montecarlos

Yeah makes sense, I'd suggest it does feel like the tyres being the culprit, it does have Michelin's on the front though. I haven't noticed a 'judder' just feels like the steering wheel lands in position, it's one of them I can't explain.

Is this normal? I'm not sure how to describe it, other than when at full lock or near to it, it feels as if the steering rack falls into a dip or semi locks itself to a position. I kind of passed it off as the car being RWD and that's normal for a RWD car or the is300h, it's not a major issue, it's not like the steering gets stuck, it still turns out from this position fine. Don't want to look daft taking it to the lexus dealer to look at it, I haven't noticed any other issues with the steering and I'm not even sure this is an issue. For reference, it's F-Sport with 18" rims

Premier = top spec F-Sport = Sportier spec F-sport has sportier trim additions and the LFA style gauge cluster, but harder suspension (I don't find mind too bad though, some people exaggerate how bad the ride is). Premier, commonly has the cream interior (I assume it was the standard option on the premier?) which personally I don't like, but you can get black leather too. They come with the Mark Levinson system (which I am led to believe is very good), blind sport monitoring and some other bits like heated/cooled seats. You can get F-Sport models with heated cooled seats (which I have) and a upgraded stereo option (Premium Nav (I have this and it's pretty good) or Mark Levinson, ML being hard to find on an F-Sport though). You can spot if it has at least the Premium Nav system by looking at the nav controls near the gear stick, base nav system has a rotary dial, premium + ML have a raised palm rest and a rectangle joystick type set up. The LFA style gauge cluster is cool but mostly a gimmick. Cars are exact same horsepower. It depends what you want from the car really. If you want toys and a comfy ride I'd go for a Premier, or a Luxury with some options.

Just bought a Lexus is300h (14 plate F-Sport). I noticed car headlights behind me are a bit brighter than I would expect, the mirror appears to be turned on auto-dim (the left light is lit). However, when I toggle the auto-dimming on and off I can't see any difference, I turned it off and left it for 30 seconds or so and nothing changed, then toggled it back on for and left it for a while and it didn't appear to reduce any glare. Bit of a minor inconvenience but it's getting darker out there so it's only going to get more annoying, is this how good the auto-dimming is in this car or could mine be faulty in this regard?

I'm always like oh yes I want this. Then I watch the youtube video and see the whole interior dismantled in pieces and I think, bluetooth will do just fine

2014, 59k

Hi guys Put a deposit down today on a blue F-Sport, I couldn't find one with Mark Levinson but I did at least get the premium nav. It's not sold by Lexus themselves, but it is from a Toyota dealer so at least I have a little more 'return insurance' compared to buying privately. Full Lexus service history, currently has Relax Warranty running from it's previous service for nearly a year, spoke to a nice guy at my nearest Lexus dealer and he said they will collect the car despite it being a 25-30 mile drive as they have people who live out my way who can drop it off etc. Looking forward to it, hoping to pick it up on Sunday! Thanks again for the help, I haven't seen the car yet so there's a small chance I will have to reject but it looks in good condition from what I've seen.

Luckily for me I am able to borrow a lovely 07 plate BMW 3 series for a couple of months so I have time to wait for a nice example to come up! Hopefully it doesn't break down in that time, I don't want the blame... Old BMW though, good chance it will ... I will bear that in mind with the services, I think I would just book it in on a saturday morning and wait somewhere near by.

First of all, I can see you're all extremely passionate and happy owners and it's reflected in your very helpful manner. Thank you so much all of you for the responses, it's a huge help. From the answers here, I think I will aim for a Premier, around 2015/2016 so I can get a few years Lexus Relax warranty (And then pay the £500 a year if I love the car). I love the styling and the gauge cluster on the F-Sport so perhaps I will consider one of those too but would have to give it a drive and make sure it's not too hard on suspension, I'm coming from a Volvo S60 with 19" wheels and R-Design so I think the F-Sport lexus would still be a smoother ride anyway! If I struggle I will look for a Luxury model with the premium navigation, especially if I can stretch into the facelift model by doing so

Thanks for the excellent reply and input, I guess if I'm on the ball it's not too big a hardship to take the car for a service on a Saturday morning assuming I get it booked in well in advance. I knew it was a bit too hopeful!! Is there much benefit to stretching to the facelift? I prefer the look 'slightly' but did they change anything else other than the exterior looks? I haven't looked at Lexus dealers per-se, just AutoTrader and the descriptions are weak. On that subject, do you have any input on the quality of that system vs the standard? (I am assuming it's standard or Mark Levinson). The extended warranty is partly why I am interested in Lexus or Toyota, but I always liked the is300h looks, and honestly there's not a Toyota that I like enough to buy...

First question, do I need to avoid any particular model years? early years? Second question, is there a sure fire way to tell if it has the Mark Levinson sound system? I know there's a little logo and box which appears on the centre console behind the gear stick but in many dealer photo's it's hard to see and I feel like many dealers won't even advertise it has it. I want the Mark Levinson system but it's perhaps not a deal breaker if the normal sound system is also brilliant? But I have heard good things about the Mark Levinson stuff in Lexus. Third and probably hardest question is that my nearest Lexus dealer is a 40 minute drive away. However I do have a Toyota dealer close by, do Toyota service Lexus and if so, would I be able to get the Relax warranty with having the car serviced at Toyota? Maybe a tad hopeful... And, anything else to generally look out for when buying? Any options you think are amazing to have, which trim levels are the best? I'm looking for comfort more than 'sport' as I'd rather not have hard suspension if the car isn't really a performance car anyway.