Leaderboard

Rob.....take it back...get your money back...and find another. The last thing you want is one of these that has problems...could turn into a money pit for you.

So after taking ownership of our Lexus about a month ago, I quickly realised that even though I love the performance of my modified BMW 335i, I simply love the relaxed, and comfortable drive the IS300H delivers(especially EV mode). Infact Ive loved driving the IS300H so much (despite the fact it's suppose to be my wife's car), the 335i has barely done 100 miles in the last month So the un-thinkable thought crossed my mind, why carry on paying £280/year road tax, £700/year insurance, £200-300/month on random repairs and 25mpg on the 335i when Im not even using it??? Than by coincidence I spotted some chatter on pistonheads about cheap Nissan Leaf deals.Did some quick numbers, took one out for a test drive, and 1 week later Ive sold the 335i and taken delivery of a brand new Leaf!!! Its no looker, not all that fast (but surprisingly quick up to about 45-50 due to instant torque), clearly not as nice inside as the Lexus, and has limited range (not a issue for me though. BUT it delivers the same smooth/quite/refined driving experience of the IS300H and for very little money. This thing is cheap, I mean really,really cheap. The deal I got was ZERO deposit (not a single penny), on PCP with interest free credit, 14,000 miles over 24 months, including electricity charges + insurance total cost of ownership over 2 years is going to be under £250/month. This actually drops to under £200/month if I take into account the free £900 electric charge point thats been installed at my house, paid for by the government EV grant. I know people that pay half that much for Sky every months, and this thing loaded with more tech than any car ive been in before (including the IS300H). Forget reading your e-mails/txt, you can control the charge/climiate systems of this thing from your laptop/iPhone!! My wife thought I have gone mad swapping my 3L, 380bhp, twin turbo car that could do 0-60 in under 5 seconds, for a 109bhp Leaf. I'm still 100% sure my 335i was by far the best internal combustion engine powered car I've owned ever (or ever will own), the fact I kept it longer than any of my previous cars is testimony to that fact (just under 4 years)...but technology/time moves on, and I have a plan to get back into something almost as quick. In 2 years time when the Leaf lease/pcp is up, Im going to chop it in for one of these (Haven't quite got £50K spare at the moment) ;) So Thank You Lexus....for making me look at driving in a different way. Now get on with it and make a full EV to compete with Tesla, so that in 24 months time I can hand over a big wedge of cash to my local Lexus dealer :D

I agree the grill is hideous and spoils an otherwise great looking car Meh you'll get over it - everybody does lol - the initial reaction will be fun though. Everytime I brought a Lexus to a dinner party, its always about how great it looks - I doubt that'll change. I took an RR Sport for a test drive once. Happened to be the same day I went to a dinner party, my friends didnt even give it a second look. In fact - I was asked where my Lexus was to which I replied "im just test driving the RR Sport for the weekend". It all ended with "you're seriously not going to buy that are you?". Shows what non car folk think of RR and also what they think about Lexus

Years ago with Minis it was always the constant velocity joints on the driveshaft,the rubber boots used to split and all the grease come out and the water in destroying the bearings.

A slight deviation here on the topic but has anyone else noticed the "site speed limits" imposed on road widening type jobs. I have seen one section at 11 MPH and another at 9.5 MPH, now there has to be sensible limits when heavy plant is on the move but can your car actually be driven at 9.5 MPH. Someone has obviously come up with these figures but in practical terms it must be near on impossible to speedo watch at 9.5 MPH.

Sods law Mike but this is the 4th battery in 9 years the last one that just failed was purchased from Lexus Derby with a 3 year warranty, I have every other receipt for the car but this one and I suspect it is still under warranty. It may be lack of use causing the premature failures,car spends more time in the garage than on the road. Lexus Derby must have a record of them selling you the battery. Four batteries in 9 years seems excessive. Mike Yes I did send them an email and Sean the parts guy said they do have a record of the battery being moved?? but no exact purchase date. I'm going to keep looking for the receipt it has to be somewhere as I tend to keep them all.

Well to b honest to get good mpg u got to drive like.a granddad lol I'm getting 25-26 urban @ nearly. 40 mpg on motorway will b changing to is250 soon maybe in Sept as won't b doing many miles diesel r only good if u doing lots of mileage otherwise u get dpf getting blocked @ quite expensive to sort it out @ Rob get yourself is250 se-l it's got more toys

Good decision, as others have said you shouldn't have a problem returning it under SOGA.....that mpg is good for around town, but on the motorway I'm averaging 60-70mpg on my dash, so somethings not right!

I would return the vehicle under the sales of goods act. You would be mad not to give the vehicle back, no sure if you are aware about the Head Gasket issue with these vehicle they can pop anytime and since your vehicle registeration is year 2006, this does not cover under the lexus Good will warranty for repairs as its too old. Get yourself a IS250 SE-L auto.

Hi Rob mines got 87k on clock @ sounds just like normal diesel engine mines not. Noisy like ur describing mine quite. Something is not quite right with ur car did it have any service history to check mileage?????? Mines on 2006 se-l. Take it back @ have it checked hope this helps

Must be the luxury without the electric seat option. TBF that version costs under £30k so it's to be expected. We need to get you in a BMW 3 series SE lol, see what you think of that :P

Literally takes an hour to clean things up, its because the people doing it are incompetent and stand around with a finger up their backside. Doesnt help that communication sucks when these things happen. The time at the scene of an accident/collision takes time due to the need to investigate the matter, render first aid et al. With the cameras that are around today I cannot see any reason why one of their extremely expensive helicopters cant spend 10 to 15 mins flying over the crash site taking high definition pictures from various points of view which then can be used to work out what ever they need to and marry that up with the witness statements and whatever the wrecks can tell them back in the garage. There is no need in this modern day and age to have half a police force stood there doing nothing and blocking roads for hours sometimes days at a time. Mike.

Now that's a quality battery... Mine only lasted 5yrs

I believe it is standard on all vehicles. Here is the press release information on the system: DRIVING DYNAMICS The Lexus GS 450h platform has exceptional torsional stiffness and provides an excellent base for the installation of the Lexus Hybrid Drive system, with 50:50 front-to-rear weight distribution. Positioning the hybrid system’s battery directly above the rear axle aids rear-wheel grip and traction, qualities that are further enhanced by the use of a limited-slip differential. The Electric Power Steering (EPS) incorporates Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS), which alters the steering gear ratio according to vehicle speed. This demands minimal steering effort at low speeds, with improved feel and feedback as speed increases. The VGRS system is linked to the Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) and Lexus’s Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM) system, helping maintain stability and increasing driving reward up the limit of the car’s performance capabilities. The sophisticated front double wishbone and rear multilink suspension design includes an Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) system, with a choice of Sport and Comfort settings. Sport mode increases the difference between inner and outer shock absorber damping through corners to help reduce body roll. At the same time, the Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS) reduces the steering gear ratio and the Electric Power Steering increases steering assist torque to compensate for the increase in steering effort. Ride also benefits from non- linear H ∞ control of all four shocks in response to changes in road surface quality.