A year with Betsy

[Mincey]

Has it been a year already? Time clearly flies when you're  enjoying yourself. 

Betsy and I have covered 8,706 miles since October 20th last year at an average of 45mpg. Did I make the right decision to swap my IS300h for Betsy? 

Let's start with the few things which I don't like:

• the cover for the centre console cubby hole could do with being a little more solid.
• The boot lid could be more rigid/heavier, but I guess this has been done for weight saving.

And some of the updates I'd make:

• How about different warning sounds for front and rear parking sensors?
• A socket in the roof to plug in a For Hire sign. Only joking.

And some of the things I haven't missed from the IS:

• Rear wheel drive 
• The buttock unfriendly seats.

Now onto the things which I like:

• She is supremely comfortable on long journeys, even as an F Sport with those big tyres
• Fuel economy is great. I could get more if I was a little less heavy footed and prone to rushing on the A1
• Performance is perfectly acceptable. There are none of the worries joining roundabouts which I had in the IS300h (rectified by putting it in Sport of course). She'll easily mix it with the Scheissewagens in lane 4 of the A1 between Huntingdon and Peterborough with no loss of face. Or should that be no loss of grille?
• The boot is enormous and easily takes my big box of IT gubbins plus any shopping I might acquire on the return leg of an outing. My bass cabs fit with acres of room to spare.
• Cabin noise is virtually non-existent. It does however help to run some of that Gummi stuff around the door seals every month or so to stop any creaking from the doors.
• Android Auto - once I'd got the hang of it, and since AAWireless released a certain update, I love it. If you charge the phone on the Qi mat whilst using AA, it does get a bit warm and the power going in pretty much comes out immediately.
• Servicing - nothing needed doing (apart from an upsell of four wheel alignment!). The brake disks still have 10mm on them so they're practically brand new.
• Talking of brakes, the absence of brake dust on the wheels is great. Hopefully Betsy's wheels won't go the same way as my IS250's did. Three times.
• Little things like a warning on the dash that a window is open and would I like to close it by clicking OK
• Being able to check tyre pressures without using an app.
• I used the memory seat function for the first time yesterday. The young lady who returned Betsy from the servicing area was quite petite. A quick stab on button 1 allowed me to get my less than svelte figure back behind the wheel.
• Radar guided cruise control is a wonderful thing, especially on the A1 between Peterborough and Stamford while the invisible workforce does its job.
• That lane assist/guide thing and going handsfree is fun, but only where conditions allow of course.
• Adaptive lighting - on backroads this is great, although I did have someone flash me. They were probably thinking "nice car mate"
• Talking of which, I have posted the tale of the young Asian chap who complimented Betsy at a local filling station. Several colleagues at work always insist on me driving if we go out together. They drive Schiessewagens.
• I would always spec a car with a heated steering wheel from now on. I thought they were a gimmick. Not so.
• As many have pointed out on here, automatic folding mirrors should be on all Lexi. It's a great way of checking she's locked as I walk away.
• The auto hold. A colleague took me on a "short cut" back from Leicester to Bourne (it took twice as long as going the conventional route). We came to a crossroads which was uphill. "Have you got a good handbrake?" he asked, "as you'll need it here". He was right, although I was surprised that he'd not taken on board the lack of a visible handbrake. Betsy just stopped and then went when I pressed the accelerator. No slipping backwards or anything. Tick VG.
• Fit and finish. You don't have to slam her doors like you do on a Scheissewagen. She doesn't creak like a Mercedes.

I'm sure that there are many things I've missed. Am I glad that Betsy and I met on the fateful day when I took my IS300h in for the fuel pump recall? Hell yes. 

[Las Palmas]

Betsy made you happy. Good to hear.

Be sure to return the feeling.

[Dippo]

Of course, you'll now have to upgrade to an MY23 version. I believe the prompt for voice activation is "Hey Lexus", but that can be changed - you could have "Hey Betsy".

[Mincey]

11 minutes ago, Dippo said:

Of course, you'll now have to upgrade to an MY23 version. I believe the prompt for voice activation is "Hey Lexus", but that can be changed - you could have "Hey Betsy".

Don't mention the "U" word while she's in earshot!!

[beyond the blue]

Sounds like you are more than happy with your 1st year. Mine will be 12 months old at Christmas but unfortunately l don't quite get the same level of enjoyment as you, even though as strange as it sounds, it's still the second best car l've ever owned.

[Las Palmas]

23 minutes ago, beyond the blue said:

Sounds like you are more than happy with your 1st year. Mine will be 12 months old at Christmas but unfortunately l don't quite get the same level of enjoyment as you, even though as strange as it sounds, it's still the second best car l've ever owned.

We have the entry model from Lexus and it is no way the best, most comfortable or sportiest car we have ever had, but it fits our needs for coming from one place to another. Less noisy than the Lancia 4-wheel drive EVO 2, consuming a lot less fuel than the MB 300SEL 6.3 and roomier than the Smart Roadster Coupé and Toyota MR2 Spyder. Not nearly as comfortable as the Honda Accord Coupé, Nissan 280ZX (or 300ZX) and consuming more than the VW 2.0tdi DSG, but exactly the car we have now and hybrid will be our choice forward if hydrogen cars will not be available having fuelling places like we now have gasoline available. The rest of the cars we have had are not in competition with the CT as far as I remember.

[Marko89]

On 10/19/2022 at 11:34 AM, Las Palmas said:

We have the entry model from Lexus and it is no way the best, most comfortable or sportiest car we have ever had, but it fits our needs for coming from one place to another. Less noisy than the Lancia 4-wheel drive EVO 2, consuming a lot less fuel than the MB 300SEL 6.3 and roomier than the Smart Roadster Coupé and Toyota MR2 Spyder. Not nearly as comfortable as the Honda Accord Coupé, Nissan 280ZX (or 300ZX) and consuming more than the VW 2.0tdi DSG, but exactly the car we have now and hybrid will be our choice forward if hydrogen cars will not be available having fuelling places like we now have gasoline available. The rest of the cars we have had are not in competition with the CT as far as I remember.

 

That is quite the garage you have, absolutely jealous. 

[Las Palmas]

31 minutes ago, Marko89 said:

That is quite the garage you have, absolutely jealous. 

These are some of the cars we have had. Have never had more than 2 cars at same time. Now only the CT.

[Slucky]

Agree with you, as I came from an IS 300H too and since driving around my ES, its so much better.

One thing I can't seem to find in the manuals is how do you fold the back seats, or is this not possible?

Thanks

 

[royoftherovers]

5 minutes ago, Slucky said:

Agree with you, as I came from an IS 300H too and since driving around my ES, its so much better.

One thing I can't seem to find in the manuals is how do you fold the back seats, or is this not possible?

Thanks

 

I do not believe it is possible on the ES Slucky.

[Slucky]

1 minute ago, royoftherovers said:

I do not believe it is possible on the ES Slucky.

Thanks John, shame as its got quite a decent size boot. 
Now I can't load me timber around in style.

[royoftherovers]

On 10/19/2022 at 11:00 AM, beyond the blue said:

Sounds like you are more than happy with your 1st year. Mine will be 12 months old at Christmas but unfortunately l don't quite get the same level of enjoyment as you, even though as strange as it sounds, it's still the second best car l've ever owned.

And the first was Neil ?

[beyond the blue]

2 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

And the first was Neil ?

2005 Lexus RX300

[Rabbers]

James, your enthusiasm for the ES is infectious, and having driven one several times now I understand you completely.  The main - perhaps the only - thing preventing me from going for one next time I change car is its size.  Don’t you think it could have been maybe 10cm shorter and proportionately narrower with no great loss of space for occupants and bags etc.?  Although I reckon it offers among the smoothest and most comfortable rides I have ever had, and is impressively agile for its bulk, I would dread having to frequently manoeuvre it, as I would frequently need to do, through narrow lanes and town alleys.

Do you and Betsy have any words of wisdom to offer me?

[royoftherovers]

1 hour ago, beyond the blue said:

2005 Lexus RX300

Thanks Neil.

Many Members have fallen in love with them,so much so that they have stayed with the successor RX models.

[First_Lexus]

On 10/19/2022 at 9:32 AM, Mincey said:

I would always spec a car with a heated steering wheel from now on. I thought they were a gimmick. Not so.

Very true. My RX is my first car with a heated steering wheel. It’s great. Not something I’d ever have considered before, but now I’ve got it down as a proper First World essential! 🙃

[peniole]

2 hours ago, Rabbers said:

James, your enthusiasm for the ES is infectious, and having driven one several times now I understand you completely.  The main - perhaps the only - thing preventing me from going for one next time I change car is its size.  Don’t you think it could have been maybe 10cm shorter and proportionately narrower with no great loss of space for occupants and bags etc.?  Although I reckon it offers among the smoothest and most comfortable rides I have ever had, and is impressively agile for its bulk, I would dread having to frequently manoeuvre it, as I would frequently need to do, through narrow lanes and town alleys.

Do you and Betsy have any words of wisdom to offer me?

I wouldn't worry too much about the size in either dimension. I've driven narrow, winding and tight and it just isn't a problem. A short test drive may have you anxious, but you quickly get used to it, and I mean in a day or two tops. Visibility is excellent, and electronic aides make it easier (I don't have the 360 cameras). You will stick out lengthwise in some shorter spots but 10cm isn't going to fix that, closer to 40cm as it's just an inch shy of 5m long.

I will admit that I've driven larger and wider on smaller streets, so I do have some prior experience which may have helped me adapt quickly to the ES.

[Mincey]

12 hours ago, peniole said:

I wouldn't worry too much about the size in either dimension. I've driven narrow, winding and tight and it just isn't a problem. A short test drive may have you anxious, but you quickly get used to it, and I mean in a day or two tops. Visibility is excellent, and electronic aides make it easier (I don't have the 360 cameras). You will stick out lengthwise in some shorter spots but 10cm isn't going to fix that, closer to 40cm as it's just an inch shy of 5m long.

I will admit that I've driven larger and wider on smaller streets, so I do have some prior experience which may have helped me adapt quickly to the ES.

My thoughts exactly 🙂

[Rabbers]

12 hours ago, peniole said:

I wouldn't worry too much about the size in either dimension. I've driven narrow, winding and tight and it just isn't a problem…

49 minutes ago, Mincey said:

My thoughts exactly 🙂

My problem with the bulk of the ES has less to do with the car’s manoeuvrability, which is fine - indeed surprisingly so - than with the location of my home.  This requires me whenever I come and go to negotiate a series of tight bends and turns in a medieval village and its surrounds.  I am accustomed to doing it easily enough in my RC (just as I previously did in the IS) but the thought of getting a scrape from a side wall or an uneven high kerb before getting out onto the open road is nevertheless always somewhere in my mind.  So you’ll understand that despite my objective enthusiasm for the ES the extra length and width are factors I need to ponder more than other prospective owners normally might.

[peniole]

13 hours ago, Rabbers said:

My problem with the bulk of the ES has less to do with the car’s manoeuvrability, which is fine - indeed surprisingly so - than with the location of my home.  This requires me whenever I come and go to negotiate a series of tight bends and turns in a medieval village and its surrounds.  I am accustomed to doing it easily enough in my RC (just as I previously did in the IS) but the thought of getting a scrape from a side wall or an uneven high kerb before getting out onto the open road is nevertheless always somewhere in my mind.  So you’ll understand that despite my objective enthusiasm for the ES the extra length and width are factors I need to ponder more than other prospective owners normally might.

RC 4,710 mm L x 1,845 mm W x 1,390 mm H

ES 4,975 mm L x 1,865 mm W x 1,445 mm H

looks like length is the major difference 26.4cm according to google as width is only 2cm worth of difference

[Rabbers]

9 hours ago, peniole said:

..... looks like length is the major difference 26.4cm according to google as width is only 2cm worth of difference

Sure, the figures you quote are the primary means of formally judging the dimensional differences that could lead one to choose any given car over another, at least from an armchair.  What I find the figures don't necessarily express, however, are the differences in physical and optical impressions a driver - by which I mean me - might have in negotiating the sort of tight and winding route briefly described in my last post.  For example, 2cm greater width in a 90° turn from one narrow alley into another even narrower one might not in itself greatly affect the timing of when exactly to aim and straighten the car, but the awareness of significantly greater length during the process of completing the manoeuvre with even a slight suspicion of having made a misjudgment can make one fairly nervous - and downright sweaty if for any reason one needs to abort the manoeuvre and reverse out.  Or so I find even though I am aware that it is largely a question of familiarity with a car and confidence in one's own skills.  In short, if in many circumstances I consider the electronic aids in the RC to be important, I am guessing I would find them well-nigh indispensable in the ES.

Incidentally, while on the subject of width, the first ES I drove was fitted with the digital side-view monitors, and I must say that I generally liked them. On the other hand, even without knowing if and by how much they add to the ES' overall width, they certainly give the impression of doing so, thereby adding a further element of possible nervousness (not least because of the potential replacement cost).

[Guest]

I quickly got used to the extra size of the ES, the various aids do help, the length does mean sometimes sticking out a bit in some car parks but that applies to a lot of cars. One thing regarding manoeuvring around small narrow streets, I don’t have a problem with the turning circle but it doesn’t seem to be very small although I haven’t looked it up.

[Guest]

Just had a quick search and according to an Australian site my old IS had a turning circle of 34’ 1” against 38’ 9” for my ES so the ES does need a bit more room or a lot more backwards and forwards in tight spots

[Slucky]

I call my one, baby shark. As the snout sticks out quite a bit in the parking bays. 
Just need to look out for a big smiling grill when I look out for her. 
Have to say the parking bays are getting smaller these days. 
 

[Rabbers]

I don’t know about the “baby” shark bit, Lucky - presumably as distinct from an adult one - but who am I to argue?

 I have spotted only three or four ESs on the road since launch but it is precisely the grille that makes you first suspect that a car you are seeing in the distance might be an ES.  And it is again the grille, gradually recognizable as “big” and “smiling”, that confirms the suspicion as the car comes closer.  Were I to buy an ES I would go for the F-Sport, as I have with other models, but I must admit I prefer the vertical bars of the grille of the normal version to the honeycomb F-Sport design.