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Hi all, thought I’d just put a post up about letting my F go, purchased an immaculate 2 owner 2010 MY11 USB IS-F last year. (I’d owned a grey 2008 IS-F for 5 years previously too) Took it on track at Donington and it was great fun, but I soon realised to get it to a point I could really enjoy it on track I’d have to spend some serious money, also if I’m honest it was just too nice to track. So sold it about 2 months ago to a car dealer in Scotland for what I paid for it a year before. Must admit I didn’t gel with it like I did my 08. Even with the lsd, updates and fitting a H&S exhaust I just didn’t feel the love for it like I did my grey one which is a shame. Anyway I went for a GR Yaris with circuit pack. I didn’t even test drive it, just went with the hope the hype was real. Oh my good the hype was real and then some, what Toyota have created is absolutely phenomenal! You cannot believe it’s a 1.6 3 cylinder turbo, it’s an absolute weapon, the mid range shove and the way it catapults you down a straight to the next bend is mind blowing, the manual 6 speed is a delight too. A roads wet or dry is just ballistic and on the motorway it’s just effortless (I don’t care about mpg but 35-40 when constantly tickling it and 28 when ringing it’s neck) and such an engaging drivers car. It makes you smile like a Cheshire Cat every time you drive it and you are itching to keep driving it which I haven’t felt with a car for such a long time and i’m 48. I cannot wait to track it and also I’ve got a Nurburgring trip booked next year. So as you can see I’m very happy with my purchase and if you think I’m just new car drunk, go and drive one.

A very nice drive down to The Nare hotel in Cornwall. Overall took 5hrs to do the 220 miles, including a 45min lunch stop. Well, what a car, supremely comfortable (not that the RC was uncomfortable) and very quiet, noticeably quieter than the RC. Definitely more punch than the RC and very easy to, erm, make progress! Trip computer was showing a very acceptable 37mpg, dipping to the low 30's when pushing on. My first RC could only just manage that, the second easily reaching the mid 40's. The ride is very compliant, I had it on the Sport setting and we just glided along, the RC would be a little jittery nothing unpleasant and in keeping with it's sportier character. The car was very stable at speed, indeed it seems even more 'relaxed' at motorway speeds (although we used the A303, I don't like the motorways, too boring and no easy diversions should one need to!) wind and road noise very subdued. Even around the narrow Cornish lanes the car was nibble and easy to direct, the suspension handled sudden changes in direction without undue roll. The door mirrors were brushing the hedgerows on more than one occasion! The climate concierge is another notable step up in comfort, with the system automatically switching on the ventilated seats, keeping one's back and derriere cool and sweat free. How does the system know when to switch them on, no idea but works a treat. Not sure if the temperature sensor needs calibrating or I'm getting old but my usual 20c was feeling chilly so I upped a degree and all was well. The system definitely reacts to sun direction, increasing airflow to the side of the car in the sun. The seats themselves are very supportive and comfortable, very similar in design to the RC. The higher seating position is great and it's almost like sitting in one's favourite armchair, with a good view! All-in-all not a bad first outing, quite looking forward to the drive home.

It isn't one or the other but a mixture. You would charge at home before leaving, top up at speed and return near empty to charge back up again overnight. If you were just using high speed public chargers it would be expensive, but most people don't.

I would want the newest tyres on the driven wheels too, but I think this policy being enforced is because worn tyres on the front axle will likely result in understeer, and understeer is viewed as more "safe" for the average driver to deal with.

Do you mean bitumen underseal? Not recommended really. There are better products on the market. In the past, I have used Waxoyl using an electric spray gun. There are even better products available now. Someone will comment further.

Everyone to their own - I wouldn't criticise any of the reasons people buy cars - I've made many reasons to myself why I probably spent too much money in the past...

Yes they do move with the steering but not proportional to the amount of turn ie straight, full left or full right. I am not sure of if it makes much difference to just straight. I have the option If I cut a wire they are just straight.

As a deterrent and theft recovery aid, I have used these Synthetic DNA security kits for my higher value tools and home / home office contents. They also have a Vehicle kit that also includes a window etching pack. When my NX450H+ arrives I am very tempted to tag it and contents such as charging cables, roof bars, detachable towing hitch etc with one of these kits for re-assurance and an extra layer of deterrance. https://www.selectadna.co.uk/dna-asset-marking/selectadna-vehicle-kit

But you haven’t bought a £80-120K EV like a Tesla or Merc to take advantage of the tax, there are plenty of businesses that do, you’re not their target market. We run a small business as well, very small….. People still cannot get this thing about everyone that bought an EV bought it to save money, when an EV might cost 30% more than an equivalent ICE how long do you think the ROI might be? 🤔 Many people buy EVs because they like the way they drive and the actual car, once you get this out of your head then the fuel cost issue is irrelevant, just like some buy a massive V8 petrol because they like the car, the money for fuel is irrelevant. If money is that tight you need an electric bike 🤣

the ultimate in renewables then ..... to be commended ...... bring on the Dutch Windmills methinks ...... promote the making of bread flour with a new raft of windmills in the UK .. spread all over the country ......... giving work to the skilled carpenters and flour millers in our Society ...... a new raft of educational skills to be put forward by, say, the Prince's Trust ( is it still to be called that ? ) Malc

Good for you old Pal. Funnily enough I thought of you earlier this week as Margaret and I had a short vacation in the Isle of Whithorn in Dumfries and Galloway. It is a dark sky area and one former visitor who worked at Jodrell Bank remarked that he could observe both the Milky Way and the Andromeda Galaxy simultaneously. The Last Black Tie Dinner I attended was in 2000 when to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary, when amongst other things we cruised the Inside Passage of Alaska. I retired in 2005 and have never worn nor wished to wear any kind of tie since. Enjoy the RX. A mighty fine vehicle.

Yes, it’s not as you might think, but if you loose the back end you are in big trouble, hence the new tyres go on the rear.

@F4Fun ah i see with the vibration etc. i am sure i will give the gr yaris another go at some point. But its a bit pricey for me atm. i think once you get used to v8 noises, you become selective as to what else pleases your ears. The grmn is great, might uncork it at some point to get a bit more out of it. it is doing surprisingly well for my morning school runs atm being so nimble and small with ease of access for two little ones.

Did behind one of the wheels today. I used the Bilt Hamber stuff. I sprayed Dynax UB fairly liberally, and then Dynax S50 into any visible cavities, and found it very quick and easy to apply. Will probably use them when I get around to the underside, and then do an annual once over with ACF 50. As Jay says, the sooner you do it the better. Last year I took off the near side rear wheel and liner, to check the fuel filler pipe. It was all very much rust free, and so I sprayed ACF-50 all over. This afternoon I did the driver's side and there was a little surface rust around the liner bolts, as well as on the outside of the sill, so I was glad I was able to clean it up and treat and coat it. It's not the most fun thing to do on a Saturday afternoon, but there's a sense of satisfaction knowing that it should be good now for another few years.

I don't know where the 'greater' got in. It should have read great con. Don't ask me to explain as I can't condense it to a couple of paragraphs. But basically EV's will Not help towards climate change. Its down to how they're made.

One of the members used this company & gave a write up about it (I think) https://www.southwestrustproofing.co.uk/

It’s an extremely capable car mate, with regards to the exhaust the Toyota engineers designed it to be quieter due to vibrations coming through the cabin with a sportier exhaust due to the way the car is constructed (homologated rally car made for the road, aluminium bonnet, doors and boot plus carbon roof etc tend to vibrate ).There’s been lots of complaints from people with aftermarket systems with regards to this. Induction wise, Eventuri do a nice intake but for £1200 and 6 bhp I think I’ll stick with the plumbed in noise. I know it’s artificial but it sounds like a mini RS3 which I love, as I get older I like the noise in the cabin but not trying too hard outside. They are pricey but it’s the best car purchase I’ve ever made. Loving the GRMN, I’ll bet it sounds like amazing!

This whole thing seems like a non-problem anyway, or at least one of the OP's own making. In the very first line at the top of the page he mentions two words, i.e. "main dealer". Absolutely everyone knows that main dealers are expensive (they're not nicknamed main stealers for nothing) but it would appear that the OP didn't know that. Last time I looked I think it was in the region of about £135 + VAT/hour, maybe even more. I strongly believe in 'horses for courses' and would go to an aircon specialist to deal with aircon problems; an auto electrician to deal with electrical problems; a mechanic to deal with engine problems and so on, including a tyre specialist to deal with tyres/alignment issues - all of which would, without doubt, charge considerably less than a main Lexus dealer.

Excellent write up Karl and an honest one too. Enjoy your new steed. You should get a job on a motoring magazine.

That's true, have used the bitumen product which messy and takes a lot of prep as well as the more modern alternatives. The Bilt Hamber range has a lot of very effective products if you want to dive deep into it, I used them on my more cherished cars with sound results however for ease of application the Lanoguard was really simple. Just needs a respray every year but as application is quick you could treat it as part of the annual check over. Heard good things about Dinotrol and POR15 but never sampled them. Would be interested to hear how others rate them. From what I've seen on my own 2006 RX I'd recommend treating it as soon as you can, wish I'd done mine sooner!

Rising penalties on internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles are cited as the main driver to buy an EV in the UK (46%), followed by environmental concerns (45%). So basically coercion - it’s not for cost savings that’s for sure - the cost of EVs is so much that you could buy a few solid petrol cars, run them into the ground and they would have a cheaper TCO than any modern EV that cost 50/60k or more. Environmental concern is net zero, which is just a con - it’s funny that ministers and politicians are swanning around in jets and travelling first class, they don’t seem to be too distracted by this.

I had front and rears swapped recently by my local garage. Think it cost about a tenner. That said, my view is that if you had two new tyres fitted, then they should stay on the rear. I believe most tyre manufacturers state that the newest tyres should be on the rear. In fact I think Costco will only fit new tyres to the rear (if fitting two) and, if they're replacing front ones, will rotate them to the rear.

🙂 gr yaris, a great capable car! my gripe would be the noise (but i am sure someone will come up with an exhaust and intake to improve this), and it would be great to have a more raw feel. + It is still quite pricey for one in the current market. The GRMN yaris is good buy too! Loving the supercharger whine.

Getting it professionally undersealed could cost anywhere from a couple of hundred to almost a thousand, depending on how much preparation (cleaning off existing rust etc) and what they're going to do, eg all cavities etc. How much work is needed will in part depend on what the currrent condition is. I would guess a comprehensive job would be around £700. Funnily enough I'm about to do my own today. At a basic level you could just get a pump spray bottle and spray something like ACF 50 all over the underside. More comprehensively, you could remove the wheels and arch liners, and spray those with wax, along with the underside and cavities, and check/do the brake and fuel filler lines. Personally I think it's worth doing. Whether you pay to get it done, or do it yourself, depends on your preference/willingness to do it yourself or open your wallet.

That's how it usually works for me: My car has a range of 300 miles and the most I do in a day is about 200 so I charge overnight before and after at 5p/kWh (about 1.5 p/mile). I only used rapid chargers when I'm staying away. In November my overnight rate will increase but as long its less than about 60p/kWh it'll still be cheaper than my petrol hybrid would have been. Even if its not it would still be worth it to pollute less over the lifetime of the car. Plus 0-60 in less than 4 seconds is fun 😉

I would say 35 mpg is a doable average. I have the older model, which I imagine is a little less economical, and have averaged just over 30 mpg over last 12 months. Motorway consumption for me was worse initially. However, I've recently found that driving at around 60-65 mph on motorways was the sweet spot. At that speed I get around 40 mpg. I also, somewhat surprisingly, found that it didn't affect journey times. This is all probably down to the fact that you can maintain that kind of speed with very little braking, compared to the constant slowing down and accelerating when driving at faster speeds. It's the accelerating back up to speed, as much as the higher speed, that tends to burn fuel.

Way hey its Xmas come early.

Boxes arrived today after a 6 month wait

Having had mine for almost a year, I reckon 32-36 mpg is about right, certainly based on the computer in mine. Motorway journeys are where economy suffers most, but the comfort and silence are a price worth paying, for me at least. Luckily the shift to working at home means those longer trips are limited to a maximum of once a week these days.

Having passed three score and 10 some years ago, I consider myself qualified to speak on the subject of old men and "stick" or manual gear change as we used to call it. What you forgot is that my generation hardly saw any automatic gearboxes and nearly all learned to drive manual cars. We may not choose to drive manual now but it is like riding a bike, you never forget, and anyway is not that great a skill.

Great write up - look forward seeing this machine person. I have a DC2 thats currently being restored I may part ways with that and upgrade - the Yaris sounds like a cracking motor. Although I'm tempted by a FK8 civic type r especially as prices has started to ease a little.

Yesterday in Cranbrook Kent I hailed down and parked up and chatted with the owner of this early Ls400 ......... a guy from Benenden who assures me he's not yet on this Forum Needless i encouraged him to now join ! he told me it's one of only 2 1989 cars left in the UK, he had bought it some 8 ? years back from the ( widow ) owner who had it many years prior and spent £6k on wheel mods etc .... ( yuk ) This new owner had it part resprayed a few years back and the finish now is terrible, worn-out and clearly a bad reaction to the original paint finish and paint that he tells me is a different type of " compound " to original, older paints A blue/ grey but mottled and cracking and lifting and well, just awful He's probably going to have it properly resprayed . she's done 125k ? I think he said and he's recently done the cambelt etc . he has a few older cars and a mechanic guy himself too Only does a couple of thousand miles a year and loves the car to bits, been all over the north and west country in sublime comfort ( all as we of course know ) So if you're that guy and read this, do tell us more about your very rare beast .... she sounds as quiet as a mouse ( of course ) AND if my conversation hadn't revealed his imminent respraying quotes gopinmg-on I'd have probably offered him a bundle of old used £50 notes to start the process myself .......... Oh to have one of the originals eh ! Malc

By way of update…..I’m awaiting an update!! Autoglass still trying to confirm/authorise OE windscreen replacement!!😡 Good news is that it will set me back a mere 70 earth pounds!!

Thank you very much! If the wife likes the look of it your on to a winner.

Hi guys If you are considering which dealer you would like to support you, then look no further! I have dealt with Lexus Leeds since buying my SC430 and it has been a revelation that dealerships like this still exist. (I have dealt with many who just don't give a damn!) They are accomodating, knowledgable, polite, efficient, friendly and professional to name but a few of their qualities. This way of looking after their customers appears to be driven from the top as it stretches across all the departments. The service manager Jordan Robinson is the nicest guy you could wish to meet and so are the two girls who are service advisors. A happy customer .... but I'm sure there are many, many more! 😃 Anthony

Fair play and congrats! As you say, it truly is something special. It is most definitely on the 'list' if some money frees itself up to add into the mix. Even the wife likes the look of it!

Not really Malc, but I sometimes struggle to get an imprecise one with the dipstick.

I've liked the look of the MG5 ever since it came out. More so now the MG4 which looks outstanding. And to think there's going to be a 450bhp version. Now that may sway me to go electric But with the price it costs to charge an EV going through the roof and its been shown that its cheaper to run a BMW 320d than a tesla model 3. When I learned that my jaw almost hit the floor. Looks like I'll be holding on to my is250 for quite a long time.

Hi all, just text driven the NX 450h+, I wasn’t overly confident I was going to like the car having tried the previous generation NX which I didn’t like at all. I was completely blown away by how good the car was, a complete revelation. Anyway I’ve signed on the dotted for a new 450h+ F Sport with Takumi pack, F sport white with flare red leather. I’m told delivery should be next April. Can’t wait!

Looks like an obvious typo. Still, not bad mileage for its age. My pet hate is independent dealers, who "service" a car before supplying, so it's a got a full book of dealer stamps, and one from a back street garage for just doing an oil change.

Thanks Nigel (I've seen plugs in much worse condition than that before now) And I have a theory that as we age, the volume of 'new technology' seems to rise exponentially. I still spend the first few moments looking for the starting handle on my car (!)

My pet hate is how the wording "full service history " is used when it has only a few stamps in the book ! The SC430 model needs a service every year of its life , so example ..if buying an 18 year old car you’d expect 18 stamps . The exception might be a service every second year.. if very low mileage and then only in its later life 👍🏻

Hello Anthony, glad you like the leather ! I love it but can imagine it is a bit like marmite ! I have been into classic cars and motorcycles for many years, and in retirement I was going to buy a classic car, had been looking at mk 2 jags, but the ones I looked at involved spending over £20,000 and I just knew it would have been a money pit ! So I had a re think and decided a modern classic may be a better bet ! I owned a GS 300 Lexus a few years ago, so was aware of the build quality, so far I am loving the S.C !

I think my SC430 is superb - everything absolutely original, and for my tastes I will keep it so. However, your mods do make these old grey cells of mine think!!! Love and enjoyed your story and do keep us informed as you go

You just need a headlight restoration kit. Meguiars or this one from 3M are both popular ones. Plenty of 'how to' videos on YouTube as well. Biggest thing is to finish off with a good quality UV resistant clear coat/top coat or they'll be just as yellow again in a few months.

I was in motor trade for 12 years some time back , I knew before most that German cars especially Audi and merc are utter trash when it comes to reliability and “German engineering “ marketing tripe , the big stuff old E class etc were great but everything else is garbage , Honda / Toyota (Lexus ) are far far superior in engineering terms , but lack the so called image that people with no knowledge lust over . They have got progressively worse I’d rather drive a Honda jazz than a Audi A4 TDI or a merc C class , I simply couldn’t afford the catastrophic failure they all seem to get . My old accord coupe was in family 22 years ( dads before mine ) ) ) never , not once had a fault or let us down , no one on this planet could say the same for a german car guaranteed Honda - Lexus - Toyota - happy life . Simple’s .

One of the real anomalies of the hybrid system is that if the engine does run while reversing it actually fights against the electric motors driving the car backwards reducing the available reverse power. If you need to reverse up a steep slope and the hybrid battery is low on power it is better to force charge the battery. Putting the car in "D" holding it with the foot brake, and revving the engine until the battery has a reasonable level of charge. Then reverse up the slope. It is not unknown for the Prius/CT200h to refuse to move up a steep slope in reverse with the engine running. What other Toyota/Lexus hybrid vehicles are affected as much I do not know, but I suspect most are. John.

All Toyota Lexus hybrid vehicles do not have a mechanical reverse gear, the direction of the electric motor or motors are reversed to go backwards. None of the CVT gearboxes use belts and variable cone pulleys to change the gear ratios. The front transmission unit has two electric motors, one directly connected to the drive wheels and another connected to an epicyclic gear train and has two functions, 1 to start the engine and 2 to vary the ratio of power between the engine and electric motor. There are some very good videos on YouTube which explain this better than I can.