insist on a tracker and are only about £40+ cheaper if you have one installed. Personally, I would not want the car back if it was stolen and probably trashed, thrashed, wrecked and abused by some idiot thief. Personal Vehicle Tracking Solution Selector | Tracker https://www.tracker.co.uk/products/tracker-tool-individual

My tracker subs is due and I am not bothering to renew it. £40 difference in insurance prices with or without tracker. Premiums up 16 - 20% despite extra no claims. I just get the impression that we are all being fleeced as mugs. The insurance companies just put the price up every year because they can. They are in business to make money from you just like the banks do. I learned many years ago that they are not your friends or business partners, they just see you as a source of income. Don't get me started about the government - tax rises, cuts in resources etc etc. As you quite rightly say. "Basically we're on our own". Nurse - get me my tranquilisers please.🤡

Aluminium foil works just as well. Very cheap at Aldi. You can also use it as a heat shield or even for cooking if necessary. I do not work for Aldi but their pizzas are nice. I don't like the Marks and Spencer ones...... Nurse!

Yes I was concerned that they told me it was optional. There is an existing thread on this ISF - 100K Service Schedule https://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/profile/63452-charliecloud/ Everyone seemed to have a different opinion depending on the model of Lexus. Even though it was documented as an included job in the major service ( 60K - the big one which became a 100K service due to being 10 yrs old ) it was not done as the garage said it was not "necessary". I had to pay extra to get it done at the next visit. There seems to be a lot of confusion. I am still not sure what the correct advice is. However, the garage now tells me that it is now done "for life" and will not need to be done again. True or what?🤔

Thanks Rich for the update. That sounds like the logical answer. I suppose that it will do no harm to leave it for a while as it is only a minor irritation at the moment and hopefully no risk of consequential damage?👍

As I understand it very few IsFs have had any serious mechanical issues, even the thrashed ones. So I would expect engine, gearbox, transmission to be OK after many years. Not much corrosion underneath either, despite salty roads in the UK. However, brakes and suspension and obviously tyres do get a beating on such a car, so I would expect some maintenance costs on these. The diff oil is a contentious subject. Mine had no record of any change up to 60K miles so I had it changed just to be sure. Apparently the old oil was very clean anyway. Cost about £70 parts and labour ( The oil is "special" apparently ). The only problem that I have had is an occasional noise, a kind of light clunk, from the left rear of the car on certain bumps such as a slight ridge in the road. Lexus has been all over it and can find nothing that could cause it. Big bumps do not do it, nor do little bumps, just a special sort of bump?? 🤔. It sounds like a loose item in the boot, or the exhaust catching, but all checks prove that is not the cause. So until it gets worse or gets noticed I will ignore it. Apart from that minor annoyance the car is 100% and runs beautifully. BTW it still goes like the clappers if you dare.

My 2012 IsF had the same issue and was corroded around a mounting bolt. The Lexus garage just put a bigger washer on the bolt and it was fixed. A year later and all still OK, MOT etc - all good. A new heat shield is over £100 but extra large turkey foil from Aldi is only £3.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but if it was £630 then it will be £695 from April 1st. I am sure others will confirm. Mine is due April 1st too. I am going to do 6 months and SORN it over winter. 700 quid for 3000 miles p.a. No way🥸 Thanks Mr Hunt for nothing. Pension increase 10.1% - No. The personal allowance fix means you can take 20% off the increased amount for tax on the private pension. Tax codes already changed for April 1st. Bar stewards.