450H - Would It Suit Me And What About That Boot Space?

Lexus4Me? · May 7, 2014

Hi, I'm a newbee and this is my first posting. Good to be here.

I'm looking for a used car. I'm retired do about 6,000 miles a year so fuel consumption isn't quite such a big deal, want to spend less than £20,000 aim to keep the vehicle for maybe 10 years and would like something post 2010 with mileage less than about 30,000. I'm looking for something a bit upmarket and something which is quite quick. I've considered BMW Series 3 with a 3 or 3.5l engine but they are a bit small, perhaps an BMW 530i, Audi A5 would do or an A6 (quite fancy a coupe) but the BMWs and Audis are a bit pricey for what you get. I was very impressed by the GS450h spec, had a sit in one and thought the finish and the goodies impressive but oh that tiny boot and I'm a bit wary about batteries and so much complexity in the long term. Oh and I'd like to tow a light rowing dinghy.

Could anyone tell me when the larger boot was introduced into the GS450h, please? I seem to think there were two increases in size but I don't know when on UK models.

The most recent cars appear to have a reasonable boot size. Does anyone know of any way to modify the Battery placement in the older models to the new spec?

Although the cars are complex and batteries must eventually fail but my internet research doesn't indicate that there are many more problems than on a simpler car from another manufacturer. Any advice or comments please.

Any suggestions for an alternative purchase?

I hope I've done this correctly.

Thanks.

TeesLS460 · May 8, 2014

I doubt there is any way to move the hybrid Battery placement safely that isn't cheaper than just buying the newer GS 450h.

If you're concerned about boot space, haven't yet been for a test drive, and are not too worried about fuel consumption, then take a look at the LS460 instead. Comfort and ride quality is in a different league, and the boot, while still small, is more usable day to day.

royoftherovers · May 8, 2014

I think that the larger boot is on the current model.

Boot size cannot be altered on the previous models.

Mine is satisfactory and can accommodate 2 full sized golf bags inc. clubs.

CAR AND DRIVE IS EXCELLENT.BATTERIES ARE NOT A PROBLEM and Lexus Liverpool have GC450H FOR £18K AT THE MOMENT.

ENJOY.

Regards

John

wendle · May 8, 2014

The boot space doubled on the M4 witch came out in May 2012

There are a couple of threads on this forum about the
batteries, the consensus is , forget then and enjoy the car.

Lexus4Me? · May 8, 2014

Thanks you all, helpful responses,

TessL460 I think that the LS460 might be just a bit too much in terms of fuel consumption and possibly size, although I've not checked the latter. What impressed me about the GS450h was the competitively good fuel figures (although I view the official ones a might doubtfully) and the impressive performance. I like the idea of using the batteries for economy and performance - surely it must be the way to go.

Yes John and royoftherovers, I'd looked at comments on batteries and you may be right but I'm looking to keep it a long time and not buying new so need to be a mite careful about things. It won't take long for the car to depreciate below the cost of a new set of batteries. But on balance I agree with you and I'm inclined to go hybrid and keep my fingers crossed. Ah May 2012 - two years ago. Hmm can I wait until prices for the M4 model drops to my budget? At my age probably not since the vehicle after is likely to be big and black and I'll be travelling alone, supine in the back . Yes two full golf bags is a significant load but I tend to travel heavy and wonder how I would cope with the supermarket boxes/cases for a holiday.

Thanks again, you are all helping me find my way to a decision.

Barry

royoftherovers · May 8, 2014

Thanks B? (Lexus4me)

I intend to make my 450h my last car too.

Fuel consumption for my MK3 registered in July 2010, gives me between 450 and 500 miles per complete tank. i.e between 33 and 35 mpg. And that includes journeys such as Wirral to Edinburgh and return and Wirral to Bad Fallingbostal in Germany and return.

That is nowhere near official Lexus mileage, but is better than my original and first car which was a 1948 side valve, 848cc Morris Minor which gave 33mpg !

For a modern 3.5 litre V6 with automatic transmission and jet like acceleration in silence to provide such fuel consumption is I think quite remarkable.

Good hunting and do let us all know how you get on.

Test drive one and load it up with all of your paraphernalia and see how it goes !

Regards

John

Exdee · May 8, 2014

The boot is useless. You can't fit a normal 25-30KG travelling suit case in there.

The rest is beautiful.

Lexus4Me? · May 9, 2014

Hmm Exdee that was my impression too - flawed but beautiful.

Good idea John, have a test drive and try to fit in my gear, but I'm pretty certain that I'll only get a fraction of what I sometimes carry in the boot but I might be won over by the rest of it and be prepared to use the rear seats as stowage - I'm unlikely to be travelling with four up plus luggage but I'd miss a folding back seat. As for the rest of your comments they match my view almost exactly. Lower mpg than stated even on long journeys but for most of my motoring career I've lived with around 25mpg (1952 1 and a half litre Riley, '66 GT Cortina, Hilman Holbay Hunter, 2.0 l Alfetta, various big Renaults (20's and 25), Honda Prelude and only fairly recently a relatively (but not extremely so) frugal 1.6 Octavia with a huge boot)) and to get a 3.5l mill with all that poke - the mpg seems quite acceptable.

Thanks for all replies,

Barry

Lexus4Me? · August 20, 2015

I hope I'm permitted to continue with this thread that I started fifteen months ago. If not please advise me.

I've got a year older so have a years less driving years to look forward to before I travel horizontal in a the back of big black vehicle so I'm thinking to pour a bit more cash into buying a car. Mk 4 GS450h, with the bigger boot, have got cheaper so I may just be able to afford one now.

I've been for a test drive and it was very nice although I can't say I was blown away. I've noticed on this forum the dreadful way Tony Richa was treated and I'm not without considerable concern that these complicated cars could turn out to be nightmares unless one can find someone who really understands them. I've also realised that with the sort of money I'll be paying I'll be losing over £100 per week in depreciation (scary) so fuel economy is really neither here nor there.

I fancy buying an F sport unless anyone can give me a good reason not to. I expect that those who could afford new vehicles in 2012 may soon be changing them as the warranty period expires so I'm waiting for the September plate change to see what I can get.

Looks like it will cost me a bit over £25,000. So any buying advise please? Things to look for, how much I might manage to negotiate the price down, where to get a towbar that doesn't cost more than my present car is worth etc. I'd be pleased to consider any gems you have to offer. I live in Norwich, Norfolk, UK.

In anticipation, my thanks

rayaans · August 20, 2015

I hope I'm permitted to continue with this thread that I started fifteen months ago. If not please advise me.

I've got a year older so have a years less driving years to look forward to before I travel horizontal in a the back of big black vehicle so I'm thinking to pour a bit more cash into buying a car. Mk 4 GS450h, with the bigger boot, have got cheaper so I may just be able to afford one now.

I've been for a test drive and it was very nice although I can't say I was blown away. I've noticed on this forum the dreadful way Tony Richa was treated and I'm not without considerable concern that these complicated cars could turn out to be nightmares unless one can find someone who really understands them. I've also realised that with the sort of money I'll be paying I'll be losing over £100 per week in depreciation (scary) so fuel economy is really neither here nor there.

I fancy buying an F sport unless anyone can give me a good reason not to. I expect that those who could afford new vehicles in 2012 may soon be changing them as the warranty period expires so I'm waiting for the September plate change to see what I can get.

Looks like it will cost me a bit over £25,000. So any buying advise please? Things to look for, how much I might manage to negotiate the price down, where to get a towbar that doesn't cost more than my present car is worth etc. I'd be pleased to consider any gems you have to offer. I live in Norwich, Norfolk, UK.

In anticipation, my thanks

Definitely go for the F-Sport - looks much better and handles a dream with the 4 wheel steering.

With Lexus people dont really tend to change cars every 3 years, its just random as they rarely have any issues whatsoever.

With Lexus dealers in the UK, they seem to reduce the price between £200-1000 on used vehicles. Its highly unlikely you'll get more than that unless the car has been lying around for ages and they just want to get rid.

The one in Sidcup has been there for a while now - should be able to get it for £25k.

You mention a tow bar - make sure you check the towing capacity. As far as I am aware, hybrids can't tow very much.

Just to throw in a curveball - have you considered the GS300h? Lexus Leicester have a very rare 14 plate GS300h in Crimson red with Red leather interior and 12" screen. Dont be fooled by the 0-62 times, they feel quicker than the figures suggest and you'd rarely need more power than it provides anyway. Of course, it would depreciate less, be newer and cost less in fuel too.

Of course, the car is still under warranty until 2017 also!

Lexus4Me? · August 22, 2015

Thank you for your advice Rayann. It was the Sidcup car in which I went for a test drive. Pleasant but I'd struggle to live with the red leather.

I think that the towing weight is 750kg/1000kg for two wheel/four wheel trailers and all I want to tow is a small rowing dinghy for picnics on the Broads. I think hybrids are OK for towing but the GS450h won't do well if one wants to reverse a caravan up a hill. I understand that has no reverse gear but just switches the electric motor into reverse and won't engage the engine. The downside is the cost of the tow-bar - from reading these forums I believe them to cost between £800 to £1200! So it could be worth hanging on to my old Y reg Octavia just for towing it won't fetch me anything if I sold it.

Thanks for the advice on discounts. It gives me some idea of what I can expect.

Yes, I'm sure the 300 is a great car but this is my once in a lifetime indulgence and I fancy some GRUNT!

I'm a mite undecided about extended warranties. They are very reliable cars but contain some very expensive bits.

Thanks again.

ganzoom · August 31, 2015

If this is truly going to be your last car and your going to keep the Octavia for towing/luggage carrying duites why not try something really different...

£20-25k will now buy you a used BMW i3 range extender. It's a small car, but 0-40 is quicker than a M3 (according to BMW even quicker than a M5!!), and 0-60 isn't bad at just under 8 seconds. So unless your going to the autobahn for Vmax records it'all be just as quick as any 3L BMW/Audi in the real world. But difference is fuel costs are next to nothing compared to any 3L BMW, and with no complex turbo chargers maintainece costs are very little. You also get a whole load of gadgets/tech, things like pre-heating/cooling the car from your phone :)...Though to fit two sets of golf clubs you're have to drop the rear seats.

My parent in-laws are retiring soon, and they want something a bit cheaper to run to complement their E-Class and the mini they have at the moment has serious oil drinking problem. I've booked them a test drive in an i3 in a few weekends. I'm going along with them because they feel abit nervous about the whole electric car buissness, I'm actually quite excited to see how it compares to our current Lexus IS300H and Nissan Leaf :)

noby76 · September 1, 2015

for 20-25K you can get an early LS460 if that's too large, just get a late GS430 if you want a Lexus or Infiniti M37. they both large cars with acres of space in front at the back and in the boot. can hit 60 around the 5.5 to 6.0 secs . they are both not Hybrid models so you wont need to worry about Battery issues once they start ageing.

i3 might be quicker for the first 2-3 secs in this video but how many times does one do 0-40 accelerations only to be passed once you hit 50 and above its no fun is it.. and even in bumper to bumper traffic like London once you start accelerating the i3 like in this video your charge will drop dramatically..

ColinBarber · September 1, 2015

Could anyone tell me when the larger boot was introduced into the GS450h, please? I seem to think there were two increases in size but I don't know when on UK models.

In the US the boot size change came at the end of 2008. Cannot confirm or deny that change also occurred for the UK vehicles - no reason why not but there doesn't seem to be a press release about it.

The series 4 (current model) in 2012 has a much bigger boot, and the car is better in every other way too. I'd try and stretch your budget to that, or wait until the prices drop a little bit. The series 3 is not the most reliable Lexus, still more reliable than most but was built during the time when Toyota's cost cutting was in full force and it was really only a minor update on the series 2, so it is a bit dated with a poor chassis.

royoftherovers · September 1, 2015

Most reliable cars

22 Apr, 2015 12:40pmSam Naylor

The top 10 most reliable cars to own, as rated by over 61,000 drivers in the UK

There are no two ways about it, reliability is the number one most important thing for motorists when it comes to choosing a car. But despite all the hearsay surrounding manufacturers' reliability records you never really know what you're in for when you buy a new car. That's where our Driver Power survey comes in.

Over 61,000 British motorists told us about their cars, making Driver Power the largest survey of its type in the UK, and from that data we can bring you a definitive list of the country's most reliable cars.

This year the top-rated car for reliability was the Toyota iQ - a clever city car with a surprising amount of space inside. It's been around for six years now and its owners are clearly more than satisfied with its dependability over that time.

• Driver Power 2015 results in full

Toyota's sister brand Lexus takes the next two places in the list, with the NX and IS models placing second and third for reliability in the 2015 Driver Power results. In fact, the chart is dominated by Japanese and Korean brands, with the SEAT Leon being the only car in the reliability top ten from a European manufacturer.

At the bottom of the top 200 cars this year are the Range Rover and Land Rover Discovery 3 - and that'll be no surprise if you remember previous survey results, as those cars have ranked poorly in the past as well. Scroll down to the bottom of this page for the bottom 10 in our most reliable list...

royoftherovers · September 1, 2015

The GS MARK3 WAS THE 6TH MOST RELIABLE CAR IN THE SURVEY!

Regards

jOHN

rayaans · September 2, 2015

Doesn't prove anything though. 61000 is a very small sample. Also the Lexus NX was barely out for a few months when the results came out so no doubt it's very unreliable.

You have to take into account that reliability is subjective. A BMW owner may say every rattle and knock is a reliability issue whereas a Toyota driver could say only mechanical issues are to do with reliability. Hardly fair.