Which Lexus now ?

[First_Lexus]

On 7/7/2024 at 8:20 PM, nickb2015 said:

Hello all, is it me or does there seem to be a lack of cars in Lexus range. For those who don't want an SUVz there is little choice. Having had an IS300h for 5 years, I then had a Tesla, a Prius and now a Toyota CHR. The IS is sorely missing from the UK lineup. I don't want the ES as it's huge...4.9 long is a pain to park in everyday use. The UX is too small..the CT has gone. So come on Lexus being back the IS to the UK. I have to change my car in 3 months and don't want to return to the Germans.

Could the new Prius be an option?

https://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/prius-plugin

[wharfhouse]

2 hours ago, S.H. said:

If I remember there were three things they wanted to change.....  the extra length went to the rear legroom, gen 4 hybrid and a front wheel drive for a more simple product.. I live in Iceland but driving in the capital or park my IS safely.. is at times challenging so a larger car for me is just a big no. 

Totally agree - the IS hit the sweet in size for me at the time between the CT and the GS. I had a BMW 3 series before the IS - again because it was the right size for my needs. There is a huge hole in the Lexus lineup now which means I'm keeping my current 2014 IS (which I bought at two years old and which I've had for nearly 8 years now and it's on 151k miles) for the foreseeable future. 

[wharfhouse]

2 hours ago, First_Lexus said:

Could the new Prius be an option?

https://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/prius-plugin

Another car that is priced too high IMHO

[nickb2015]

Interesting responses from everyone. So I guess others can also see the huge gap in the UK lineup since the CT and IS were dropped. Since my original post I've seen a few ES's out there. Really not made for UK roads in my view. Looks like a limo and not agile at all. So I think I will be returning to an IS300h late model as my car for 12 to 18 months. Gen 3 Hybrid I know but that's unavoidable. I also had a look at the new Corolla with the 2 litre engine. Now that has some great specs. The new Prius isn't an option for me at this stage as I won't be leasing. Maybe in 2 or 3 years. Interesting times. Hope Lexus realizes they have a gap in the market which will be filled by someone else unless they plug it.

[wharfhouse]

3 minutes ago, nickb2015 said:

Interesting responses from everyone. So I guess others can also see the huge gap in the UK lineup since the CT and IS were dropped. Since my original post I've seen a few ES's out there. Really not made for UK roads in my view. Looks like a limo and not agile at all. So I think I will be returning to an IS300h late model as my car for 12 to 18 months. Gen 3 Hybrid I know but that's unavoidable. I also had a look at the new Corolla with the 2 litre engine. Now that has some great specs. The new Prius isn't an option for me at this stage as I won't be leasing. Maybe in 2 or 3 years. Interesting times. Hope Lexus realizes they have a gap in the market which will be filled by someone else unless they plug it.

Although the Gen 3 hybrid in the IS doesn't stay in EV to as high a speed as the more recent hybrids, having driven a few of the newer hybrid models TBH I didn't feel there was a significant difference other then the slightly higher speed EV, but that is mainly on trailing throttle. The Gen 3 hybrid in the IS still returns an easy 48 mpg average over mixed motorway, A road and urban driving for me despite my car having now covered 151k miles - in fact the average mpg has not changed in the 8 years and 110k miles I've been driving mine! 

[Notamech]

7 minutes ago, nickb2015 said:

Interesting responses from everyone. So I guess others can also see the huge gap in the UK lineup since the CT and IS were dropped. Since my original post I've seen a few ES's out there. Really not made for UK roads in my view. Looks like a limo and not agile at all. So I think I will be returning to an IS300h late model as my car for 12 to 18 months. Gen 3 Hybrid I know but that's unavoidable. I also had a look at the new Corolla with the 2 litre engine. Now that has some great specs. The new Prius isn't an option for me at this stage as I won't be leasing. Maybe in 2 or 3 years. Interesting times. Hope Lexus realizes they have a gap in the market which will be filled by someone else unless they plug it.

To be fair i think lexus's sporty sedans fair well with us used car buyers. Not so much in the new car market. As someone willing to drop 40-50k on a sporty car would probably just buy a BMW as they do sporty really well. Sure German cars are not as reliable but generally they do run touble free for the first few years at least.

I think financial viablity is what drove lexus to pull the IS. No manufacturer would pull a model if it were selling well.

[S.H.]

1 hour ago, nickb2015 said:

Interesting responses from everyone. So I guess others can also see the huge gap in the UK lineup since the CT and IS were dropped. Since my original post I've seen a few ES's out there. Really not made for UK roads in my view. Looks like a limo and not agile at all. So I think I will be returning to an IS300h late model as my car for 12 to 18 months. Gen 3 Hybrid I know but that's unavoidable. I also had a look at the new Corolla with the 2 litre engine. Now that has some great specs. The new Prius isn't an option for me at this stage as I won't be leasing. Maybe in 2 or 3 years. Interesting times. Hope Lexus realizes they have a gap in the market which will be filled by someone else unless they plug it.

Yes, I tested the corolla 2ltr hybrid if I remember top spec but what an outstanding city feeling and size. Regarding the hybrid system I felt it was 2 shelves above mine IS300H I am not sure if there was Lithium in it...  from my point it is one stunning design for its intended purpose.

[S.H.]

1 hour ago, Notamech said:

To be fair i think lexus's sporty sedans fair well with us used car buyers. Not so much in the new car market. As someone willing to drop 40-50k on a sporty car would probably just buy a BMW as they do sporty really well. Sure German cars are not as reliable but generally they do run touble free for the first few years at least.

I think financial viablity is what drove lexus to pull the IS. No manufacturer would pull a model if it were selling well.

if I remember it correct at that time they were designing a new multiplatform design systems that could attack the Plugins and Ev ( TNGA). Sales in EU 2017 45k (highest ever), 2018 46k.. 2019 55k.. 2020 47k, 2021 46k, 2022 38k..  But then comes that the Sedan market has been in steady decline... sniff

[nickb2015]

UK sales were very poor over 2020 to 21 period. Not everyone wants an SUV but the trend is in that direction. The car manufacturera created this cross over market mainly to meet demands of family cars. Still prefer a saloon anyday of the week. 

[wharfhouse]

9 minutes ago, nickb2015 said:

UK sales were very poor over 2020 to 21 period. Not everyone wants an SUV but the trend is in that direction. The car manufacturera created this cross over market mainly to meet demands of family cars. Still prefer a saloon anyday of the week. 

2020 - 2021 people were expecting that the facelift IS would be introduced very soon and so wouldn't be buying the run out model. That was my rationale - I was waiting to see the facelift model. But it never came to the UK. It may have been demand would have increased sales again at that point - but we will never know. 

[nickb2015]

All enthusiasts cars are being killed off in the UK. The LC500 for example. If you believe in the climate change agenda, cars are responsible for all things wrong with the world. Hybrid is a good compromise. EV's are ok but the UK charge network is way behind other countries such as Norway. I do hope the IS300h comes back to the UK. And the IS500 ...who knows.

[Mr_Groundhog]

A bit off-topic but I will comment in here because some of you mentioned the new Prius (which Toyota is NOT bringing to the UK mind you):
Yesterday i was talking for quite a long time with a Taxi driver and he told me he always had BMWs and Mercs, until he became tired of going to the garage to have things fixed every so often. He then changed to a Prius (previous generation, this was a while ago) and he drove that Prius for 650,000 km (about 403,000 miles) without a single issue.
He's now driving the new RAV4, where i had the conversation with him. 
Not the 1st time I hear a similar Lexus-story from a taxi driver by the way!

[wharfhouse]

4 minutes ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

A bit off-topic but I will comment in here because some of you mentioned the new Prius (which Toyota is NOT bringing to the UK mind you):
Yesterday i was talking for quite a long time with a Taxi driver and he told me he always had BMWs and Mercs, until he became tired of going to the garage to have things fixed every so often. He then changed to a Prius (previous generation, this was a while ago) and he drove that Prius for 650,000 km (about 403,000 miles) without a single issue.
He's now driving the new RAV4, where i had the conversation with him. 
Not the 1st time I hear a similar Lexus-story from a taxi driver by the way!

The Prius plug in is available in the UK

[ColinBarber]

5 minutes ago, Mr_Groundhog said:

which Toyota is NOT bringing to the UK mind you

They changed their mind, but only the plug in variant. 
 

https://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/prius-plugin

 

[Notamech]

1 hour ago, ColinBarber said:

They changed their mind, but only the plug in variant. 
 

https://www.toyota.co.uk/new-cars/prius-plugin

 

Wow looks interesting. The 2.0 litre version appears to put out as much power as our IS. I reckon the prius is a lot lighter so should feel quite fast.

[ColinBarber]

4 hours ago, Notamech said:

I reckon the prius is a lot lighter so should feel quite fast.

It is lighter (around 100 kg), not as much as you think is this is a PHEV with a larger Battery, plus the ever growing size of each generation of vehicle.

[Randomizer]

9 hours ago, Notamech said:

Wow looks interesting. The 2.0 litre version appears to put out as much power as our IS. I reckon the prius is a lot lighter so should feel quite fast.

I had high hopes when going to test drive the new Prius but it was a dissapointment. It looks amazing from outside but inside it falls apart, Its just too expensive for the quality. Rattling plastics everywhere and very loud in motorway speeds. Interior was very cheaply built didn't like it at all, and all those annoying beeps! The performance of the plugin hybrid was good, better than an IS but it felt otherwise much more cheap than an IS. IS drives much more smooth and more luxurious than the Prius and is more practical from space point of view, bigger boot and larger room in the back.