Spacewagon52

That was brilliant! To watch that advert and think ......... yes ..............I have one of those! (Same smug voice as the narrator!)

I am inclined to agree! There is much more to car than MPG!

Must have given them food for thought? Who knows? Years ago they would have a public service announcement about driving laws and behaviour - it is about time they brought them back. Do any of you remember Cliff Michelmore and the programmes, "So you think you can drive?"

What happened when the Civic driver came back?

Manners and thoughtfulness are sadly in decline. We are living in a world of the ME culture - people with big elbows seem to get their way! There may be a good explanation (some sort of emergency?) why they parked in a disabled bay. Did the Civic have a disabled badge by any chance?

Love the pic!

I would take it on a motorway run at around 70mph and see what you get. Town driving drinks fuel.

This is worth checking so that you know you are under the REAL speed limit. It is just remembering what the difference is!!

Some lovely comments, they really made me smile. Once you are bitten by the Lexus experience (unless you are unlucky with reliability) you are SOLD on them. I always said I would own another one - one day - and now I have! I just love the quality of the engineering.

People don't believe you when you say you can get that sort of economy out of a 4.3 litre V8 - but you can!

Thanks! Very sad for that poor Lexus. That colour green is the ONLY LS 400 colour I do not like. Still a shame though..

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-devon-33775958 Cornwall gales. Mercedes?

I have a LS 400 Mk IV AND I am VERY satisfied! LOL!

Welcome! I think you will enjoy the Lexus experience!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5NQyTJixs5M Speed does not really interest me but this bit of driving I found very entertaining.

Don't give up, just because one "expert" says it can't be fixed does not mean it is impossible. I do share your frustration but I am sure you will be able to solve the issue. Good luck whatever you decide to do.

That is good mpg for a V8 4.3 litre. If you just consider a 4 litre V8 you immediately think sub - 20's like Jags. My father-in-law was stopped by the police doing 90 mph in his Rover 3500 V8 - the officer was also driving a 3500S V8 Rover. "Good afternoon sir. Nice car," said the policeman. "I thought so until now!" he replied. "You know sir, they can be trained to do 70 mph." I digress!

The MkIV is (IMHO) a lovely looking car. Very understated but with real presence. It is not the exterior that is the best thing about RIO but the drive. Power, comfort, smoothness, refinement, luxury, opulence, warmth, softness .............. sorry have to go....... I am getting an erection!

Would you consider a People Carrier? Mitsubishi Grandis? Toyota Avensis Verso or Previa? With the Toyotas you can take out the seats and effectively have a van! Mercedes "R" Class? Plenty of room and all the rear (5) seats fold flat. Diesel with auto - but not very frugal. Just a thought.

Thank you very much for your comments. The sun was actually the flash on the camera!

No I have just got the car a fortnight ago. It was owned by a man in his 80's from new (he paid £48,000 for it in 1998) Came with his personalised plate. He has given up driving and it was his weekend car. I do not think anyone has been in the back! It came with sheepskin mats. Very pleased with it so far - everything seems to work.

Have been promising some photos of my LS 400 MkIV - so here they are:- Before anyone asks - no this is NOT an advert to sell!

I agree that a premium car like a Lexus is very good value for money when they are older. The repair bills can be worrying if you are trying to run the car as cheaply as possible. If you own a £20,000 + car and get a bill for say £1,000 - you would be prepared to pay it. Get that same bill on an LS 400, where the value of the car can match the cost - then psychologically you consider it not worth it. From reading other owners comments, once certain issues are sorted the car will go on for a long time. The hard decision is when to say - enough is enough - am I throwing good money after bad? At the moment I have a BIG smile on my face when I take out the 400. For what it cost, it is a tremendous car. And when you consider its age, I doubt many similar aged cars could match it for comfort and refinement.

The prices are definitely hardening as good ones do not come up for sale that often - people tend to keep them .... I wonder why? LOL!

That doe seem to enhance the look of the car - well done!