Test Drive

[talaipwros]

12 minutes ago, John Adams said:

Every time I call expressing doubts they come back with a better offer

Can you please be a bit more specific? 

Thanks

[John Adams]

16 minutes ago, talaipwros said:

Can you please be a bit more specific? 

Thanks

I've had free paint protection, matts, free service for 1 then 2 years and finally a big increase in the px. 

[F.A.]

43 minutes ago, John Adams said:

As you say, what else is there to buy. Tesla obviously have the best charging network going but after being with Lexus -and Toyota before that- for over 35 years I couldn't live with the lack of quality, panel fits, paintwork etc. If I didn't buy the RZ I would just keep the NX for another year or two which obviously is a very good car albeit with a few niggles also.

 

The Genesis Electrified GV70 needs serious consideration. 
We have been Lexus customers for 14 years and it was a big decision to buy from another brand. However it’s been fantastic over the 2000 miles we have driven so far. I don’t usual listen to reviews but the majority have been extremely positive about the car. Even Kirk Kreifels who is a Lexus enthusiast rates it highly. 
No doubt the RZ will be a fantastic car. However if you have any doubts then the Genesis is worth consideration. 
It’s extremely quick and comfortable, well built with high end materials, charges fast and the range isn’t as sensitive as the Rz when the heating or AC is used. Customer service has been top draw, so far too, and it stands out in the car park. 

[wivenhoe]

24 minutes ago, John Adams said:

I've had free paint protection, matts, free service for 1 then 2 years and finally a big increase in the px. 

I got the original price so £3k less than list,  a spectacular price for my Range Rover and £ 600 discount although shown as an increase in ox value - didn’t have much use for the Japanese Green Tea Set. 

[wivenhoe]

59 minutes ago, John Adams said:

John - I’m sure you won’t be disappointed  

My discount was for not taking protection - I got the car detailed and ceramic coated inside & out for a guy I used before - cost £ 700

59 minutes ago, John Adams said:

 

[wivenhoe]

John - welcome to early owners club from next week. I seem to currently be the only owner on here - perhaps the others are too busy reading the manual. 
This is one car you really have to read the flipping manual for - 700 pages for the car and 300+ for the multimedia so lucky it’s a bank holiday. No doubt you have already downloaded both books. 
It will be good to exchange ranges and good & not so good points. I have found out that the few very minor grumbles I have with the systems are caused by Euro regulations and not Lexus being over cautious. 
Which and colour have you gone for ?
 

[John Adams]

10 hours ago, wivenhoe said:

John - welcome to early owners club from next week. I seem to currently be the only owner on here - perhaps the others are too busy reading the manual. 
This is one car you really have to read the flipping manual for - 700 pages for the car and 300+ for the multimedia so lucky it’s a bank holiday. No doubt you have already downloaded both books. 
It will be good to exchange ranges and good & not so good points. I have found out that the few very minor grumbles I have with the systems are caused by Euro regulations and not Lexus being over cautious. 
Which and colour have you gone for ?
 

Hi Bob

Yes, I downloaded the manual some time back and have been working through it. I've also been downloading Zap Map and a few charging apps on my phone in preparation.

Puzzled to know what the grumbles are caused by Euro regulations.

I've gone for Sonic Platinum Takumi model.  I'm also pleasantly surprised by the insurance costs. I was expecting a steep increase but all I have to pay is £40 more than my NX. I suppose being an old g*t also helps.

Delivery is on 5 June so not long to wait and I will update you then.

 

All the best and have a good weekend

[wivenhoe]

John - the grumbles with the system are that despite having My Settings’ you have to set the ‘hold’ function and disable the excess speed bong every time and the driver ‘paying attention  camera is too sensitive. I understand these are EU requirements that have to be set every time. 
As I said, I now have a ‘start procedure’ !

My wife’s Honda is even worse for sensitivity and difficulty in turning down or off so called protection. 

[Steve44]

I have a new RX, the driver attention camera you can turn off completely and it stays off. The Hold and speeding bongs though keep coming back which is annoying.  You can cut down one bong though by turning off notification of speed limit change, again it stays off.

[wivenhoe]

Thanks. I wondered if turning off the attention camera meant I didn’t get extended restart in traffic. I’ll turn the darn thing off. 
I have asked the dealer why the excess speed warning is in ‘My Settings’ it still defaults. I’m sure the answer will be ‘it is what it is’ 

Thanks again 

[Steve44]

Oh I haven’t tried that, the cruise control does need a press of accel pedal to resume from stop in traffic, I hadn’t thought the 2 were tied together. Everything still seems to work ok including the lane change assist (pretty pointless imo) where it keeps cancelling as I’m not paying attention! 😁 ie staring straight ahead.

[wivenhoe]

With the ‘extended’ set on then the car can stop for up to 3 minutes and restart automatically when the car in front moves off. My previous BMW wouldn’t move off if the drivers camera picked up I wasn’t looking straight ahead - hence I thought e RZ would be the same. 

[John Adams]

I saw a You Tube video yesterday by Bjorn Nyland about the Toyota BZ4. Apparently it has had a software update which now shows the percentage SOC and also more importantly they have reduced the buffer in the Battery to give a bit more range.  I assume this update will come to the Lexus soon, hopefully before I take delivery

[wivenhoe]

John - let’s hope you are right. I had a quick look and Toyota said the original buffer was 8% and they were going to reduce that after criticisms. The RZ buffer is 72kw - 64kw so over 10%. If they were to halve it then the unheated range increases to about 240  

[John Adams]

On 5/28/2023 at 12:26 PM, wivenhoe said:

John - let’s hope you are right. I had a quick look and Toyota said the original buffer was 8% and they were going to reduce that after criticisms. The RZ buffer is 72kw - 64kw so over 10%. If they were to halve it then the unheated range increases to about 240  

Hi Bob

 

Any update on range yet or problems/niggles?

[wivenhoe]

John - range is remaining accurate and about the same as before. As I am writing this the car is at 82% charged and 192 or 155. I tried the radiant heater yesterday - did seem to be efficient and with the heated seat was definitely warm enough. No idea what it will be like in -5c. 
No new niggles. I’m in exchanges with Customer Service on the second key, locking wheel nut, whether the Keyless is UWB, ‘canbus theft deterrent plate and the Remote Park. 
Really odd today - Customer Service said the Remote Parking hardware was not fitted - I won’t bore you with their explanation. BUT, tried the Advance Park for the first time today and fiddled about when an image came up asking to select from arrows pointing forward or back. I selected forward and the screen came up saying - Remote Park, exit the vehicle with the key and use the App to control the car (or something like that). I have asked CS if this means the car does have the hardware but it’s the App that needs developing - hopefully that is correct so it could just be a download of the updated Lexus Link App.
Similarly the web says the App should have Send To Car (destinations) but it isn’t in the App. 
On the good news front, I used Sport mode today - I thought it definitely made the car feel ‘tighter’ and ‘sporty’ - didn’t seem to diminish the range more than Normal. I don’t understand the reviewers criticisms of having to delve deep into menus to change the mode - there is a shortcut screen with it on which is accessed by an icon on the main screen. There are loads of shortcuts on there but I can’t find a way to personalise them - yet. 
The difference between 1 and 4 brake regen is very noticeable. I’m having fun trying to judge it - little things ………  Similarly, the door opening still puts a smile on my face each time I get in  

I normally use Spotify but thought I would try much higher definition tracks from apple Music and Tidal. In my Velar it didn’t seem to make much difference on the Meridian 3D 14 speaker system but it certainly did on the Mark Levison !  I’ve cancelled Spotify. 
Hope everything remains on track for you collecting your car next week. 
 

 

[John Adams]

10 hours ago, wivenhoe said:

John - range is remaining accurate and about the same as before. As I am writing this the car is at 82% charged and 192 or 155. I tried the radiant heater yesterday - did seem to be efficient and with the heated seat was definitely warm enough. No idea what it will be like in -5c. 
No new niggles. I’m in exchanges with Customer Service on the second key, locking wheel nut, whether the Keyless is UWB, ‘canbus theft deterrent plate and the Remote Park. 
Really odd today - Customer Service said the Remote Parking hardware was not fitted - I won’t bore you with their explanation. BUT, tried the Advance Park for the first time today and fiddled about when an image came up asking to select from arrows pointing forward or back. I selected forward and the screen came up saying - Remote Park, exit the vehicle with the key and use the App to control the car (or something like that). I have asked CS if this means the car does have the hardware but it’s the App that needs developing - hopefully that is correct so it could just be a download of the updated Lexus Link App.
Similarly the web says the App should have Send To Car (destinations) but it isn’t in the App. 
On the good news front, I used Sport mode today - I thought it definitely made the car feel ‘tighter’ and ‘sporty’ - didn’t seem to diminish the range more than Normal. I don’t understand the reviewers criticisms of having to delve deep into menus to change the mode - there is a shortcut screen with it on which is accessed by an icon on the main screen. There are loads of shortcuts on there but I can’t find a way to personalise them - yet. 
The difference between 1 and 4 brake regen is very noticeable. I’m having fun trying to judge it - little things ………  Similarly, the door opening still puts a smile on my face each time I get in  

I normally use Spotify but thought I would try much higher definition tracks from Apple Music and Tidal. In my Velar it didn’t seem to make much difference on the Meridian 3D 14 speaker system but it certainly did on the Mark Levison !  I’ve cancelled Spotify. 
Hope everything remains on track for you collecting your car next week. 
 

 

Thanks for the update Bob. My delivery has gone back 2 days and is now 7 June due to a delay in Derby. I've been told that that have to put in a warranty claim (??) for the second key and I should get it in a couple of months. The locking wheels nuts might take a couple of months also. I asked them to confirm that if by any chance my wheels should get stolen Lexus will pick up the tab so that it doesn't cost me anything on my insurance etc. So far the silence has been deafening !

Still wondering if I have made the right decision. Time will tell.  A lot of scare stories in the Times yesterday and today about lack of  public chargers etc. and the usual anti EV guff from the comments.

[wivenhoe]

John - I use Zap Map and it gives up to the minute availability of chargers, when they were last used or out of service. BP Pulse seem to have a lot out of service but they’re not Rapid ones. Looking at the Rapid chargers from Osprey, IONITY, & Instavolt, Gridserve and Shell all seem to have mostly in service Rapid chargers. All are expensive - range from about 65p to 80p per Kw instead of 34p soon to be 30p at home. But even 80p is still in line with petrol. Say 10% - 80% is 70% x 64kw x 80p for say 190 miles = 27p / mile. SUV (doing 0-60 in 5s) say 30 mpg = 23p / mile. 
I have seen Tesla have opened up some of their charging network to non-Teslas. I haven’t looked into which one in the UK or the cost of an adaptor to fit their hyper chargers. 
Which charger did you go with at home. I don’t have 3 phase so limited to 7kw - it was my second charger and went with a Hypervolt with a 7m tethered cable, seems to be excellent and does everything needed and has a very reliable App. I have had this over a year. My previous Pod Point was only 3.5Kw and failed after 5 years - no complaint as the government subsidy meant I paid £ 100 for it !

 

[John Adams]

31 minutes ago, wivenhoe said:

John - I use Zap Map and it gives up to the minute availability of chargers, when they were last used or out of service. BP Pulse seem to have a lot out of service but they’re not Rapid ones. Looking at the Rapid chargers from Osprey, IONITY, & Instavolt, Gridserve and Shell all seem to have mostly in service Rapid chargers. All are expensive - range from about 65p to 80p per Kw instead of 34p soon to be 30p at home. But even 80p is still in line with petrol. Say 10% - 80% is 70% x 64kw x 80p for say 190 miles = 27p / mile. SUV (doing 0-60 in 5s) say 30 mpg = 23p / mile. 
I have seen Tesla have opened up some of their charging network to non-Teslas. I haven’t looked into which one in the UK or the cost of an adaptor to fit their hyper chargers. 
Which charger did you go with at home. I don’t have 3 phase so limited to 7kw - it was my second charger and went with a Hypervolt with a 7m tethered cable, seems to be excellent and does everything needed and has a very reliable App. I have had this over a year. My previous Pod Point was only 3.5Kw and failed after 5 years - no complaint as the government subsidy meant I paid £ 100 for it !

 

Bob, yes I have Zap Map and all the charging apps set up in anticipation. I've also got the Tesla app because there is a location near Wokingham which I go past regularly when visiting the outlaws. I've seen it on You Tube and it has the standard CCS cable. I'm really not bothered  -within reason- about cost as I am more interested in availability.  I'll be doing a 200 mile trip there in 3 weeks and I have a lot of charger locations marked out for the trip just in case the first one is full or broken. Once I get the first trip done I might feel more confident.

With regards the home charger, Lexus supplied me with the free  Hive charger last year which I use with the NX. It works but the app is useless as it often fails to communicate because we are in a poor reception area. Wifi would be better but Hive are not interested in sorting out the problem 

[wivenhoe]

John - that’s unfortunate as Lexus would have claimed the subsidy and your address can only have one. That said, as the cabling will all be up to capacity you’ll only need a new box. BUT the Hypervolt box is £ 660 plus fitting.
As the Pod Point was ‘dumb’ I did a lot of research before buying the Hypervolt and it seemed to come out as one of the best for the App / data control.  
Good luck with the 200 mile drive - the charging curve shows if you charge when the Battery is over 50% it takes an age. The last 20% I think takes as long as the 10 - 80% so nerves of steel required ! 

[John Adams]

2 minutes ago, wivenhoe said:

John - that’s unfortunate as Lexus would have claimed the subsidy and your address can only have one. That said, as the cabling will all be up to capacity you’ll only need a new box. BUT the Hypervolt box is £ 660 plus fitting.
As the Pod Point was ‘dumb’ I did a lot of research before buying the Hypervolt and it seemed to come out as one of the best for the App / data control.  
Good luck with the 200 mile drive - the charging curve shows if you charge when the battery is over 50% it takes an age. The last 20% I think takes as long as the 10 - 80% so nerves of steel required ! 

"The last 20% I think takes as long as the 10 - 80% so nerves of steel required ! "

Well that's made me feel better this morning!!!

[wivenhoe]

15 minutes ago, John Adams said:

"The last 20% I think takes as long as the 10 - 80% so nerves of steel required ! "

Well that's made me feel better this morning!!!

I calmed my range anxiety by proving the range indicated is if anything pessimistic. I then put the aircon on full blast and I then know that is the expected minimum. Take 30% off and look for a Rapid charger in that area. 
Reassure yourself by the fact that 10% - 80% takes the time for a cuppa and then you have circa 200 miles. 
I did notice yesterday that the front seats go down to horizontal to lie on - probably for when you want to charge to 100% !

[John Adams]

33 minutes ago, wivenhoe said:

I calmed my range anxiety by proving the range indicated is if anything pessimistic. I then put the aircon on full blast and I then know that is the expected minimum. Take 30% off and look for a Rapid charger in that area. 
Reassure yourself by the fact that 10% - 80% takes the time for a cuppa and then you have circa 200 miles. 
I did notice yesterday that the front seats go down to horizontal to lie on - probably for when you want to charge to 100% !

Have you done many rapid charges yet? Zap map says that I only need to charge once on my journey when they indicate I should have 25% left. My problem is that if I get there and  the chargers are  full I have to go to a back up plan which will make me nervous. My view at the moment is charge when I can not when I need to  and I might stop early even though it will take longer. As I say, once I have done it -hopefully without problems- it will give me confidence for the future

[wivenhoe]

John. Only the one trial on an Osprey 250Kw. If you look at the second page on this website it lists the charge rate for each 1% of Battery state so you can see the rate you should get at say 50% and how long it will take to get a wanted %. Someone must have spent hours working this out as they have done it for most EV. I treat this as a bible as it was bang on when I did the rapid charge. See the time it takes above 80% which is why all manufacturers quote time only to 80% 

https://evkx.net/models/lexus/rz/rz_450e/chargingcurve/

[wivenhoe]

I should also have said that it’s a waste of time and money using rapid chargers above 80% as the input drops to 7kw !