rayaans

They probably won't even realise lol

No one will notice, promise! Just stick the cable uneed the car and people will think it's charging. Hybrid badges should help too

All real wood mate. The interior pictured is the 450h Premier with matt finish Bamboo wood, very nice looking. Still havent seen one on the road but saw one in the showroom, personally thought it looked a bit old school. Id say top trumps should go to the RX for outright presence. The grill itself is pretty intimidating and of course the triple LED headlights with the LED DRL's should be good. If you're looking for an F-Sport in Arctic Pearl, I may be able to hook you up when I buy the new one around November time next year :P

No idea - would expect it to be Nuluxe at that price point. Might just be an American thing.

The Black is a new shade apparently - called Graphite Black. Other new colours are the Atomic Silver (Sonic Titanium), sonic silver and the Red pictured above (unsure whether this is Matador/Mesa red or Infrared/Sonic red) Interior colours are Black, Brown, Beige and a very light shade of Grey called Moonstone. F-Sport gets Black, Red and possibly Grey depending on market. The Silver 450h is a Premier model. In the second picture you can see another Silver RX with different wheels. These will be on the Luxury models. These were taken in Austria at a Lexus training event with 20 ex-racing drivers. The RX was tested against the new XC90, BMW X5, RR Sport and the Mercedes ML (or whatever they've changed its name to). It handles much better than before, has become even more refined and quieter and the transmission on the 450h has been changed. It is only slightly slower on the slalom compared to an X5 but leaves the XC90 and RR Sport for dead. Worth looking out for!

I was under the impression all CT's have Nuluxe fake leather seats. Honestly, the best way to clean them is exactly the same as leather seats - ie a damp cloth - no need for conditioners as leather has a protective coating on it anyway - use a protector instead. If it gets really bad - id be using gliptone leather cleaner as its rather good. The Autoglym stuff sucks to be honest, doesnt get half of the dirt out.

The IS300H doesn't have a conventional auto gearbox. Hence it feels different. It's supposed to be a luxury saloon that handles well and gets great mpg, the sporty versions dont make it here. That will change once the IS200T is out which has been testing in the USA. Lexus have also trademarked IS300 and RC300 which means theres a new engine coming which may make it to the UK. From a standstill, if you want maximum performance, you would need to brake torque it which starts the engine before take off in hybrids. Also known unofficially as the hybrid launch technique. It's also worth knowing that the IS300H is quieter inside than all rivals. This gives an illusion of being slower than it actually is. The 300h will outrun a C250 CDI which, going by the figures, it shouldn't. As for the throttle response, there is a built in delay system for all Lexus vehicles (and most modern cars nowadays). This is basically to stop unintended acceleration. You just have to adapt to it but automatics have the same thing going on now The IS250 is an odd one. It sounds quite good and fast but it doesn't pull as hard through the mid range as the 300h. Again, it's gearbox is suited towards luxury driving too. As for the GS, it goes hard in a straight line and is fairly competent but again, it's a CVT which isn't really very sporty. The only properly sporty vehicles in the Lexus line up at the moment is the RCF and the NX200t Worth testing an F SPORT IS300H. As mentioned before, it's a night and day difference. It handles much better, has more grip and it's very very good. Perhaps you should have had the active sound control on? That pumps more sound into the cabin

I've found that OEM have the best balance between performance, dust and feel however, Pagid do good discs and pads so I'd be getting them personally

Nothing for me. Doesnt even show up on lexus website for my car

Another update to this long term review. Once again, very balanced views! bear in mind these guys are also running a plug in hybrid Audi A3 which is not all its supposed to be apparently http://www.motoringresearch.com/car-reviews/long-term-tests/lexus-300h-2015-long-term-review-0615962432

Just got an email from my Lexus source in the UK He has just been driving the RX for the past 3 days in Austria along with competitors. These competitors were the Mercedes ML, BMW X5, new XC90 and the RR Sport. He works for Lexus in financing and is not a salesmen, therefore no salesman tactics here. He also owns a BMW M3 First of all he said the driving dynamics are very good - get this - dynamically, the RX is better than ALL of them. His words, not mine. It is much quieter than the current model too down to insane amounts of sound deadening gone into the vehicle. The steering has been vastly improved also. He mentioned in the email that the ride and handling has been improved, so best of both worlds but he was most impressed with how quiet the car was compared to a current RX. He said it may be pipping the current LS. He drove both the 450h and 200t. Both provided enough power but the 450h was a clear winner, being better suited to the vehicle as the 200t has to work fairly hard. 350 is only going to Russia and the Balkans in Europe so he didn't bother with that one. The actual hybrid system has not been changed, however, the transmission is an updated CVT which feels like a conventional automatic albeit much smoother. He said the gearbox itself has made the RX450h much nicer to drive. The engine is a new 3.5l V6 which is a detuned, version of the 300hp V6 in the RX350 and runs on atkinson cycle. Quality of the finish was impeccable too but the best option to spec is the ML in his eyes (or should I say ears?). He said it was absolutely stunning. Crystal clear and great sound with no distortion at extremely high volumes (55+) The ML has Clarify on it akin to the NX. Something else I have just found out - the new RX will have the safety system + system as standard. None of it is extra cost in the RX in the UK atleast.

I think the hybrid will have 300-310hp as the new 3.5l V6 is being used but its set to get lighter due to use of Aluminium which should help in terms of performance. The fuel economy should be about 50mpg on the tests I think - down to the weight savings, tyre sizes remaining exactly the same and possibly updated motors or programming to the hybrid system. Now that'd seriously put the NX to shame lol. I think a plug in hybrid would be obsolete. Nobody really "wants" one, they just buy it for the so called "fuel savings" which actually work out exactly the same (well in my hands anyway - BMW I8 managed only 51mpg) and the government grant that you get. They're always more expensive than even normal hybrids and not worth it IMO.

Unlikely. RX450h >>>>>>> NX300h in terms of power and economy (seen as though its got all the power and still manages close to NX figures!!). If its got lighter, itll probably do about 35mpg in reality, especially if they've updated the motors and added more batteries which they havent revealed yet. Sounds good, not too far away then!

de ionising water filter isnt needed - its only if you dont want to dry the car as it wont leave water spots. Sponge is ok as long as you're polishing after - you can get some new sponges, the zymol ones minimize swirls and are not your conventional sponge Two buckets is a must but you can skip the snow foam, ive found its hardly protective as it never takes all of the dirt off, just bits, which you're going to have to remove anyway so a mitt will have to glide over all surfaces of the paint regardless.

Of course you can. Lexus is even creating (or maybe already did) a special app for a smartphone with which you will be able to connect to your car, unlock it, start engine or just start AC while eating breakfast. This app will be available only in US as far as I know, but this shows, that it is possible. But for this, you have to have the premium nav system, because only this system with connected services can be attached to your account on Lexus portal, which then can be used with the app (you can also connect the premium system to your account in UK and whole EU). It is similar with BMW and RR and other manufacturers. The problem with this type of solution that I have is, that the security of such portals is as good as your IT security guys that you are hiring. And even if you have very good guys, there can always be a hacker that will be able to hack it. And I hardly believe that Lexus is using totally different software versions for US and other markets. It is probably the same, but we have those additional features disabled, but they are there. So this is what I meant, that for me it is not worth it. Maybe, if all the features that are available in US would be available also here, then maybe. The connected services in the US are completely different. They use Lexus Enform which isn't the same as connected services in the UK Besides, the standard NX without premium nav has an OBD port. If they wanted your car, they'd take it using any method possible. They can take cars with steering locks too. If it gets stolen, you have insurance to cover you anyway

Well then, they should know who had the car then before it was stolen!

Shampoo - Best bang for buck is carchem shampoo Polish - Meguiars 205 or Sonus Perfect Finish Wax/Coating - Any of your choice - I recommend Soft99 Fusso. Lasts an age, beads like nothing else and so easy to apply. Best thing is - its japanese!

Hmm bit odd. Mines a 2012 so probably same material used on the alloys. I have a kerbed wheel, cars garaged and I've got 30k on and no corrosion. Water has somehow got under the paint.

Michelins. I have them now. There was a noticeable difference from the OEM dunlop Sp sport 270 in terms of noise and grip. Economy has improved by 2 mpg too overnight which is good considering old tyres give better mpg readings compared to a new one. Also worth noting, they are m+s marked so theoretically should be better than a summer tyre in snow Best bit - 4k miles and only 0.5mm wear lol. They'll be running for 48k miles before they need changing!

That wasnt connected services hacking. It was OBD2 port thefts, completely different. Connected services just gives you traffic and stuff - you cant really access the cars locking system or ignition system from the connected services

Yeah it'll be 20 days overdue but either bang on 30k or about 30,100 at most.

Shouldn't be a problem. Mpg wise you should see about the same mpg or higher. Road tax should be similar to the IS250 too. Sat nav will be ok. It'll work and take you on all the major routes but of course, it won't know the latest roads unless it's been updated which you can get done for about £150 at the dealers. Main thing to look out for on the older RXs are the wheels which can corrode, sticking brake calipers and rust on the underside. Sunroofs tend to play up and air suspension has issues on some. Make sure the belt is changed as it costs a fair bit unless the price is really good

Warranty finished yesterday anyway lol. Yeah it was quite weird that the receipt said service and MOT but only MOT had been done. Any chances this would affect resale value at all? Or trade in price?

Long story short, I booked the 30k service at Lexus Bradford for my RX450h along with an MOT and full valet for the 27th of May. I picked my car up on the 29th but the service book hadn't been stamped. The aftersales person said they'd stamp it and I could pick it up the following week. I totally forgot that week so went this week on the 10th of June to get my service book. Apparently a service hadn't been done on the 27th, they basically kept my car for 2 days to do a full valet and an MOT! :O Now the service has been booked for the 17th of June, being just 10 days shy of a full month overdue because of this. Does this lead to any major issues? Should I get them to put 27th May as the date in the book and on their service checklist?

Expensive products are just a waste. What you want is something cheap and effective. Look at Autosmart Products, it's what the valeters use