First impressions after 2 weeks.

[Lexus-Ian]

The 4^th gen hybrid system seems a lot better than the 3^rd and will run on motor only even on motorway so no more cap on 50mph. Engine feels more responsive even in eco mode compared to previous version. Fuel economy is good managed just over 60mpg on a long motorway drive, and getting about 55mpg on my daily commute.

 

Infotainment system not as bad as car reviewers make out. Although voice recognition is waste of time, after 2-3 attempts to give it instructions I give up. Radio reception is better than the IS which I found kept jumping around DAB bands for the same radio station.

 

Cant say I notice the auto dimming wing mirrors working, manual says it’s linked to review mirror which is fine but since it’s got privacy glass in the back everything is darkened to start with so probably not activating the dimming effect. Maybe I notice with more driving in the dark with coming winter.

 

Brake hold is nice feature but why do I have to turn on each time I start the car? Also doesn’t turn off the brake light when foot comes of brake pedal. It’s a pet hate of mine people sitting with foot on brake in traffic blinding the person behind. Appreciate need to let people behind know you’ve stopped but in traffic with car behind which has also stopped why can it not use rear sensors to detect the car and turn off the brake light.

 

Lexus concierge is great have my temp set and not had to change it at all. Yes I’ve had climate control before but found I would adjust temp depending on weather or sunny conditions. But the system works seamlessly activating the heated/ventilated seats as required and blowing air in around you making you feel very comfortable.

 

Adaptive high beam isn’t perfect, I drove a few country roads and found a few times it turn off at a village because of the street lights but when I left the village the high beam didn’t come back on even though no street lights or other cars. Had to turn the feature off and back on to get it working. Generally though the adaptive lighting did work I only got flashed once  from an oncoming car so assume it worked and didn’t blind all the other cars I passed. I’m still not certain if it is legal to use as relying on the technology to dim/turn off so not to effect other road users.

 

As it’s front wheel drive there is some wheel spin with rapid setting off coming out at junctions etc. But I found the rear wheel drive IS would spin rear inner wheel in same situation so no real biggy. Probably just the shorter tyre life on the fronts.

 

Ride is comfortable, takes the pyramid speed bumps well although the long speed bumps do give the car a jolt. Cornering is good but as less bucket seats find myself sliding around the seat LOL.

 

I have noticed the ABS kick in twice when braking (not hard). No obvious reason why as road conditions not slippery and wasn’t braking hard and travelling straight.

 

Reversing camera tends to get covered in water when driving in rain. Sure not a problem for most but where I work I have to reverse into a spot and the parking is tight so makes the camera near impossible to use. Wasn’t an problem with the IS.

 

apple car play is good although find where the USB socket is not great as leaves the lead around the gearshift and infotainment controls. Plus the USB sockets are covered by a little flap cover which gets knocked off every time you close the lid over the area.

 

Still can’t get the lexus link app to connect up. Managed to link my infotainment system to my account and get map updates and weather reports etc so I’m online but because link wont work I cant use some features as wont enable. Frustrating as must of tried several times now.

 

Think that’s all I can woffle about for now.

 

 

[Ian J. Parsley]

Lexus Link... I've essentially given up and just stick to CarPlay but I genuinely think the issue is with my phone. apple seem to have cut off the auto-tethering.

[DTR]

I have managed to get tha Lexus Link on my Iphone to work. Main problem with that was not all symbols are useable in password. This is obvious if you use the keyboard in the car, but not on the phone.

However, getting the car to log in just seems impossible. When I try to put the cars ID into my phone, it whirs for a while and then says “Whoop, something went wrong etc”. Would help if it IDd the problem

[rayaans]

No car will turn off the brake lights if it's on hold. It's not a Lexus thing and it's also a safety thing. If coming up to a junction at 60mph it's easier to see a car with brake lights on when in hold than if it doesn't have them on. It can give the illusion that the car is still moving if not

[DTR]

I contacted Lexus with the problem logging in. Nothing a happened for 24 hours, but then got a message that my Nav thingy had been detected. I now find that all seems to work. I can enter destinations on my phone (in the app) and beam it to the car. Amazes me and avoids inputting data via the car “keypad”.

[paulrnx]

On 7/8/2021 at 8:29 PM, rayaans said:

No car will turn off the brake lights if it's on hold. It's not a Lexus thing and it's also a safety thing. If coming up to a junction at 60mph it's easier to see a car with brake lights on when in hold than if it doesn't have them on. It can give the illusion that the car is still moving if not

Yeah agreed. It’s called brake hold for a reason- it holds the brakes on. So, just like sitting there with you foot on the pedal is the same as sitting there with brake hold on. I don’t find it that helpful when manoeuvring mind.

[peniole]

On 7/16/2021 at 10:54 AM, DTR said:

I contacted Lexus with the problem logging in. Nothing a happened for 24 hours, but then got a message that my Nav thingy had been detected. I now find that all seems to work. I can enter destinations on my phone (in the app) and beam it to the car. Amazes me and avoids inputting data via the car “keypad”.

But you can only save routes, right? You can't just save a destination.