DanD

Popped in my local dealership this weekend, in the hope to take a look at the ES. Both demos were out and none in the showroom. Apparently, they can't get them in quick enough and the cars are sold before they reach the dealership. Waiting list is currently 3-4 months. My NX is going in for its first MOT on April 8th, and I have secured one of the two demos as courtesy car. Can't wait to try it out. (They also had 3 UXs in their handover rooms, ready to go).

Wow. I'll have to remember to avoid Retford at night! Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk

I read recently that European manufacturers - primarily the German ones - are moving towards offering packs in place of the current multitude of individual extras that is just not cost effective any more. With demand drastically slowing down (by as much as 70% in China), manufacturers are being forced to rationalise their ranges and approach. Audi and Mercedes in particular are considering discontinuing some of their models altogether (did you know that Audi currently offer no less than 80 variants of the A4!) and MINI are talking about killing off their Clubman in favour of an improved Countryman. That with the move away from diesel in favour of hybrids and EVs... times are a-changing! - The coming years are going to be interesting. Hopefully, this will also bring in a new breed of motoring journalists who will focus on more relevant figures than 0-60mph and whether or not a car has air conditioning!

The only way to mute the voice guidance is to do so manually: menu > voice > off. Assuming you can be bothered to do this each time you receive or make a call, you then have to remember to re-enable it afterwards. My recommendation is to turn the volume of the voice guidance down so that it does not impeach on your conversation whilst remaining audible. I suspect that, if a phone call was to mute route guidance, plenty of people would complain that they'd miss a satnav instruction, especially because when the phone rings, the satnav screen is replaced with the phone screen. can't please everyone! 🙂

I appreciate you putting us back on track, but you have to admit that a statement like "- I absolutely loathe..." and "- I hate..." will invite comments! 🙂 Back to your original question, I do not think this is a feature that can be switched on/off. My technical knowledge is (very) limited, but I believe that to get rid of the sequential function, you would need to replace the units (front and back)... and this is likely to lead to all kinds of other issues.

I see that there are now a few facelifted RC300h on sale at various dealerships. Any member got one? Or has any member driven one? Do they feel any different to the previous model? I can't decide whether I prefer the looks of the old one or the new one!

Yes, the 200t and 300h share the same screen.

I think this is a problem common to all German brands. They produce a lot of models, but they are so concerned about maintaining the "family look" that all their models end up looking very similar. I find it particularly obvious with Mercedes' saloon line up: you need a keen eye to differentiate the C, E and S class, especially from the rear.

Did you buy the car from a Lexus dealer? - I would go to them first: I know some forum members have had their screens replaced due to the anti-glare coating peeling off.

I saw an 850 on the road over the weekend. (there is a large BMW dealership near where I live). I have to say that it does look both elegant and muscular... but it it will soon become ubiquitous and will never have the exclusivity of the LC500. I also agree: I can't quite reconcile this type of car with the rattle of a diesel engine... no matter how sophisticated.

I think it may also be related to the way the service plan was set up. The dealer will have worked out the number of services required over a 5 year period, based on your estimated average mileage. For some, this will equate to one service per year, for others who do more miles it could be more, e.g. 7 or more services over the same 5 year period. The number of major/minor services will then have been considered to work out a monthly fee. The dealer may have decided (with your approval at the time?) to exclude the cam belt change from the figures to keep the price down. I think I was offered the option to exclude the cam belt change from my service plan when I bought a second hand 400h years back: I did not know how long I was going to keep the car for, and therefore did not want my monthly costs to be unnecessarily inflated by the cost of the cam belt change. As it happened, I ended up not only keeping the car longer then planned, but also covered far more miles than anticipated, meaning that 1) I had to pay for the cam change and 2) I had to pay for at least one extra service myself outside of the service plan.

I am not sure that the paint protection offered by Lexus would help against stone chips. To my knowledge, it is no more than a superficial, hand applied coating that helps keep the car looking clean for longer.

I have used one of these attachments but found the sound was not near as good as with a direct connection. If you search for "right angle charging cable" or "90 degree charging cable", there are loads of options. You may find one that suits your needs better.

Is this not what you are looking for? (they come in different length...) https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B072KJXD8H/ref=oh_aui_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Unfortunately, I feel that car journalists are stuck in a time warp, often judging cars by outdated standards. Is performance really the be all and end all when you consider speed limits and congested roads? Are 0-60 figures really relevant? Would you really notice that your car is 1 second slower from 30 to 70? Would you even care? "You do get a good level of equipment for your money, though, with satellite navigation, heated electric leather sports seats, parking sensors and a reversing camera, plus climate and cruise control." Is this really a benchmark nowadays? Is this what a Lexus should be judged by when you get all these as standard on the average hatchback (my teenage son has all these - and more - on his middle of the road, 4 year old Peugeot 208!)

I am not sure I understand why you hate these so much. i too think they are rather classy, and in fact I think that "in a mass of other vehicle lights", they provide additional clarity. Why should they be a deal breaker? - After all, you can't see your own lights when driving! 😁

As an aside, while we often moan about "soft" paint, I was recently told by a bodyshop professional that new "softer" paints are actually much better at absorbing stone hits that previously used paints. Also, when there are chips, they tend to be smaller and less deep and therefore easier to repair. Did you know that newer paints use sunlight to self-heal? https://newatlas.com/self-healing-car-paint/11254/ (note that this is a 2009 article, so nothing new!) This is also interesting: https://www.autogeekonline.net/forum/auto-detailing-101-a/104848-lexus-self-healing-paint.html

You're right. Also, you need to consider that the shape of the tank and the position of the outlet pipe will result in some of the petrol not being accessible. The latter will also prevent sediment from being fed into the engine. I came across the following which might be of interest: https://carfromjapan.com/article/car-maintenance/everything-drivers-need-know-fuel-tank-capacity/

I can't agree with you there. I think you are confusing excitement (or lack of) with reliability and dependability. Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk

Yes it is fine... But I feel that it somehow devalues the brand. Aren't I a snob ;-) Sent from my LG-H930 using Tapatalk

There are loads of GS300h taxis in Paris... Some IS300h and I even saw an NX300h cab there last week.

Yes... I borrowed a courtesy car with road sign recognition a couple of months ago: it told me that the speed limit on the M3 was 120... because it read a sign on the back of a continental lorry I was overtaking at the time!

I am going by previously read posts rather than my own personal experience here... I thought that, in the face-lifted model, the speed limits no longer appear on the map, but are displayed in the small TFT display between the speedo and the rev counter/eco dial. This is because the new model does not use the map-based speed limits, but dynamic road sign recognition instead.

Actually, that's a good point. I too have haptic feedback turned off.

Yep, sounds like the collision detection. If it thinks you are approaching an obstacle and suspects you have not noticed it, i.e. you are not braking/decelerating/indicating, it will beep three times with an orange warning saying "BRAKE!" It has 3 settings (which can be adjusted via a button by your right knee). The most sensitive setting will detect obstacle from a longer distance. This can be handy in the sense that it gives you plenty of warning, but also aggravating if it warns you of a car that has stopped ahead of you when you still have plenty of time to stop. Also, on the most sensitive setting it can occasionally get confused by a car coming from the opposite direction on a narrow road or a very tight bend. It can also get confused by heavy rain or snow in the same way as the adaptive cruise control does... I believe it uses the same sensors. Personally, I find it very useful - especially when the car in front unexpectedly slows down - but like most systems it is not entirely fool proof.