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Thanks for coming round Tom. Great to see you again and to chat all things Lexus. Hoping to start the work on my car, with the help of Miles, this week and getting her sounding right! Despite a few niggles, still a lovely drive and really pleased I've found another one to enjoy.

Hello, Just wanted to say a hello from me! I picked up my brand new IS300H Executive Edition on Friday! My first Lexus. I absolutely LOVE it. Traded in a 3.0l TDI Quattro Sport Audi A5. Its a massive change, not so powerful, but far more practical! Looking forward to getting to know you guys! Adam

I paid Jonathan a visit this morning to have a look at his new LS. and very tidy to. We had a good chat about all things Lexus etc, etc. Took some photos. Both cars need a good bath. Not easy when used everyday at this time of the year.

Thanks for the comments guys, well it certainly is a fantastic car, my wife drives it more than me and simply loves it, from the moment I drove the 460 the first thing that struck me was how I could instantly tell how the car had originated from the 400 , so many similar characteristics, you can tell straight away they are related daughter and grandmother so to speak lol. The one thing the 460 hasn't got that the 400 has is that roar I get first thing in the morning when I turn the key and hear the v8 burst into life, I know it sounds mad and although I am over the moon with our 460, Its still my 400 That puts a smile on my face every time I drive it.

Have you changed the battery recently or had it disconnected for any reason. I ask because I have to go through this sequence every time I charge the battery which you might see has been quite a lot recently. Pleased you got it sorted though, the cars are a real gem in many ways, you learn something about top gear when you actually drive an SC and not believe everything you are told. Neilj

Looks like someone tried to make a Gemballa-style kit to rival the ones on mid-80s Mercedes SECs. It's ... not entirely succesful. The piece de resistance for me is the auto shift knob.

Winter is awful to dry a car in - all the water seems to mist on the surface - very difficult! Best way to dry a car - providing it has some form of protection on it be it wax or sealant, is to use an open ended hosepipe which results in most of the water just sheeting off and not forming any beads. Makes it so much easier to dry! I get away with just one microfibre towel on my RX but I do wring it out about 3 times in the winter.

That is a cracking car Adam....and a gift at 14k! Don`t take it to Cornwall as they might think that you are Doc Martin! Regards John

I did mine, took them to a tire place and got the tire off, best to clean and paint the inner rim where the tire bead seals, or you will get leaks later. I used a primer and a darker silver- gunmetal grey, as the car was maroon, then a clear coat. Not a small job, as Phil says, it's all down to the preparation. I used an old alternator clamped in a workmate so I had a revolving wheel at a good working hight. End result look excellent

I think some of the people that do these abortions have a world of there own thinking pattern .Firtly ;how is it there are only four in the world when there are thousands of LS400 and Celsiors in the four corners of the globe Secondly what makes it worth more than £2K when the inside looks like a herd of cows have camped overnight and the oustide looks like they ran over it. This guy needs to get real and will probably find another classic car to ruin and scrapped this one.

I have had some paint mixed for my silver LS400. The smallest quantity that paint factors will mix is usually half a litre and it cost me about £20. Ask them for single pack acrylic or cellulose. I had some colour matched silver paint mixed at the same time for the wheels. I have not been able to find a paint code for the wheels. Does anyone know if there is one? I had an aerosol can filled with the wheel paint and what was left from the half litre paint mix was put in a tin. I think the aerosol cost about £6 in addition to the £20 for the paint. I resprayed a couple of the wheels and did small localised repairs on the others using a small brush. They look OK at a distance and you can only see the paint touched in if you get close up. As Phil says, it does take ages to do but it makes the car look a lot better.

You can get the colour made from the paint code, I've done it twice. I did my last wheels, it took ages to do them but they came out OK. Like anything, preparation is so important. I got the paint from Halfords, grey primer, a bright Vauxhall silver, and importantly clear lacquer. Just be sure to let the primer cure before the silver, same with the lacquer, or it will pickle.

Looks mint for its age. I had mine for seven and half years 150K miles and only things went wrong were the brake light bulb last year and the battery, very reliable. Just look after it well and it will look after you. No wonder why few members here have owned more than one IS like me.

Well I think there are a few of us who have had a good play with the cars and I would like to get some of the myths out of the way and make some first opinion observations. Engine/gear whine... This is a myth... This is by far the quietest car I have owned (I have had a few s-class mercs and 7 series bm's too). If you open the windows and apply the brakes going down hill you can hear the slight whine of the electric motor charging the battery but this is not intrusive and can't really be heard at all with the windows closed. Verdict: Don't think even the LS could be any quieter! Performance... This car is plenty quick. It is fast off the mark than most diesels and overtaking from 30mph it is really quick. Apart from top speed and in everyday normal driving this feels just as fast as my last 3.0d Jag XF. Verdict: There are no real world performance compromises with this car! Economy... Ok these are new cars and the hybrids take a few 000's miles to operate efficiently (my Prius took 3K) but driving this normally and not caring about economy I think you would be easily getting mid 40mpg and if I drove this in the hybrid Eco way I am sure I could get 55+mpg quite easily. Verdict: This is as good or better than the leading eco diesels (especially if you are talking city driving) and when you factor in better brake wear, the lower cost of petrol and cheaper road tax this wins by some margin! Build quality... It is a Lexus... say no more! The build and fit and finish are really good and mechanically everything feels well put together. There have been several comments about switchgear felling a little plasickly and the bootlid having no weight. I think generally a lot of plastics are changing in all cars to be more eco friendly and they do have a different feel. I tested a Merc CLA and this had cheaper feeling plastic than the Lexus. Overall I don't think it feels cheap just different. The bootlid is really light but that is because it is made of alloy so it is not a cheap item at all. It is sprung well and does not fly open and can be shut easily from being a couple of inches open without any real drama. I have had cars with CF boot and engine covers and they felt light too. But this is all in aid of keeping the CG low and the handling great. I agree is is not built like my 1982 LS400 but I wouldn't want it built like that today either! Verdict: It is still a true Lexus in build. Chassis/Handling... Well I have an F Sport but drove a Premier too. The F Sport is firm and I would say if you were comparing it to something like the BMW 3 series then I reckon it is around 95% as capable. My wife has a 3 series Msport and the ride quality is much worse than the F Sport but I think part of the BM's problem is run flat tyres so if they had the same tyres I would say the IS has about 95% of the handling and the same general road manners... However where the Lexus F Sport really does excel is over speed humps... How Lexus has managed to get such a fine handling car to go over speed bumps so well is a mystery! Potholes still thump but no worse than the Jag or BM. Verdict: Find a nice road and enjoy! Interior... Seats are great and most will find them very comfortable. I tried both the sport and non sport seats and there was not much difference in comfort I think either are good for long distance driving. Good head room in the front and good in the back too for a compact saloon. Cup holders at the front are a set a little too far back for my liking and the glove compartment is a little small. centre console has a nice cable routing clip so you can have a charging lead plugged in with the phone in a cup holder whilst the lid is closed. Not keen on the touch temperature controls but that is just me! Verdict: A nice place to be! Navigation/Mouse... The LCD screens picture quality is really good. Graphics are no better or worse than most others and the mouse take a little getting used to but does have good feedback so if you have two options you feel two physical clicks as you move it or 5 options you get five clicks. Most things work well... It has a full postcode search and imports contacts and works well with iPhones. There are a lot of settings to the media and connected services and options and not all are obvious... however once set most things won't need changing. Verdict: It's a complex gadget... read the manual. Sound System... I have the standard sound system that came with the navigation system. I must say it sound very good. I don't know what the Mark Levinson sounds like but the standard one is much better than the premium sound system my wife has in the BM and I would say it is on par with the Bower & Wilkins I had in the Jag. Verdict: The standard system is more than goo enough for most people! Looks and design... It looks sharp and is a nice departure from the Euro mould execs. Sure it will polarise opinions but this is a good thing for car design. I would have preferred the hybrid having an exaust diffuser more like the GS but this is a minor point. Verdict: Not everyone will like it but lot's will absolutely love it! These are just my observations and it will be interesting to see comments from other owners.

I've moved from a BMW 730 to a GS 450h. Being dissillusioned with the current 5-series, and not wanting to continue driving a barge, it was going to be a high-spec 3-series, or a GS 450h. I suppose it's inevitable I will tend to make comparisons to the BMW, so please don't be offended by that. This car isn't going to save the planet, and I don't think fuel economy would be the main reason for buying one. My 730 returned between 23-26 mpg, and so far the GS isn't that much better. To be fair, I am driving the GS slightly more enthusiatically than I did the 730, but even with a lighter foot, I'd consider I was doing well to acheive 30mpg. What I do know is the GS is making every effort to make the best of the fuel available, and it would probably be worse if it wasn't doing that. I can now accelerate without feeling I'm sucking the tank dry every time I do. The GS has a harder ride than many cars in its class. I wish it didn't have low profile tyres because they don't help. But it is solid on the road, and despite its weight, drives like a smaller car. Acceleration is breathtaking. But more than that, it's the way it is delivered that impresses. There are no obvious gear changes. You put your foot down, and there is a humming noise, seemingly unrelated to the car speed, and the car accelerates forward gracefully without any fuss. There is no aggressive engine noise, and it all seems so effortless. Pulling out of a sideroad to join a fast-moving stream of cars is so easy. You can join in gaps you simply wouldn't consider in a lesser car. Problems so far revolve around the parking brake. If there's one thing Lexus could do to make this car almost perfect, it would be to use a normal handbrake, or better still an auto-hold parking brake. When arriving at a T-junction to join a main road, the car will stop, and the engine stops with it. But if you're on a hill, and heading upward, the car will then roll back. I suppose I'm used to driving BMWs that simply won't let that happen. You can't go backwards in a BMW if you're in Drive. In the GS, you need to keep your foot on the brake, and then change to accelerator when you set off. This isn't the most elegant way to control a car on a hill. The GS corners very well. I'm sure IS owners are going to say they prefer the smaller, lighter car. But the GS is what it is, a mid-ranged saloon car. It doesn't have the "throw it anywhere, it'll be OK" feel of the BMWs, but it is a safe ride, with a good feel to the steering. If you feel you need to brake heavily into corners, the 450h gives you back that energy as you come out of the corner, and it's quickly back up to speed. It's almost fun to drive. Little niggles. The voice recogniition is not one of the best. The BMW would politely ask you if it couldn't understand. The GS seems to go with the nearest fit and gets it wrong most of the time. If it's not sure, it should ask, not guess. The satnav map always seems too close in, and it's not easy to change the scale. I'm sure there is a way, but I can't find it. I don't want anyone to think I'm criticising this car. I'm not. It's a great car and very different to anything else on the road. I will miss my BMWs, but I am happy to join the Lexus clan, and look forward to getting to know you all.