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So, having given my RX450h F-Sport to my dealer for servicing and MOT, I was given a complimentary Lexus IS300h Premier to drive around. This was a fully loaded vehicle with blind spot monitor, the 15 speaker Mark Levinson Surround Sound system and the blind spot detection (whereby the car alerts you when reversing out of a parking space if a vehicle is approaching. First things first - the keys: I particularly like it - its soft touch plastic, akin to the material found on the upper door panels on the IS. It felt nice and solid in the hand but its small enough to be unobtrusive. If you're like me, and you like keys then its certainly a nice key fob. It seems to follow their design language too which was interesting. Now onto the looks - IMO its a lovely looking vehicle. It look classy, especially in the Premier spec with the 18" wheels on. I prefer the F-Sport as I think it is the best looking car in this segment with a cohesive design language from front to back (unlike the new Jaguar XE which looks brilliant from the front and rather dull from the back). Im especially fond of the side profile, it looks fast even when standing still and has a great coupe-esque look to it, one that simply trumps the new Mercedes C-Class (I think it looks like a Banana, no hate please) as well as the BMW 3 series which almost looks like any old car from the side. Now these are my opinions and I understand some of you may prefer the looks of either the Merc or the BMW so we can agree to disagree on that one if you prefer! :). In this exact spec though, I think the grill was slightly weird. It had horizontal slats on the top and then merged into a hexagonal type design underneath. Maybe it would have been better to just keep the horizontal slats all the way down? As for the lights - I thought they looked fine in person. Nike swoosh, arrows, call them what you wish - they look a bit different that's for sure. I particularly liked the finish on the wheels - they were rather shiny, almost chrome-like but they do look quite good! Paint finish (Arctic/Starfire pearl) was impeccable as is mostly the case with Lexus paint. No blemishes I could see bearing in mind this is a 6 month old demonstrator and no orange peel which is great if you're like me and hates wet sanding. Now onto the interior: No doubt about it - a lovely place to spend time. I'll talk about the seats first - superbly comfortable, no complaints in over 100 miles of driving and adjustability is great as they are full electric with lumbar support for the driver. They fit like a glove (im 6 ft 1) so I doubt most drivers would have a problem with it. In fact, they were so comfy, I didnt really want to get out. The driving position is great too, no awkward offset pedals or steering wheel, they were both bang on centre which I liked. The door panels were of good quality, a step above BMW and dare I say it Audi (Slightly unfair - due for a refresh). It is clear though that the Merc C-class is the benchmark in this segment but thats not to say that the Lexus IS is bad quality as its not - everything closed with a solid thud (doors are bloody heavy) and everything felt as it should, somewhat better than in a car of this price bracket. Now the leather had me fooled. It felt like the usual super soft Lexus leather. After a brief look in the brochure, it appears its actually faux leather, referred to as Nuluxe. Its similiar to Mercedes Artico but is softer and it wears better than real leather apparently. Of course, the car only had 6k miles on it so that's untested so far. Something slightly off about the interior was the grey headliner. There was no grey evident in the rest of the interior so I was slightly confused about why the headliner was grey, when the seats are black. The audio system was fine. The 15 speaker system excels in clarity but needs to be tweaked to get the best out of it. However, for an updated system with 800+W, it sounded worse than the 300W system in my RX which was slightly odd. I found that the sound quality was heavily dependent on the source and it tends to sound better if listening through the USB or through an IPOD rather than CD's. An issue I found was that the USB needs to be taken out and put back in every time you get in the car to ensure it is recognised, I dont know if this happens on all IS300h's or if a previous driver had done this (please let me know in the comments) The temperature gauges are a nice feature. They're a talking point but not really any easier than buttons or knobs. However, they were nice to touch Onto the driving experience: What can I say? Lexus has done a great job on this one. The handling was great on this particular Premier version, I can only imagine its better on an F-Sport. Turn in was crisp, it handled curves like a boss. You wouldn't be left wanting for handling, in fact, its a better handler than the 3 series (isnt it supposed to be the benchmark?) which in comparison feels a bit mushy. It certainly feels sportier than the C-class but handles about the same I reckon. Its miles ahead of the A4 but obviously, not totally fair as that's getting a refresh soon anyway. I cant comment on the Jaguar XE as I havent driven that one. Steering was slightly numb but it was very accurate and pretty surreal. It felt pretty sensitive to every input and having driven Lexus for a long time, I can say its probably their best steering setup yet (apart from the LFA of course). Brakes were strong too but dust like mad. I washed the loaner (im crazy I know) and wheels were already dirty by the time I had gone to the supermarket and back. Ok so the real talking point of this car - the hybrid powertrain. 2.5L inline four cylinder with electric motors - total system output, 223hp. 0-62mph 8.3s?!! What?! :egads: I was pretty disappointed when I read that....... :uh: ....but then I actually drove it. By no means does it feel slow or lethargic. Even in normal mode, the car goes pretty well and in-gear acceleration (aided by instant torque) was very enjoyable. Sport mode tightens the steering up a bit and improves throttle response while keeping revs slightly higher. It was a great car to drive, I thoroughly enjoyed it - certainly felt faster than the IS250 anyway and from a rolling start, it goes pretty well. Don't be fooled by the 0-62mph time, It doesnt mean much when it comes to hybrids! I had the car almost exclusively in Sport mode (just because) and pretty much milked it nearly all of the time. Result - 35.4mpg. I did however, see if I could get the 61 mpg claim. I failed, but managed 53.2mpg in normal mode with some dedication though! woohoo: So that is my review of the IS300h. If you're looking for a competent vehicle in this class I doubt you could go wrong with any of the vehicles mentioned, but if you want something different, or with a petrol engine then perhaps it could be the car for you? Its certainly worth a test drive anyway, and I liked it quite a lot that the Merc is being replaced later this year with an IS300h F-Sport :D Going to be having sleepless nights for a while I think.

At least it's in a repairable spot. I make very sure I haven't left screws and nails on the ground when I finish a job, in fact I always pick other peoples off the road when I see them. Sadly not every tradesman bothers. The worst places are car parks at Wickes and builders merchants generally. For my piece of mind I would put a repaired tyre on the rear, just in case.

Simon All the causes of frustration are there and it is always the case on a unfamiliar project,your approach up to now with research and ordering parts as been fine, follow it through with a patient and methodical job, do not rush and do the dismantle in as close to the correct sequence as it states in the tutorial. It is a fairly long and complicated job even for a techy who does them all the time, so don't rush. Oh ! and take pics at every stage so you are confident when it comes to putting it back together you are doing it right.

Get a grip man! - Is it too late to remark that the timing belt on one of these highly thought of (& highly Toyota, despite the badge), beasties can be changed in twenty minutes? & this was £25 at Morrisons last week.

Looks like the LS400's ugly long lost brother.

I would add that M+S underwear last longer then average and are good value, so maybe they could make pistons!!!!

Welcome to the LOC I bet you get parts cheaper than we can!

the back end is beyond ugly imo

That car will never look cool. Mike.