gs450h Hunting for a GS 450H

[Britprius]

When I picked the car up I so wanted to like it. Driving round the town centre of Wolverhampton in slow traffic the noise level was reasonably low. However once on the open road the road noise was obtrusive, and wind noise was also evident.

The ride was for me also on the firm side, but this also made the car feel really planted on the winding country roads not once feeling as though I had entered a bend to fast. So the sporty type driver may well approve. Guess you cannot have it both ways without adjustable suspension. The IS does have ECO, normal, and sport modes, but I do not know if this adjusts the suspension. If it does it must be subtle as I could not tell any difference apart from the throttle response.

John

[Farqui]

Just had a long weekend over on the Belgian coast and covering 500+ miles we averaged 41mpg (tank to tank calc). Happy with that 

The on board trip 'puter wasn't far off either, much to my surprise.

The miles wafted by and several times MrsF thought we were pootling. But we were actually cruising at the legal limit  Down to the comfort and ride of the GS I guess.

I was surprised that we easily got our luggage in the boot too 

Oh and the weather was fantastic.

[Farqui]

I'm having the tired paint corrected next week, including touching up the bonnet rash.

The detailer mentioned the option of a ceramic coating and YouTube vids do look impressive/long lasting (apparently).  

Has anyone done this on their car? What product was used? Was it expensive? Is the weekly clean easier? Has it lasted well?

[Farqui]

The car has just had it's paint corrected 

Refer to thread; http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/111675-detailing-paint-correction-gs-450h/

[dougie175]

On ‎21‎/‎04‎/‎2017 at 11:25 AM, Farqui said:

Car has just had it's paint corrected 

Refer to thread; http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/111675-detailing-paint-correction-gs-450h/

Lee! How the devil are you old chap!  Not been on here in month with having a little girl I have been very busy and only had time to wash the car for the last 5 months no do any mods.

Havent had chance to read through your posts yet but nice to see you've got yourself a Lexus hope you are enjoying it! Look after yourself mate

[Farqui]

13 hours ago, dougie175 said:

Lee! How the devil are you old chap!  Not been on here in month with having a little girl I have been very busy and only had time to wash the car for the last 5 months no do any mods.

Havent had chance to read through your posts yet but nice to see you've got yourself a Lexus hope you are enjoying it! Look after yourself mate

On 4/21/2017 at 11:25 AM, Farqui said:

 

How do buddy, long time no speak. Congrats on the ankle biter. All good here ta, hope you all are too.

Yup, I've followed your path... eventually. Our big battle cruiser is pampering us nicely and she's a surprising turn of speed from the twin boiler rooms.

Is your Lexus still going well for you? I bet she still looks great pal, with all those hours of custom work you put in. Probably seems like a while ago now?

[dougie175]

Just now, Farqui said:

Lee! How the devil are you old chap!  Not been on here in month with having a little girl I have been very busy and only had time to wash the car for the last 5 months no do any mods.

Havent had chance to read through your posts yet but nice to see you've got yourself a Lexus hope you are enjoying it! Look after yourself mate

 

How do buddy, long time no speak. Congrats on the ankle biter. All good here ta, hope you all are too.

 

Yup, I've followed your path... eventually. Our big battle cruiser is pampering us nicely and she's a surprising turn of speed from the twin boiler rooms.

 

Is your Lexus still going well for you? I bet she still looks great pal, with all those hours of custom work you put in. Probably seems like a while ago now?

You've made a wise move mate, I will always have a spot fir Honda but a lexus is a very easy car to live with and enjoy!

Yes mate it is doing great, not the ideal family car as the boot isn't the largest and I'm terrified of her ruining stuff on the car as she gets older but really cant fault it fantastic piece of kit.

Yeah the work is still holding up well and it still puts a smile on my face every time I see it, but yeah feels like a lifetime ago, more updates to come soon though hopefully!

[Farqui]

@dougie175, I know what you mean but 'stuff' isn't as precious as those nearest to us.

Haha, I was worried about boot space too but we recently had a trip to Belgium and to my surprise it easily swallowed our luggage.

I kinda miss my Honda too but would hate to loose the Lexus now. Good to hear that you've a few more mod's planned, will keep a look out.

[dougie175]

Just read through your progress mate, have you managed to sort the passenger blow yet? You got any modification plans for the Lexus or you just enjoying the car for what it is?

[Farqui]

Nah, the passenger temp is not a problem now the ambient temps are up (head is tucked in the sand!) For the cooler months, the Mrs now has a heated blanket...LOL!

No mods planned buddy, power isn't an issue as the Sport button unleashes the devil and a big smile. Styling and alloys work well for me.

I have a few niggles to sort out e.g. center console creak, cracked grill (I have a replacenent and hope to fit it soon), treat/paint calipers/disk bells and sort out the under carriage rust.

Good to see that you are still keen to tweak' your ride ;)

[dougie175]

1 minute ago, Farqui said:

Nah, the passenger temp is not a problem now the ambient temps are up (head is tucked in the sand!) For the cooler months, the Mrs now has a heated blanket...LOL!

 

No mods planned buddy, power isn't an issue as the Sport button unleashes the devil and a big smile. Styling and alloys work well for me.

 

I have a few niggles to sort out e.g. center console creak, cracked grill (I have a replacenent and hope to fit it soon), treat/paint calipers/disk bells and sort out the under carriage rust.

 

Good to see that you are still keen to tweak' your ride ;)

Yeah its a strange issue but I'm sure heated seats will help keep her happy I know my Mrs loves them and they have become a requirement for any future cars, think the Lexus has spoilt us both a bit to be honest!

Yeah I bet she shifts when you use the power, very different to the civic too! My IS "feels" a lot slower than my civic don't get me wrong it is slower than the civic but not as much as it feels because the power delivery is smoother and so refined you get no sense of speed, makes the car feel slow but does me fine, yours would leave it for dead however, sounds like you have the best of both worlds lots of power, good economy when taking it easy but also the reliability and refinement of a petrol over a diesel.

Yeah once you get your niggles sorted will be a very nice motor.

Yeah I cant help myself messing with the car, but need to make sure I make wise modification choices nothing that stops it being refined and looses the whole point of buying a Lexus, if you are thinking of lowering I highly recommend the meister r's if they do them, totally different experience to the civic suspension I never really got the comfort I wanted from the civic

[Farqui]

The heated seats help but the cool footwell air chills mrsF's toosies, in the cooler months!

My GS has a split personality, a cruiser and a torpedo. Hehe.

I know what you mean, the Lexus is much smoother and a much more pleasant place to be. We can zip to Belgium in the Lexus and get out as fresh as a daisy. The Civic chew up the miles as easily but was a bit more tiring to drive. FRSU and a heavy clutch didn't help.

The 450H has remarkable performance and economy. Although it's less economical vs the Civic it's soooo worth it.

I'm not sure coilovers will ever go on the GS to be honest. The OEM dampers are good all rounders and the double wishbone/multilink setup works very well for me.

[Farqui]

Just back from 2 weeks in Belgium with the GS chariot.

She performed faultlessly, bless her. The aircon got a decent work out, this was the temperature yesterday afternoon when parked in the shade...

[Farqui]

Got back home today at lunchtime to this...

[Farqui]

Once the car was unloaded, the heavens opened.

Welcome back to Blighty eh!

[dougie175]

Welcome home mate, it even stopped raining for 10 minutes up here the other day so summer must be here!

[Shahpor]

Good to be back huh?  Be thankful we have some bearable temperatures today. 

[Farqui]

The garden needed the rain but I can't say I've missed it.

Thanks chaps, yeah we're glad to be home and to not see croquettes, steak, stew or bolognese on a menu for a while!

The Belgian coast is great but all the restaurants/bars must get their menu's from the same supplier 😀

[Farqui]

Managed to fit some 3M tape and a roof rack before the heavens opened this evening. It'll allow me to get back on the bike and hit some nice trails.

[Farqui]

Also found a great heavy duty bag to store the rack.

[dougie175]

Nice that looks like a very handy bag could do with 1 of those for mine!

[Farqui]

The only drawback is that it has an Audi logo on the side! But its good quality and was only £18.

[dougie175]

3 minutes ago, Farqui said:

The only drawback is that it has an Audi logo on the side! But its good quality and was less that £20.

I guess even i could cope with that. Do audi do them for all models I'm guessing A4 ones would be about the same as my IS

[Farqui]

@dougie175, the bags are generic across models. Here's the link http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/263068408736

[dougie175]

Bargain! I'll give the part number to TPS in the morning and see what price they can do it for. I'm amazed how cheap that is for a brand new audi accessory though!