Mincey

I thought he was talking about my current wife.

And here is this week's treasure trove, including a white 1 Series Scheissewagen whose owner does the unthinkable - they turn their "Ultimate Driving Machine" around and run away! Running the risk of hydrolocking their piece of questionable German engineering was clearly not for them. Or perhaps it wasn't their car and they didn't want to appear for eternity on the Internet, shamed by standing next to some hired/borrowed piece of PCP spec tat waiting for the AA to come and recover them. Oh and some youngster goes through the ford on a pushbike. Well done Sir!

Spotify on Android Auto works very well. I'm very happy with it.

And another thing, I'm wondering whether she has cornering lights. They're described in the manual and I'm convinced that when I made a left turn in the dark yesterday on the way to Leicester, more of the road was illuminated. I may be wrong - it happens quite a lot.

There's a small channel with rubber seal on the leading edge (I think that's what it is...)

I'll ask Colin Firth what his diary looks like for the next few weeks.

A sticker is an excellent idea - I shall investigate. Now that I don't have a blue-tinted front view, I shall post some video (front and back) of my next trip out.

I'd love to, but I shrivel up and die in front of a camera unfortunately. I remember having to do a presentation skills course at work many years ago where our performances were recorded and then played back to the group for appraisal. I hated it. And this is from the person who plays in a band...

That's a very good point Mike - I think we should investigate! Thanks for the reminder about the auto parking brake. I had forgotten about that.

It is time to report back. Hybrid Assistant connects to the OBDLink adapter, but.... it disconnects a few seconds afterwards. Hybrid Assistant recommend having a dedicated phone for this, which is fair enough as the phone I'm using has bluetooth connections to my car, some headphones, my smar****ch, a set of speakers, a couple of laptops etc. Luckily I have a spare phone which I can try, so I'll give that a go and report back again...

After much deliberation and cogitation, I decided against getting Halfords to fit Betsy with front and rear dashcams as I've read horror stories on here and elsewhere about the standard of fitting. I also checked the Nextbase site. They'd fit them for a reasonable price but the 422 and 522 cameras are rather bulky with their screen fixings and I wasn't too keen on that, and how do the rear camera modules which fit to the front facing camera work if you have someone tall as a passenger or a full car? I had a Nextbase NBDVR380GW camera fitted by Lexus Leicester to my IS300h when I bought it, and I understand that is the standard "Lexus" model. It was very compact and bijou, not too bulky and it fitted nicely on the windscreen. This, plus the notions that Leicester would do as good a job as they did with the IS, and they know the cars and would not screw anything up, persuaded me to pay over the odds to have them fit a front and back camera. So, this they did yesterday. It took about three and a half hours, and whilst I waited at the dealership I was plied with biscuits and coffee by the wonderful people there. I was also hassled constantly by my boss, despite the fact he was fully aware that I had taken the morning off, having authorised my absence earlier in the week. Anyway, I digress. You're all wanting to know what the installation looks like, so here we go. The front: The back: A very tidy job, I'm sure you'll all agree. Both cameras run from the same app, which is handy as it would be a little awkward to reach a button on the rear camera. The rear camera is invisible from behind which is slightly annoying. Last week, I had some idiot in a scheissewagen right up my chuff, and perhaps if they had seen a rear-facing camera, they'd have backed off. It's a shame I didn't have the camera then, as I would have shopped and/or shamed the fool. This is what I saw in the app: The eagle-eyed among you will have noticed something. It's easy to pick out the front and rear videos isn't it? I wasn't too impressed when I saw this, make no mistake. Had I been given a duff camera? Upon closer inspection, I discovered this: Yes, the fitter had forgotten to remove the protective film from the front camera lens. How I laughed! An uncomfortable call to Leicester had been avoided. I had a constant battle trying to get the camera in my IS to connect to my phone. Either this is a slightly different model (as it has a connector in the back for a lead going to the rear camera which the version in my IS did not have) or the app has improved, as it connects first time every time now. This is just as well because to remove the camera from the car requires the cable to the rear-facing camera to be removed and it all looks a bit snug. All in all, I'm very happy with the fitting. It's discrete, there are no rattles, the battery seems to be ok this morning (unlike the ES yesterday in the showroom at LL. Some customers wanted to look in the boot, but a technician with a starter pack had to be called to get some life into the car first!) and the video quality is great. If my happiness does not extend to videos from night driving, I will report back. The night videos from my IS were fine, so I can't see any concerns here. Yes it was expensive (£395 for both cameras plus fitting) but they did a good job. Had I remembered to ask if there was a club discount, my pain may have been eased slightly. Never mind, as they say. I'll chalk that one down to experience.

Ok everyone, here is a perfect example of why it is advisable to follow the advice of the very wise @royoftherovers and read the manual before a) panicking or b) making yourself look foolish on an Internet forum. Whilst driving to Leicester yesterday, the weather was foul. It was raining, but not enough to use the wipers (manually or automatic) and at one point, the windscreen needed a good squirt and wipe. This was the first such operation I had done in Betsy and I was surprised. Perplexed in fact. Why was there no single sweep a few seconds after the washing/squirting had finished? My IS250 did this, and so did my IS300h. Was something not enabled somewhere? Had I bought a pup? My immediate thought after of course thinking I'd bought a pup or that something was not enabled somewhere, was to look in the manual. I found this: "The wipers will automatically operate a couple of times after the washer squirts. (After operating several times, the wipers operate once more time after a short delay to prevent dripping. However, the dripping prevention does not operate while the vehicle is moving.)" Well, there you go. A quick search through the manual prevented me looking even more of an utter clot than usual on here.

Because she's blue! I couldn't call her Betty as that didn't sound right 😄

Reminds me of an early A6 from the side.

I saw that, but the Hybrid Assistant FAQ page says this: I'm sitting looking at the boxed OBDLink adapter, waiting for a decent hour to arrive so I can try it. I shall report back....

As does Android Auto. I've had Spotify and Waze running on it and it's a great improvement on the bluetooth link, far easier to control.

BTW, the heated steering wheel came on automatically this morning which made for a pleasant start to the day!

I've just discovered that the dial behind the volume knob when turned moves to the next or previous track. Neat!

I admit that I haven't had her long, but here are my initial thoughts and musings: Getting into the ES doesn't feel like getting into a fighter jet or racing car like getting into the IS did. The driving position does not feel so "snug". More of an observation than any criticism. Betsy's extra size has not caused any problems yet. Please God don't let me have tempted fate there. There seems to be less things to adjust on the ES. I haven't found a speed warning setting yet, and as there is nothing I can see about one in the manual, I'm guessing there isn't one. There are no "service checks", i.e. no details of the air filter, oil needing a change etc. which were on the 2IS and 3IS. The sliding seat and steering wheel is a nice touch. I've just discovered that the wheel can either tilt, or telescope or both, and that the extent of the seat slide can be adjusted. Just the thing for the gentleman with a fuller figure. I've found it best to put seat belt on first to get closer to the start button. Heated steering wheel? Nice. She is so quiet! She is so smooth! She is so comfortable! I discovered today that in the vehicle settings, Sport was set as the suspension setting. I must take Betsy out again soon to see whether putting her into Normal makes it even more wafty and comfortable. There is no lag when accelerating, she just goes. At roundabouts in the IS, I would often put it into S to make sure power arrived when asked. The indicator stalks are not as solid as on the IS. I love having confirmation of Betsy being locked when her ears, sorry mirrors, fold in. It may be me, but I've found that the Nav screen takes priority. Perhaps more playing around and reading the manual is required. My wife tells me that the navigation screen will take priority, and as she knows everything, that's probably the case. I liked the light on the IS wiper stalk to show that the auto wipers were engaged. FWD Vs RWD? I have not noticed any difference at all yet, and to be honest I'm not what you'd call an enthusiastic driver anymore so it's probably not going to be an issue. People like it. I stopped to let a mother and her young son cross the road and he gave me a thumbs up. A future owner perhaps? Everyone comments upon the colour. Economy looks good at the moment - roundabout an indicated 45mpg with lots of (totally unnecessary) short journeys. I'd get about 40mpg in the IS for similar conditions. The boot is vast. When I discovered that my bass cabinet did not fit in the IS, I had to buy another one (well, didn't have to, but it was a good excuse). The old one would easily have gone into the ES. Android Auto is awesome. It's just a shame that it's not wireless but those very expensive adapters will come down in price soon I'm sure. The Rain free side windows really work! The phone holder is great, I love having a Qi pad and lots of deep cubby holes Tyre pressure display is nice but would like it in psi Betsy feels like my beloved IS250 I prefer the button to unlock filler flap. With the IS, it was too easy to get out at the filling station, lock the car, then have to unlock it again to open the filler flap. Cruise control controls on wheel took some getting used to after having the stalk behind the steering wheel for so many years. OBD port is easier to find Heating controls - having a dial is much easier than the slider on the IS. I'm not sure that the road speed limit recognition is as good on ES as on the IS The auto main beam system in the IS seemed better than on the ES. I'm not sure if I have it on - there's a light on the stalk, so I'm guessing that I have. I have only seen it from inside Betsy, but I do like the way the lights swoop up when they come on. Much like my IS250's did (the 3IS lights just come on?) It is a very, very relaxing drive. Even though she's an F Sport, the seats are much more comfortable than my IS F Sport and I don't creak or ache at the end of a journey. I'm sure that more surprises and observations will crop up in the coming weeks and months so I'll post any updates as and when.

I was about to ask where you were getting it from!

Why spoil a perfectly good rear end with an awful looking plate? I often think that taste is a concept unknown by our cousins on the other side of the pond...

I've just splashed out on an OBDLink LX 427201. What with rear bumper protectors, dash cams and now a new OBD thing, Betsy is costing me a lot of money...! There may be a Carista ODB doofer appearing in a For Sale section near you soon.

That's exactly it - if you need SmartGuard in a hurry, be wary. They're supposed to come out within two weeks, but not in my case. I wouldn't take the cover out again, instead I'd put a regular amount away each month for repairs, and if it's not used when the car goes back, then great.

Mine goes in on Friday to have front and back cameras fitted. Not necessarily paint protection, but I've got scratchguard for mine. Other threads on here will tell you about how good their customer service was for me...