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Brilliant, thanks for your replies - that is what is good about this forum, 'everybody needs everybody'

Alas, Israel is not a democracy. It wasn't founded on democratic principles, and the current veneer of democracy is paper thin, if you choose to look more closely. Some info: http://www.jpost.com/Opinion/Op-Ed-Contributors/Is-Israel-a-true-democracy-352445 I'm aware it looks like I'm pro-Palestinian. I'm not, but I prefer to be even-handed and counter factual errors.

IMO the Lexus headlights are weak, literally, so prepare to be underwhelmed.

Hi All Recently I went over a traffic light crossing at night in heavy traffic, then flash,flash a camera hidden at the lights had flashed my car! Weeks later I got the NIP letter which I filled in and sent off, I was accused of doing 35mph in a 30mile zone. Later I recieved a letter offering me a speed awareness course at £80. Checking out some websites on speeding issues the number one item that you can do for yourself is to ask for a copy of the photographic evidence! This I did by e-mail as the phone number was always engaged and the option of a postal version seemed time consuming. Within one day I had an e-mail response stating at this time no action was being taken!!! Two days later I had a letter confirming this. Moral is to ask for "photo evidence" as the term Scamera is well chosen for these occasions! 2ddesign

And re what to check - brakes, tyres and service history. And all the toys. Oil changes are especially important as with all modern cars with chain driven camshafts. Leaving the oil too long causes the chains to stretch - and boy, that's expensive. Wheels can get scabby (don't use acid based wheel cleaner) but can be refurbished.

Another scenario - you're cruising along a dual carriageway at 60 in 'D' and therefore in 6. You come to a roundabout - the auto box will just stay in 6 until you accelerate out again, then will decide rather leisurely that it needs to change down a few gears. But if you're in 'S' mode, you can click down to 4 or 3 as you approach then accelerate smartly out of the roundabout and gradually click back up to 6 again. The paddle shift needs a bit of practice - it's not entirely intuitive. And you need to be careful not to over-rev - if you click down, the box will change down regardless of what the engine is doing. But once you've mastered it, it's great. I'm sure a lot of IS250 drivers never use 'S' - you never actually need to. Then you rarely get above 3000rpm. But if you do use it and the rev range - try taking it to 6500, and suddenly you're driving a 200bhp sports saloon. Not fast in comparison with a M3 perhaps, but well up there with a 325. If you're into F1, watch a cockpit shot and concentrate on the driver's fingers and the gear indicator as he goes round a corner - the IS250 in 'S' is just like that! (Well, almost....!)

works out at £2.42 per annum then ! not bad really Malc

Quite a lot of us do - maybe a majority? Paddles are what you get in an auto IS250. It gives you manual override - you put the stick in 'S' rather than normal 'D' then the top gear is restricted to 4 if you don't do anything. Now use the paddles (left for down, right for up) to set the max gear. (NB the paddles are not operative in 'D' mode, unlike some cars - eg Jaguars) So if, for example, you were a traffic light racer (none of us are, of course!) you could click it down to 1, then at max revs click up to 2 then 3 etc. Effectively gives you full manual. But if you just set to, say, 5, it works like a full auto but without changing up to 6. It's quite useful to stay in 4 if you're looking for an overtaking opportunity - at normal road speeds in full auto you'll mostly be in 6, but if you're doing 40 and put your foot down you will be well bogged down. (The auto box is not the fastest in the world to react to kickdown and change down 2 or 3 gears). In 'S' mode in 4 the car will be much more responsive - and of course you can always click down to 3 at any normal road speed. You don't need to lift off as you change up, either. 'Honest John' in the Telegraph likes IS250s, but only autos (and with 17" wheels for ride quality) - he reckons the engine characteristics are more suited to auto. I've never driven a manual IS250, but from my experience of my own car I'd agree. BTW - in 'S' mode you can use the stick (forward and back) instead of the paddles, but I don't know why you would and I never do.

This is true for all series I, II and III GSs unfortunately. The latest series IV is a huge step up. Still congrats on the new car, I'm sure you will enjoy it. :)

Nice move, looks lovely fella.

Couldn't resist

I agree with all the sentiments here. Diesel can save money on fuel and tax, but as a rule of thumb I think you should only consider a diesel car (of any make) if you do at least 20000 miles per year and at least 10000 of those are on motorways. And if you must have a diesel, buy a german or (if you want a smaller car) a french one. I don't know why Lexus even sell any IS except the auto petrol (and now, I suppose, the hybrid, but even that is not getting rave reviews). Mazda diesels do seem quite nice - but DPF problems are eventually going to kill the whole diesel engines in passenger cars story (unless there's some radical change).

I had a Honda accord before this, moving to a petrol is250 was probably the most easy decision ever, reliability - check, comfort and all the toys - check. It sure is not a race car but its a very nice place to be.

Check 90311-95007, Steve 2006 might be able to confirm it

The general consensus is the IS250 auto is the way to go. Cheaper tax than the manual too. I have one and the auto box/engine combo is sublime.

The engine is the main problem, there's been a few people complaining about the engine mainly not fitting into Lexus nature of refinement and low NVH. There seems to be problems with the actual engine itself too. I'd say that its better to stick with the IS250 because Lexus knows how to build petrols, not diesels. Better to stick to the Germans if you want a decent diesel engine.