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Not strictly true, the 300h has a pretty good CVT gearbox as they go. It actually feels better to drive than the 2nd Gen 250 simply because of the handling. And lets not forget the 300h smokes the 250 in real life i.e. mid-range 30-70mph 50-100mph etc etc. anything with a rolling start in other words Ive got to say, the CVT vs Auto box thing is blown way out of proportion, there's not that much difference in real life to be honest. I enjoy driving my RX450h more than my 2nd Gen RX300 with its 5 speed auto box. Its the instant torque, smooth power and in reality, it barely gets near the redline because its too quick to actually go on full throttle because the mid-range urge is very good in hybrids.

Hi all, New Berkshire based owner here.. I picked up a 2008 low mileage (49k) 400h a few weeks ago, and am slowing adjusting to it and its reactions from people! Looking forward to getting some good ideas and info from you all.. as well as contributing as best I can :) I have already:- Swapped out the 90s style wiper blades for retrofit aero style blades. Changed all the interior/number plate/sidelight yellow bulbs for white LEDs. Replaced the paper air filter with a K&N drop in. Fitted the Lexus plastic rear bumper protector. Given it a good machine polish and buff (albeit there's still more to be done, as its spent 8 years street parked in London!!) Next to be done is the front brakes (MTEC disks/Brembo pads).. and a wheel refurb/colour change (do 19" RX 450h alloys fit the 400h?!?) Anyhoo. enough about me.. and howdy! goose

Hi guys, Bought myself an '02 Lexus IS200 a few weeks a go and though i'd start up a build thread of my progress with it. I'd planned to set up a thread for my old Mazda 3 but never got round to it, so here goes. Here's the car the day I picked it up. I couldn't believe the condition of the thing when I first saw it in person, 1 owner from new and only 44,000 miles on the clock.. not bad for a 14 year old car! Ive read a lot about the reliability of these cars, infact it seems that the only negatives this car carries is its poor fuel economy (ironic considering the first photo I take of the car is during a fill up) and the tendency for the stock stereo to break and swallow CDs (again, ironic as during the journey home, this happened to me..) Ah well, nothing a touchscreen head unit swap won't solve later down the line. The car is completely bone stock currently, I made sure to wait until an example came up that was completely unmolested and in the best condition possible. I think the only thing different on mine is the chrome mesh grill underneath the number plate, which I can only assume was a replacement for the normal black one. Anyways, on to the fun stuff! I actually bought these wheels a good few months before buying the IS, they're 5x114.3 18x8.5 ET35 Schmidt Space Lines. I'd have a look around for some Jap style wheels for a while, but after seeing a lot of IS builds with euro wheel setups I was tempted to do the same. Having them sat in my garage for ages not doing anything was bothering me, so a week or so before collecting the Lexus I decided to give them a proper clean. I used auto gym wheel cleaner for the whole wheel (apart from the chrome lip) and they came out looking quite good. The only downside with the wheels is admittedly they could do with a refurb, but I probably won't be prioritising that anytime soon. So now with the car home, it was time for a makeshift test fit. Pretty happy with how they suit the car. Thats about where I'm up to at the minute, plenty planned for March/April including buying some tyres (still unsure whether to go for 205/40s or 215/40s), some BC Racing coilovers and a rear arch roll. Ive also bought a TRD rear valance which will have to get sprayed and fitted at some point, but I want the wheels and coilovers on before I think about that. In terms of future plans after March/April i'll mainly be focusing on aesthetics, however we'll see where it goes.. I'll make sure to post again in the next month or so when more develops with the Lex anyway, thanks for reading :)

I was planning to see the grey/green one in Swindon on Thursday, but I spotted this one on Gumtree and only 35 miles away. Mint condition, 117K complete Lexus history to date, and owned by the present guy for the last 10 years, he's just bought an LS460. Even the steering motors both work! It could be 3 years old, I've rarely seen a car of this age looking so immaculate. Picking it up next week. I may well be having coilovers fitted, well, at the first sign of trouble anyway! I'll put some better photos on when I get it back.

If you're looking for the ring, don't go to Nuremberg, you'll have overshot by about 100 miles.

Its very discreet. I have the same camera in my car and you can't see it from the driver's seat. It's also harder to spot from the outside on a saloon as that dark polkadot film stuff is extended lower down the screen than on a convertible.

Now that's almost as bad as asking a woman her age! I paid £2,400 Hard to believe that he always kept it in that garage, but he did. It doesn't look big enough but he opened it up to reveal his LS460 inside.

Does make you laugh and wonder sometimes,everyone to their own,definitely not for me

OK so the definition of a good car is how fast it goes around a track? In that case the Nissan GTR is theoretically an awesome car. Have you actually driven a GTR? It feels like driving inside a box with wooden flintstone wheels. Going by your definition, the IS300h is automatically better then as its probably faster than the 250 on a track anyway (like I said before, it has huge mid range acceleration and a 50:50 weight distribution). You keep mentioning you like being involved in the driving experience yet you've contradicted yourself simply by the Lexus that you own. In what way is the 2nd Gen IS250 "involving"? Its not at all. All 3rd gen models are more "involving" than the 2nd gen. Again, you're thinking of an IS-F yet the driving experience doesn't really beat the E90 M3 with a manual box so I can't really see what your point is?

Welcome to the club. What Mike has not pointed out is that you are expected to post pics of your newly bought RX.

Shaw RX, to be able to stream music via Bluetooth from your phone, you will need to get a Bluetooth receiver installed, i.e. connected to your car's audio system. I think this is what I would be looking at if I didn't already have it: GROM Audio BT3 (http://www.amazon.co.uk/Audio-Integrated-Bluetooth-older-TOYOTA/dp/B00GU1QUW0) Connecting the Layen device to the official Lexus iPod integration kit (that you've already got in the glove box) will not work, since the Lexus iPod kit is disguising itself as a CD changer and Layen device does not support that type of connection. On my car the setup is a bit different because I already had the Dension ice>Link Lite, which provides iPod/AUX-in integration - so all I needed to make it work was to buy a 30-pin iPod connection-compatible Bluetooth receiver and connect it to the Dension iPod 30-pin port. Hope that helps :)

Looks amazing buddy, always loved these cars in white! The tint looks great too, really good job :)

It will do when I tell the wife

TG also thinks the RC-F is crap so you better avoid it if you wan't a V8. They also said the IS-F was rubbish so that pretty much explains it all really. Top speed? Interesting comment. Does it make a difference if top speed is 124mph vs 155mph? Maybe if you're overcompensating for something but in reality it makes no difference. Frankly if all the cars in the UK were limited to 100mph it wouldn't matter as you can't get to those speeds on normal roads without getting pulled over or braking every 2 seconds. Also, 0-62mph doesn't mean anything in the real world, the only place it makes a difference is on a drag strip. A classic example of that is the Autoexpress review between the Porsche Cayenne Hybrid, Lexus RX450h and Volvo XC90 which can be found here: http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/lexus/rx/94180/lexus-rx-vs-porsche-cayenne-vs-volvo-xc90 The Porsche has 410hp and 590nm of torque both available lower down in the rev range compared to the 308hp and 335nm (+ the unknown figure from the electric motors) of torque from the RX450h. Porsche 0-60mph = 5.5s RX = 7.8s Wait till you start seeing mid-range figures and you'll see where the Lexus experience of hybrids is - Porsche 30-50mph = 3.0s RX = 2.8s Porsche 50-70mph = 4.6s RX = 3.8s Thats what a CVT gives you, punch in the face mid-range figures which are more realistic of day to day acceleration compared to the obsolete drag strip 0-60mph times. Ive personally had experience of this, my wife's IS300h can scare 3.0l diesels when rolling and the RX goes like a bat out of hell when you floor it at 40mph.

That's true. Wouldn't be surprised myself if less than half of the 3rd gen IS were actually bought outright so probably doesn't matter how much warranty you get outside of 3 years. It's a vicious cycle, once you get stuck in you end up changing cars every 3 years and don't realise how much money is actually getting lost in interest It's the same as buying cars and leasing them really isn't it? You pay more leasing for what? A better car? Yh right lol

Yes I did. My local garage was useless and could not figure it out. I took the car to an auto electrician and they fixed it, it took a couple of hours' labour. The problem was the level and even seating of the ABS sensors. Corrosion had got in behind the area where the sensors mount, disturbed the mounting surfaces such that the sensors were not mounted flat and perfectly evenly. Unless they are absolutely flush, the sensors think that the wheels are rotating at different speeds like they were skidding (as in normal driving, where the wheels are all turning at the same speeds, the sensors are all giving precisely consistent wheel speed readings). So the ABS was activating when it shouldn't have been, and that is the noise and pulsation you are getting. The sensors are giving uneven readings and tricking the car into thinking that it's wheel spinning or skidding. The guys removed all the ABS sensors, gave their mounting areas and the bodies of the sensors a good clean and smooth-down, and remounted. That was it - it has been fine ever since, with no recurrence. If you are planning on doing this job yourself, be aware that when mucking about under there myself, I destroyed one perfectly good sensor as they are very tricky to get out without proper tools and access on a ramp. At over £100 a piece for even aftermarket ones, I gave up at that point and sought garage help. Hope this helps!