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How patronising !!

I seem to get bombarded with emails to test drive the new Lexus cars so I thought why not give the new RX450H a test drive. i currently drive the older model GS450h so I thought it would be an interesting comparison. obviously the first thing is the size, it's huge and imposing but in a very satisfying way. Let's be honest, anyone driving one of these beasts is not shy. it says look at me all over it. I had the F-sport models which I think is the best looking externally and of course has the biggest front grille in the land. i should think as I pull up behind lesser mortals they must feel they are about to be swallowed. to drive it felt a completely natural transition from my own car. It has ample power when required and although not quite as nippy as the GS equivilant was certainly no slouch. I did however find my self driving mostly in sport + , mode as this transforms the response and just makes the whole vehicle feel much more nimble. Eco was fine for pottering around but I preferred to have the extra go on tap. one of the first things I noticed was that the exhaust note was much louder than my car. At first I felt this was intrusive but by the end of my test drive I actually started to enjoy the sportier note. This might be a love hate thing as to most absolute quite is the most important Lexus trait . The Rx, despite its huge wheels had very little road noise. On the worst road surfaces it was slightly better dampened than my own GS450h on 18" wheels. I travelled on some particularly bad concrete surfaces near Swindon which are dreadful no matter what you drive. The RX done a very good job over this surface travelling at motorway speeds. handling again was compatible to a saloon. Models of old were a bit sloppy around the corners and under brakng but not so anymore with these new Rx. The smaller details within the cabin also impressed me. The new media system controls can be a bit fiddly to navigate but that just takes a bit of practice and I found it quite intuitive after a bit of playing. i love the electric Windows, they are extremely quiet and the way they slow just before reaching the top just feels so well engineered. It sounds silly but these details just add to the refinement. The seats are very supportive although I'd like slightly more padding in the bases if I'm honest but this is a minor gripe. to be honest after my 24 hour drive I really could not fault much with the Rx other than its has a larger turning circle than most saloons and washing that roof is going to require a step ladder. oh, economy, I was driving this at a decent pace, in he same manner that I would my own GS, and I was achieving around 29mpg compared to nearer 27mpg in my GS. given the size of this vehicle I thought that was pretty acceptable. I'm sure if I had driven more carefully in Eco mode I could easily achieve over 30's around town. unfortunately for me at over £50,000 this car is a little out of my price range but who knows, give it 2-3 years and let depreciation do its thing and maybe I will be considering one of these myself. carl

Well the spoiler is smoothed and painted! Really happy with how it turned out looks as good as I expected! So a nice 7am start has the spray filler rubbed down, masked up and primer applied! Primer then rubbed down, tested the lower piece to make sure it still fits and looks right Car masked up and ready for paint All painted and looking awesome! Built up and back outside Back home and times for a damn good clean so I can see how it really looks without dust and grime everywhere!

Wow, am I glad I'm not in that league. I'm so appreciative of all you people who spend vast amounts of money on cars so the likes of me can enjoy them years later for the cost of a nice holiday. You do us a great service. Keep it up, we're relying on you!

Here's the first Photo ........ it does need a clean already !!!!!! I have owned two other Lexus an IS200 and a RX300 both were great and after a play with German made vehicle and two Range Rovers we are back with NX300H Luxury with the panoramic roof , Sat Navigation and the protection pack ........ i wouldn't have chosen the pack but the boot mat is very useful and i end up being one As normal the whole Lexus experience was super from first viewing, test drive and the pick up were all smooth and painless even switching over the private plate was easy everything apart from paying for it of course here are my thoughts on the first 100 miles it looks great inside and out , the inside is typical Lexus ........ pure Class ......... everything is in reach and laid out well , the dashboard is clear and really effective , the seats are well just Lexus ....... adjust once and you love them ......... never really got comfortable in the Evoque so this is great Stereo is fine ........ although a little complex to use but that will improve with time The sat Nav is fine i have only played with it Adaptive cruise control..........is Wonderful Driving position is perfect , lots more visibility than before i drove it for the first two days in ECO and was a little concerned but tried the sport mode and it's perfect, then after reading on here about using normal mode and that is fine for me ...... the pick up and Auto box is exactly what i needed the diesel manual Evoque was a little slow on pick and you were always changing gear ( or so it seemed ) Overall very pleased , it certainly looks the business and there aren't millions of them on the roads of South Wales I haven't had chance to drive in the dark but hoping the headlights are fine do i miss the Evoque well for the first day or two .......... now no way this suits me much better

I have taken the liberty of talking to the congleton store manager about this. He is aware of the cards and there are similar cards for other clubs/associations and certainly when the card is presented they have no problem with it. the store manager is my son

Back on topic lex28. I'm not a wealthy guy and I use the bank to finance the purchase of my cars. I budget £300 every month for my car. My present loan is based on 3.4% apr so is not into rip off territory. I tend to change every 2 years and it works for me. It's a bit like a company having a £300 pcm lease budget, but I own my vehicle at the end. With careful purchase of a six year old car, the depreciation is usually less than my bank payments. Then I move on to the next one using the last vehicle as down payment on the new one (to me). Not sure I'll change this one though, quite rare and only done 37k with full LSH. We'll see when the time comes.

Guys I apologise for my comments. Bad day. Other half says I'm being mean. I will delete my comments. Just realise it's turning into a Merc forum. Id rather not let that happen Sorry GibletPH, Tom, Steve, Lex(OP) and toffee_pie.

Stop backtracking. You made enough references to how much you earn without giving a figure, not that I give a flying monkeys. You came across as crass and arrogant to everyone else on this thread. All you had to do was type something along the lines of "financing isn't for me, I saved up and bought my cars that way". Also the question was directed at ISF owners! As for the second paragraph, what on earth does marriage have to do with a badly spaced reg plate?

Saved what since 1990? You were bragging about financing cars for 3k a month and having a house that cost 10x your salary. Just doesn't come across that well pal. If no one took out finance the car market would fall flat on its arse.

Damn good job Now don't touch a thing cause that is a fine looking IS you have got yourself there.

Just because you don't have the cash in your bank to buy it outright doesn't mean you can't afford it. If that was the case then you can't afford the Bentley or Ferrari you mentioned, or the house you live in. Comes across that you have just used this topic to show off how much you earn.

Resident cash buyer from Pistonheads on every forum use whatever means work for you but don't assume that finance is a bad option it works for some and not others

Looks really neat. The spoiler is almost like the bootlid on the 3rd Gen IS albeit its much smaller!

Mine is officially Lexus Dark Silver......the DVLA have it as Bronze on the V5C. When I had some paintwork done the company that did it cursed as the paint had faded to a reddish silver, the only areas with the correct colour were under the door rubbers,under normal daylight you cannot tell but under their lights the differences were obvious.

Whole new car. The CT has been facelidted already so they wont do it again. No links as present but there's been mules going around. As you can imagine, the CT has been going since 2011 and now feels dated. Sales of the CT have not been strong in the US and therefore, it may become an SUV to boost those sales However a mule was spotted testing in the UK with a slightly higher ride height. What we do know for sure is it'll be using the Prius hybrid drivetrain and will be on the tnga platform therefore being lighter and more fun

My other half has the CT I have a 15 plate titanium X focus, the 1.5 ecoboost auto. I love my focus, but I prefer the drive in the CT, the new CT will be out soon so that will be interesting. My next car will be either a CT or the IS300h.

Doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things though. Wattage has nothing to do with sound quality

Depends on how skilled you are with sandpaper. Ideally you want to fill the stone chips in in thin layers and build up. Then stick the clearcoat on top and wet sand it down. Then final polish to remove the hazing.

In my experience touch up paint is fine for stone chips (although it'll be far from invisible) but using it for scratches will look dreadful. Fine scratches can be mopped out but I would go to a pro if you don't have decent equipment or knowledge.

Many thanks zippyone - the first picture was of a massive and I mean massive engineering project in the Maas near Hoek van Holland. I think it is probably a North Sea oil rig being commissioned or scrapped...not sure which lol. The second image was sent to Lexus UK who send it out to their Instagram followers. I think it was taken on my iPhone and tweaked using the excellent free app Snapseed. I took another image (attached) in the same location a day or two later this time using a proper Olympus camera and its dramatic effect from the art filter menu. This can take stunning photos at dusk. the holiday was blighted with bitterly cold northerlies which put the kybosh on my intended fishing and wasn't great for cycling either.....lol I took more photos but I'll quit while I'm ahead I think... glad you enjoyed what I posted anyway :)

For a long time I just totally ignored Lexus as a brand albeit I knew the original LS set the world alight back in 98. My working life was spent in the motor trade, in particular body shops as an insurance Engineer and my first real passion was for the 3 Bentleys I had over a 10 year period. Then 3 Jaguars, various models and finally last year saw the light and started looking at the LS460 and only the LS460. I could kick myself for not having this car years ago. I handled a number of insurance claims for the LS400 and was always impressed in the way it was put together. I bought mine used from a dealer and paid out £1700 for an extra 2 years warranty and yet don't expect to make a single claim based on the last 7 months use of this remarkable car. Apart from the common glove box lid issue where the swage line didn't line up, although I fixed that quite easily and a lot of excess folds in the driver's leather seat cushion, again fixed that by removing the seat and handed the cushion to a trimmer who removed the excess folds of leather this car has been the best car I've owned. I don't normally have need to use the kick down function of the gear box but every now and then I use it just to put a smile on my face. Buy the 460 or 600 I don't think either will disappoint

If it were me a 460 would be the thing to go for. Had a few mates who used to be BMW fans but the cost of gearbox issues steered one over to Subura (he likes noise and paying for lots of petrol) and the other over to Lexus. Had a chat with a gear box specialist recently, he does Jags, Audi, Merc, BMW mainly, but he said Lexus (esp the LS range) were always the ones that he never had any problems with. Over 90% of the gearbox rebuilds he did were for German cars, and mainly because they were trying to be too clever with the design rather than sticking to the first principles of engineering that the Lexus is built around. He was kind of happy as he made a nice business out of repairing them, but he would never own a modern German car.

Sell it, take a hit on the money and buy what you know you shouldnt have got rid of in the 1st place. Happy New Year. Mike