Tickedon

What’s your source for that please? The discussions in the Yaris forums (my partner has a Yaris) on this topic are all about whether the 130 variant engine coming to the Yaris and Yaris Cross will also include a balancing shaft like the LBX, because the current 115 engine in those cars doesn’t have one…

The NX is a two tonne SUV, hybrid or not. An SUV was never the right purchase if your priority was conserving fuel. My last two cars were diesel saloons. I moved to an SUV very aware my fuel consumption would increase significantly, and it has!

Yes, Lexus Coventry is part of “Listers”.

Given Lexus (as a percentage of their cars) are the number 1 stolen car brand in the UK in 2023, overtaking JLR, I don’t think it’s unreasonable for anyone to suggest Lexus ought to take some action. JLR are spending £15m retrofitting upgrades to their Land Rovers and other cars… dating back to cars from 2016! They are owning the issue, and are even subsidising insurance costs given that some of their cars essentially became uninsurable (plenty reports in these forums of very high prices or insurers refusing to renew and drop cover for Lexus models). Whereas Lexus have introduced a protection plate, that doesn’t actually solve the issue, and is only available on one of the vulnerable models. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13060215/Britain-stolen-cars-Interactive-graphic-targeted-thieves-list-Lexus-RX-Range-Rover.html#

The newer current-gen NX (like the new RX) have an encrypted canbus, that isn’t vulnerable to the current injection theft. It’s not just about the location of wiring but how messages on the canbus are treated.

To be clear - you are financing the whole cost of the car on PCP as well, and you will pay interest on the balloon payment for the entirety of the PCP agreement (2-4 years typically). While you are right that the aim is to pay the car’s depreciation for the period you have it, the interest costs on the balloon payment can be quite large - and you’ve no ability to pay that down during a PCP. Whereas with a traditional hire purchase, you’re financing and paying off the entire amount over the term.

Assuming your monthly payments aren’t tiny, you should close that gap between the value of the car and your finance settlement as you’ll still be making monthly payments between now and July/August. Although it sounds like you may have overpaid and/or have a really high interest rate - in which case refinancing to save interest between now and then may be worthwhile (depending on your circumstances & exact loan situation).

More detail here on what JLR are doing to try and fix theft and insurance issues for Land Rovers… https://www.fleetnews.co.uk/news/jlr-takes-action-to-stem-range-rover-thefts seems to suggest they similarly have a number of canbus vulnerabilities, but are proactively fixing cars going back to 2016!!

The Daily Mail now have an excellent article, using DVLA data to rank cars with the number stolen vs the numbers registered. Ie in percentage terms, rather than just the highest numbers. The Lexus RX is number 1 on the list, with *1 in 46* of all those registered stolen last year! https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-13060215/Britain-stolen-cars-Interactive-graphic-targeted-thieves-list-Lexus-RX-Range-Rover.html#:~:text=According to MailOnline analysis of,SORN) being nabbed by thieves.?utm_source=LexusOwnersClubUK&utm_medium=ForumLinks

For the luxury car tax list price, it excludes the first year tax and first registration fee (£55). Thus a car at £40,300 can still fall under depending on the co2 rating and initial tax rate. Lexus are aware of this as the ES starting price has been £39,995 and now £40,000 for quite some time… despite list prices on other Lexus models going up hundreds or thousands of pounds in the same time period.

Yes, now available both Yaris and Yaris Cross (not entirely clear if it’s identical, but, there is a new 130 engine for those cars in top trims). Won’t be in any existing cars, but, it’s an evolution of the 115 (which I know drives very nicely).

Long story short - the 12v battery is tiny. Turn the car on if you’re going to be working in it for anything more than a minute or two.

Yes, it’s 10 years / 100k miles. I guess it depends on your definition of “significant “ and what the price premium is for a newer, lower mileage model…

There doesn’t appear to be a “Lexus premium” for my car insurance. It’s a huge amount of money (that’s mostly my fault for being in London), but quotes for comparable plug-in SUVs are comparable- those in slightly lower insurance groups are fractionally less, those in higher groups are fractionally more (e.g. Audi Q5). Just as you’d expect.

Insurers have been quite happy to stop insuring Land Rovers which have a bigger market share than these Lexus. They lose money by insuring a vehicle and then having to pay out its full value due to theft. Far better to simply not cover it - and given the Lexus market share vs number of cars out there, it’s not even a rounding error.

It is indeed a game of cat and mouse. But Lexus/Toyota seem to have given up, effectively leaving whole generations of cars easily stolen. Whereas JLR are spending £10m to retrofit older vehicles with better security.

I would similarly have issues about paying more for less! The cheapest car is almost always the one you own already - with the potential for a Relax warranty until 10 years / 100k miles, is there any reason to change? If you’re looking at other brands, have you considered the Toyota Yaris Cross? It’s due a small facelift/refresh (already out for Yaris) and could be a good and much cheaper option in top spec trim…. https://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/yaris-cross/premiere-edition

Manufacturers run “campaigns” to apply updates and fix minor issues when cars are in for other work all of the time. No reason Toyota/Lexus couldn’t run one here if they wanted to.

And I suspect it’s “only” 38% because that’s the government-mandated minimum for zero emission cars they’ve legislated for to be sold and registered that year… (it’s a £15k fine for the manufacturer for each car they sell below the 38% target - unless they borrow allowances from other years or other manufacturers):

That’s the problem - £70k. For a car that barely goes 200 miles on electric. it’s an awful purchase compared to pretty much any other option. They also don’t have real leather on any trim. The new similar size Porsche Macan EV starts at £70k and will go another 100 miles or so on its battery.

The same people voted for Rishi who voted for Liz, Boris, David, Gordon and Tony - their local parliamentary constituencies. We do not have a presidential system. We elect local MPs. The MP who can command the confidence of House of Commons becomes PM - that would usually be the leader of the largest political party there. I do agree though with earlier posts - we’ve given up expecting proper behaviour. Personally I’d pull everyone over with an illegal tint, number plate, loud exhaust etc. The same goes for throwing the book at everyone carrying knives, burglary, theft etc. People need to respect the law again - but I fear it’s going to get much worse before it gets better.

No, they aren’t. E.g. Despite the noise from the Conservatives about pushing back the 2030 ICE ban, the annual BEV sale percentages haven’t changed. Manufacturers are being forced to sell and register BEVs as 22% of their total this year - despite only 16% of the market being BEV last year, and that being a slight dip on the year before. Consumers are not ready, infrastructure is not ready - but on pain of £15k fines per vehicle, politicians continue to force the impossible. US has Trump, across Europe we have all sorts of new & interesting populist parties. At some point, citizens and societies crack - and I think voters are only just getting started after being ignored for decades.

Not in the UK - Lexus has just had its highest ever annual sales here. With EVs, cars become much simpler to build with fewer moving parts - and so we’ll increasingly see more similarities between Toyota and Lexus. Porsche was owned by VAG who still have a controlling stake - I don’t think anyone can say Porsche is any less premium despite increasingly sharing parts & platforms with Audi and more widely. Electric motors and batteries are becoming commodities- the design of cars is thus what is left to distinguish them. But maybe it doesn’t bother me so much, because I used to drive an Audi (VAG) and before that a Volvo (Ford)!

I used Chris Knott for a number of years to insure my modified Volvo S60 (Polestar) and later my Audi A4. They were always very pleasant and helpful. I would say their prices were probably keener a decade ago, but, in recent years still competitive - but it all depends on circumstances. When my partner decided to get a license and learn to drive, they were open and honest they couldn’t really provide competitive quotes until someone had their license for 3+ years. When circumstances allow again, I’ll definitely be giving them a call to see how their quote compares with others.

The Lexus RX has made a top 10 list of stolen cars… it’s also much more likely to be stolen than a Fiesta (given how many more Fiestas are on the road compared to relatively few RXs!).