Mr_Groundhog

That looks pretty good. Not sure it’s worth in my case given the yearly mileage but it looks better than other Kits I’ve seen… who installed it? Was it yourself or someone else? If so, how much for the install? Does anyone know if, when time comes to sell, not being stock increases or decreases the value of the car?

I don't even wanna think what my trip through France and South Spain (and back obvioulsly) would have looked like if I had to depend on charging stations and times.... enjoy road trips while you can, because we may see their end during our lifetimes... The most obvious way to bypass this would be to have a battery standard that would fit in the underside or under the passengers seats, that could be rolled in & out at a gas station the way you change a gas bottle, but that would require efficient harmonisation and standards.... and stakeholders would never agree to this level of real-life efficiency & practicality.

Oh really? Ah thank you so much for letting me know: I didn't know that the water pump change implied the coolant change too. That's reassuring then.

I didn't know the pink colant was "super long life", thank you. Presumably that means it won't acidify as early as other coolants... As for the water pump, it was changed earlier (before I bouht the car) as stated in one of the Lexus documents I got when I bought it, so that should be allright.

Slightly unrelated but I will ask here: On the service book, the coolant change is scheduled only by mileage but not by time.... It will take me very long to reach the mileage and i have heard that coolants acidify after a few years (five?) and can corrode pipes and rubbers etc inside the engine. Mine is a December 2018 car with 27.5 k miles on the odometer. What should I do to prevent this? Should I force a coolant change at the next service? How much can it be? The guy on the phone quoted me last week but it must have been a mistake as the amount was far too high (now you speak to a lexus call centre not to the dealership itsef) 🤨

Umh.... not sure this is the right forum for this, you may have to move it. 🤔

During my trip to LA we rented a Toyota Camry, which is very similar in size to the ES (see image below), and it felt great! 😀 As you say, parking must be another issue because there even car parks are larger and you move around without a problem. Suspension a lot softer than the IS but that came in handy given the Californian asphalt isn't the best either. A different drivetrain though (2.5 litres with 203 bhp), with an auto-8-speed gearbox that was a bit sluggish (unless you used sport mode and a heavier foot: then there was plenty of power!).

I actually looked at the new Civic a year ago before I got my IS (my previous car was a lovely Civic 9 Tourer), but as a new car, they raised the price three times in the span of a few months (ahead of launch and after launch) and coupled with the fact they brought very few units to the UK (long wait times), it felt like a bit of a p_i_s_s-take. And the HRV (also good looking) comes with the 1.5 engine of the Jazz, therefore lacking punch on the motorway. Most definitely! 🏆 I often park it and then look at it for a few seconds: it looks that good. I only had that with the Alfa GTV in the past. I saw a few of the new Prius in the US and it is a VERY good looking car indeed. If they brought it to the UK it would be a serious candidate to replace my IS in the future. I find the Volvo S60 a bit like the ES: good looking but too large!

Seems we're quite a few in this conundrum! I too wonder what I would get in the current market. I definitely don't like most european compact sedans/saloons, and the only one that I would like more than my IS300h is the Alfa Giulia (undeniably beautiful), but reliability rankings aren't the best, and I would not be sure. The ES is OK but too large for my garage and driveway etc.... it is a car perfect for the US market but a bit too large for the UK. I think I would miss the rear-wheel drive feeling too (what is it like, @Mincey ? ) I'm super happy with my IS and intend to keep it for long (9K miles with it so far in under a year, including a return trip to south Spain), but I admit sometimes im VERY tempted to swap it in the future for an NX or a Honda HRV Hybrid. Why? The potholes and bad roads. It must be nice to just drive without worrying about all the imperfections on the tarmac (dunno about the rest of you but here in Kent roads are pretty bad), even though im not a big fan of SUVs. Last year When i took the car to annual service the dealer lent me a new-ish NX and it felt a bit like a big tank but on the other hand, I didn't worry about potholes.

Budget tyres are great until you realise you won't manage to emergency-brake safely before an unexpected obstacle.

😂 Haha, to be honest with you, I think some of those were at the bottom, but I didn't buy the magazine, I was only checking it quickly in Sainsbury's while my wife was picking flours for baking.

All I see around me are bad news, so I thought I'd share this: I just thought it was good news that when I checked this year's ranking, the IS300H is still up there as the leader in reliability (the ones that never break down as seen on the cover are the IS and the NX). The RX and the UX also got pretty good positions in the rankings. I live with an expert in statistics, so I do know there is a bit of conditional logic here, because the IS wasn't a massive sales success, but I thought it was good anyway.

I feel your pain. That is why when you find a good garage, you can consider yourself lucky. I dunno if Kent is too far for you but at Kaizer motor they have been very nice to me. https://maps.app.goo.gl/rqyFSEfvqEqLQn329 And there is apparently a Lexus specialist in Ilford but I haven't used yet myself: https://maps.app.goo.gl/rAfiymHiGAQhptRa9 Their site seems to be down though.

This is something that drives me nuts about the UK. This obsession with not pleasing the customer. Moreover, at times when i needed to have something done in the car, most independent garages made me feel like I was a nuisance to them. One thing I would like to do to my IS300h is an under seal to protect the underside from rust. Places I found online are far from where I live (I would need to take one or two days off work) and the local Lanoguard application place didn't even reply to my message asking... Not that everything is better in the US but one thing they do well is they try to be friendly and accommodate the needs of the client.

I was in the US a few weeks ago and I saw a few of these. This one I saw at a car park and all I can say is pics don't do it justice. I'm hating on Lexus for not bringing it over to Europe (although the way prices go nowadays I probs couldnt afford it). BTW if you're ever in Los Angeles, I would HIGHLY reccommend visiting the Petersen Automotive Museum.....best in class!

I have driven all the way from Kent to South Spain and I would say April-May is the best: good weather without it being too cold or warm, and everything is in bloom. you see the landscape change along the way and it is very beautiful (atlantic route, through San Sebastian). The route through Perpignan and Barcelona is less pleasant - the AP7 road suffers from too much truck traffic and the tarmac is a bit more beaten up than through the other side. The other one isn't perfect, but a bit better. Last May I only say a GS in sonic titanium, I think. And the occasional CT or UX, but definitely not many. Where I did see LOTS of both RX and ES was in California.... and a good number of IS too

I was recently in Los Angeles, and so my Instagram has been showing me US-based advertising. After a couple of weeks back I still get US ads for some reason. One thing I noted is that new car finance over there seems to be very different, and it made me feel a bit like an idiot.... While you get 8% here (if you're lucky), I have seen plenty of this from several brands over there. Are we being taken for a ride? No pun intended.

IMHO fitting pilot sports for a IS300h is a bit of a stretch. Like getting a pro-spec computer to check emails and watch videos. But each to their own. I went for a set of Michelin Primacy 4 VOL which score A on fuel and wet grip but I also thought of the Goodyear ones you decided on. ...And wasnt there a set of Pirelli cinturatos that also had those scores, with low noise levels?

I had not idea one could do this - will try

I have bought a couple of these off Lexuscarparts, and have added them to a tank 3/4 full, before a long drive (going to south France for example). But I got them without the expectation that the car would be any different. I just thought if it's a Toyota product it won't do the engine any harm once or twice a year and it's not expensive.

I'm all moist now.

Isn't the boot space larger in the NX? Also, seems the ES and the IS have roughly the same boot space...

I will check because my card is from satnavishop but since i have voice overs deactivated, I havent tested that

Lots of people in the UK simply enjoy getting ripped off... Because to them "the market" is a perfect God of sorts and they'd dub the Australian model "unacceptable Socialism!". As we know, SouthWestern Rail had to be brought back into public hands because its management could not be trusted and the water companies are doing a sterling job to prove they can't be trusrted either. This insurance hike and its obscure T&Cs must be "the market" self-regulating to a "perfect balance" where "all players are happy" 🙄