Leaderboard

It never fails to make me laugh when everyone piles in on to chastise someone about a comment on something we have all done or do regularly. Doing 70mph (or more) in rain is perfectly acceptable if the vehicle and tyres are up to it, the road conditions are acceptable and you have sufficient skill or experience to understand the actions and potential consequences. You don't see racing drivers slowing down to 50 when it rains unless they have the wrong tyres or track conditions make it the current safest or quickest method. Driving to the conditions (car and environment) is still the mantra, and these change all the time. However people get lulled into a false sense of security with modern vehicle and even the greats (Senna, Hamilton, Rossi, Lauda.......) made mistakes and got caught out. On the M6 last night north of Preston, as the traffic thinned out, I saw no issue with keeping the speed up in the rain with acceptable gaps. My tyres are good, I'm used to the car and know what she will and won't do, I put my lights on( many don't) and increased my safety margin to the car in front. I also treat the windscreen with RainX/Prestone so I can see clearly even in heavy rain. Bigger issue were the few cars who weren't so confident and instantly slowed down, some braking heavily which is even more dangerous and sticking in the middle lane!

No comment on the suitability of the IS in bad weather, but I definitely did not enjoy being on the western stretch of the M25 at around 2pm today. It was orrible, with a capital O. Why oh why can't they fit some sort of spray retainer on HGV wheels?

Here you go...take a look here for a bit of info http://www.lexusownersclub.co.uk/forum/topic/91490-car-surgeon-birmingham-review/ I'm sure ahmedali will be back shortly

I got in trouble for having this as well as one on the 5th so the 5th got cancelled :(

Right..I reorganised some dates and I'm in for the meet.

.. might just be the pads Malc

Come on guys lets keep it friendly none of us are angels, most people are hitting on the difference between a down pour/heavy rain II think we all know what Tony means so lets all get friendly again. Mike.

So the Saturday gone, I went to Gloucester for a family wedding with the family of course, so 5 people in the car once again. Whole trip was done in Sport mode. The computer was showing a range of 349 miles on a full tank. Now Gloucester is 169 miles from where I live so did 338 miles altogether on Saturday. Well, when I got home, I still had a cruising range of 60 miles showing on the computer. All in all, I ended up doing 420 miles on one tank before the low fuel light came on yesterday at which point I filled up. MPG was showing as 32 mpg on the motorway which is great tbh for a car of this size

If you honestly believe that 70 mph in heavy rain with standing water and water in the wheel ruts is not too fast and is not stupid then you are one of the many drivers who need some more training. Shame not more police on the road to stop people driving in this manner.

http://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/2wd-awd-or-4wd-how-much-traction-do-you-need/index.htm Summary: "Drivers are often fooled when driving in slippery conditions with an AWD or 4WD vehicle, not realizing how slippery conditions may be when driving, only to discover they are going way too fast when trying to stop. Because the added traction of 4WD can allow a vehicle to accelerate more quickly in slippery conditions, drivers need to be more vigilant, not less. Slippery conditions demand extra caution, no matter what you drive."

Not entirely sure what the complaint here is. My own experience is the IS300H has one of the BEST handling chassis I've driven for a while. It's certainly much better stock compared to my old E90 BMW 335i. The most 'nervous' car I've driven in the wet was my old 350Z, it loved to shake it's read end when the roads got wet. But actually it was quite safe, and never actually aquaplaned, where as the 335i did aquaplaned quite easily. If your aquaplaning in the wet your going to fast for the conditions. A X5 might feel 'safe' but if a emergency appears it cannot stop any quicker than a IS300H. Infact if any thing driving too quickly in the wet simply means you arrive at the scene of any accident quicker. But BMW/Audi drivers do have a special leisence to drive like idiots in any road condition. I believe it in the small print of the purchase contracts :)

nah, need the other seat lol

If the brakes stop rattling when applied I think I'd be rushing to check the caliper bolts!

Stuart. just noticing your avatar .... I recently checked my toolkit and woweeee, it too has the torch ( and everything else ) and it WORKS ! can't imagine it's other than a 20 year old battery in it Malc

The way this works is the high bidder who bids an enormous amount of money for the car to ensure he gets the car, sends the seller a note to says if the winner doesn't turn up I will buy the car off you, of course the winner doesn't turn up because we all know who the winner is. He keeps sending notes asking if the winner had been in contact but of course we all know he hasn't eventually the seller gives in and our well known chap turns up to pick the car up, going over the car he finds so many things wrong with the car that he offers you barely half what the auction price is for the car, he can use charm or menace but hes done it so many times hes well practiced at it and he comes away with the car for I would think about half what the final bid was. Then low and behold as if like a miracle our chap has it for sale , no mention of the dash lights not working anymore so perhaps he has repaired that problem or any other problems with the car. I bet that the list of problems with this car is a mile long. OK for spares. Mike.

Yes if they let it get flat it could of reduced its capacity. At least you have a new battery now, you shouldn't have to worry about it for at least three years.

Looks nice and tidy Sent from my iPhone using Lexus OC

I just love wafting to work in the morings in this! Just worlds apart from what I had been using...(Suzuki Wagon R+ GL 1.3....due to writing off the last "good" car)

Try Honest John for customer fuel figures.

To those of you who own RX450h: When you test-drove the car, did the Sales Specialist accompany you on a pre-planned route so that they could best demonstrate how to maximise the economy on the car? Our customers have been shown how to achieve this in several ways and are regularly seeing figures of 36-42mpg. Best practice includes: Anticipating road conditions to avoid harsh braking and heavy acceleration Leaving the gear-stick in neutral while stationary drains the NiMH battery, thereby lessening the possibility of maximising EV mode. Removing unnecessary weight (and roof-bars and boxes!) from the car. Ensuring all tyres are correctly inflated. Close windows and sunroof (if you have one!) above 30mph. Use Climate Control on re-circulation mode (this means already-cooled air is being taken in over the condenser) Use EV mode wherever possible (remember, the car can travel up to 5 miles at speeds of up to 27mph on a full battery. Turn off unnecessary accessories. Please excuse me if some of these seem a bit obvious/patronising but we have found that by observing the above, our customers learn a lot about the car's features and benefits and can realise the figures above.