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I don't think Lexus, having spent so much on 'Hybrid' are going to delve into a DERV burner. IMHO Lexus have placed their eggs into the hybrid basket and consequently will push ahead on this level. The Germans are all about DERV - so its about product association and branding. I can't see Lexus jumping on the DERV bandwagon as it might be seen as a tacit admission that Hybrid has 'failed'?

For Lexus it is just about Hybrid and Hybrid alone. The distinction the Japanese have against the Germans is technology. Germans believe in DERV and are pressing ahead (interesting that they haven't licensed Hybrid from Toyota?) - instead they are going twin turbo and efficiency dynamics with DERV.

Just MHO folks no intention to offend or hi-jack thread.

Question I would be asking is why my car lost charge? Did the AA shed any light on the reason as your car is far too new to be suffering from this...or have you been camping (and running off the 12V supply)?

You don't say agaisnt what car (new/used A4/A6 ...) you were seeking the P/X value?

Against a spanking new A4 (for example) I would suggest you should have been offered around £13.5K - much lower if against used.

Prices are always shocking (good times or bad) but it is just the cost to change that matters.

I'm surprised that this car has been able to make its way into the Lexus AUC programme - I thought they didn't allow for written off vehicles at all?

TBH Mate you seem to have answered your own question - car sounds as if it has lacked TLC. If so, time to find another example.

We bought a Lexus Service plan for our (MKII) RX300 and found it to be very competitive. We opted for the 50/60/70 services as part of our plan and it cost £606 exactly.

Very good value for money IMHO and it worked out 3 services for the price of 2. Labour rates are the key factors when it comes to Main Dealer servicing and I cannot see them going down. Thus a SP offers fixed price services for your vehicle. Altho' a note of caution here, bot all combinations of services work out cheaper and also be VERY aware that many dealer groups offer their own SP which is DIFFERENT from the Lexus one...a key difference here being that if you buy the LEXUS plan you can go to ANY Lexus dealership for the work - buy a dealer only one and you are tied to that particular dealer group.

255/55 - Don't you mean 235/55 mate?

I'd be wary of fitting a tyre size that is not OE onto any of my cars for any potential insurance considerations.

Price per tyre is cracking - are you sure they're EU legal and not imports (that lack the neccessary and legal markings to allow them to be used on our roads)?

The low tax isn't just the domain of the 400h anymore - the spanking new 'Efficieny Dynamic' X5s come close IIRC.

I fully accept however that you would need to spend a LOT of money on the BMW to get comparable spec with the 400h.

TBH it doesn't cost the earth to get your alignment checked at a proper place - and I don't mean KwikFit either :P

A few notes for peace of mind is golden mate - its clearly bothering you enough to post up and so I'd say that it might warrant a proper check - even if it means money from your own pocket?

Dunno - but if it were me, I'd get it done as I'm very particular about my cars and stuff like this bugs the hell outta me!

Welcome to the LOC mate - price sounds fair enough on the vehicle - but I guess it will ultimately be dictated by the fact if it will need tyres, brakes, fluids replacing anytime soon also. BTW NAV makes a slight differnece too :)

See the single biggest 'problem' with taking any RX 'off-road' is the fact it lacks a locking diff. - which is a minimum must have to do any type of decent off roading.

Having said that, the RX does have sufficient ground clearance and good taper angles to allow it to venture off road, but where it will come short is where any situation would require a locking diff. to be in place. A low ratio 'box would be useful but not a necessity - as would a diesel engine ;)

The issue on tyres is a valid one, but only to a point. Yes chunky 'proper' off road tyres help with grip but does anyone recall the TG episode where Clarkson went up against a Challenger II Tank in a RR Sport (Petrol Supercharged) - if you notice this vehicle went pretty much cross country on a set of Conti' UHP tyres (designated road going only) but the vehicle fared very well. So tyres will help, but the real gimme is the locking diff IMHO.

With specific regards to the 400h - this is a FWD only vehicle and with Battery power to the rear only it wont have enough muscle to cope with much - unlike the petrol only RX which is genuine AWD.

As the Conti's have now been fitted for some 300 miles - and scrubbed in - I thought I should post back my thoughts:

The tyres are every bit as grippy as I had hoped and road noise is much less than the crapstone tyres I had before. The RX feels much more stable and planted on the road, grip is excellent in the dry and every bit as good in the wet. These tyres have an excellent tread pattern, which no doubt contributes to their wet handling, but also being marked up at 100V (and Ultra high Performance) well suited to motorway cruising.

I expect them to wear quicker than the crapstones - after all these are of a softer compound - but the trade-off between grip and longevity is one that I am prepared to make towards grip. If I can get 15K - 18K out of them (with one rotation) then I would be happy.

If anyone is debating whether or not to plump for these, I would say that these are worth a try...but only if you can get them at the right price.

You will need to provide a little more information - but any excessive wear (outside/inside) isn't usual.

And to go through tyres as quickly as you seem to may suggest that your tracking is out?

It all depends on what you want to use the SUV for?

Personally, the looks of the Touareg aren't for me - nice car and all that - but I'm loathed to pay circa £35k for a 'peoples car' if you know what I mean :)

Unless you must have 'new' - did you consdier a year old X5? XC90? I know I would have if I had the money ;)

Welcome to the LoC :)

Dealers, by their very nautre, push certain products and services, because they make them the msot profit. TBH it never occured to me to read the foruii (forums?) for the XC90 and the like which have Conti's as OE - so thank you for sharing that!

As for the Conti's themselves, they are a softer compound and I expect them to provide about 15K miles. The Bridgestones (for me at least) were too hard [a compound] and didn't provide the levle of grip I like. Hard compound tyres do (or are supposed to) give longer life but will give less adhesion - so it is always a trade-off.

I have high hopes for the Conti's (both in terms of tyre life and general wear) and can't wait for them to scrub in :)

I think I will have to see the Kumhos (tread pattern and tryre itself) before I am convinced - perhaps see if I could get a ride in an SUV that has them. With my fmaily travelling in the RX - I need peace of mind and assurance that I have done verything possible to give them the safest ride posisble.

I hope this thread becomes useful to others as they look to change tyres :)

Do try eBay USA (as well as the UK) to see if you can spy one.

Failing that, just write to Lexus USA (or even Europe) to see what they can do. In all honesty though, there's not much to learn as the vehicle is quite intuitive :)

In theory the 'rear motor kicking in' is fine [if] when the car detects the need to employ it. Otherwise if there is no skid detected, guess what? Your 2 tonne SUV is being driven on its front two wheels only - rememebr the petrol engine only powers the front wheels - and this is unforgiveable (IMHO) given the dynamics of these cars.

It is far too easy to swing the tail out of the 400h when going round...say a roundabout before the car detects the said 'skid' - if you throw a petrol RX into the same corner, it is sure footed and grips exceptionally well. It is these (and other) flaws that make me not like the 400h.

I think people are far too taken in by the hybrid (but very clever) gadgetry - but actually it isn't that good.

EDIT:

And before I get flamed, please know that I am not anti-Lexus nor am I a Lexus Basher. These views are expressed solely with the view of putting my own POV forward to bring to people's attention what I found out when running one for many weeks. I really wanted to like this car but walked away feeling let down. I would take a petrol AWD over the 400h anyday.

Pretty much as gib says above - block exemptions and all that. Key thing is to keep a clear receipt of the genuine Lexus (Toyota) parts used in the service in case of any warranty related claim. To avoid all these issues we bought a service package for our RX (which worked out in our favour compared to per price of each service) so you may want to explore that as an option.

I posted in detail my experience with the 400h a while back - especially in town/urban driving conditions and found the car was nothing to write home about. It was a car that I really wanted to like.

For example, the 400h is a FWD only vehicle. This is INSANE given the size, weight and nature of the vehicle. there is no 'proper' AWD system to talk of - unlike the petrol RX. Then there is the issue of how long the Hybrid Battery holds charge for - a few miles at best before it 'depletes' - and should the weather be mildly cold, the car starts on its petrol engine rather than Battery. God forbid it should ever encounter even a gentle incline as the petrol engine kicks in too regularly. The hybrid Battery seems to spend more time charging than actually working IMHO.

Don't get me wrong, the hybrid stuff is nice, but for the money I'd rather buy a proper AWD SUV and a TD one at that - especially if I were doing any long distance driving or towing.

Functionality in any car can only be a good thing - executive saloon or not. Incidentally, BMW do offer it but as a cost option (its called through load) and there are no issues around rattles and stuff - they clunk shut positively and I have never had any issues with them.

Lexus should rectify this urgently so in the IS as it is a very useful feature to have. but perhaps Lexus should focus on providing a much improved diesel for the UK market first?

I personally wouldn't recommend a diesel for such short mileage - it could lead to issues further down the line as the car is unlikely to reach optimal running temperature at all. Diesels have turbos - which need a good flow of [fresh] oil to circulate through them, with such journeys I doubt the oil will be able to circulate and lubricate - plus you'll see little mileage benefit - go for a petrol IMHO.

After much deliberation I have decided to go with a full set of Continental Conti-Cross Contact UHP tyres for our RX.

When we bought our car it came with a set of Bridgestones. I hated these tyres from the off but as they were a full set of spanking new tyres, I couldn't really complain :) I am very particular when it comes to my vehicles and like things 'just so' - right to the finest detail and the Bridgestones never 'felt right' for me. Being of a harder compound [if compared to the Dunlops/Michelin/Conti's] - they have been acceptable in terms of road noise and handling, but for me their cornering ability and grip in the wet has not instilled the greatest confidence in me.

After almost exactly two (2) years and 15K miles they have worn down to 3/4/3 uniformally, this includes one rotation, and I am happy to get rid of them...flicking through the previous invoices I see the supplying Lexus dealer costed each tyre at £132.12 (+VAT). So I took this as my base cost for pricing replacements. Many of you may (or may not) know but the tyre size of the RX is 235/55 R18 rated at 99V OR 100V - a size that is not common :P

Being a Costco Customer, I always buy Michelin, but surprisingly Michelin UK do not produce a suitable sized tyre (this includes the Diamaris (sp?)). But if they did, the tyre would cost circa £165 (inc.) but as they are running a 20% off promotion shortly, this would reduce the per tyre cost to £135 (inc.) - so I am now sure that the target price I should be looking to pay for any replacement is about £130 - £135 (inc.) - remember this is fully fitted.

Just out of interest, I did phone a couple of Dealers but they would only provide Dunlops as an alternative (as they are OE) and they were coming in anywhere up wards of £675; a price I am sure I could have negotiated down close to £600 - but I will have the Conti's fitted at my local tyre place for £600 all in - which is a little higher than my target price but one I feel is worth paying.

Once fitted I hope to post back my experiences at regular intervals (with pictures - because we LOVE pictures :) ) so that it might help others.

Many thanks to those who contributed. I very much appreciate it.

Isn't it Japan? I'm guessing there is no sticker in the windscreen saying where it was built like the RX300...

Welcome to the LOC - as some here know I'm not a fan of the 400h :P

The novelty value will wear thin quickly enough and as long as you don't go away on holiday for days at a time *wink*, can tame the torque steer and aim to change the car within 3 years - you should be OK.

i know someone who had bought a 140,000 pound ferrari only for it to be recalled for an electrical fault ,the car was in for 4 days and he got a fiat 500 as his courtesy car and we all laughed at him

Isn't Ferrari owned by Fiat? Anyhoo - the 500s they get are specially comissioned Fiat 500s for Ferrari owners only to be used as Courtesy cars by them.