DanD

Does it work with the engine and ignition off? Have you switched it on an left it running for a while to see what happens?

I can't recommend the Hedge End dealership enough. I would suggest you phone them, telling them you might be interested in one of their cars but it is long way for you to travel... and see what they suggest.

I see you too are in Hampshire... I have heard good reports from Scratched Cars in Timsbury. If you go to the Hedge End dealer, ask for Dan, the used car manager. He has some good contacts and arranged for cosmetic work to be done on my car at a very reasonable price. The workmanship was excellent and I was able to use one of the dealership's courtesy cars for 4 days while mine was being worked on.

I have had the Latitude Tour HP as my last two sets of tyres (had the Dunlop SP before that and did not like them), however I replaced them with a set of Latitude Sport recently because of the Tour HP were not immediately available. I am finding that the Sport are at least as good as the Tour, although maybe a little noisier.

All reasonable points... I have to admit that I was surprised by your statement about the average temp is below 7 degrees everywhere in the UK in winter, but it would seem that the Met Office agrees with you!

1) Don't know, but definitely was there on my Exec Ltd Edition 2) Yep

Other cars have a similar configuration: Peugeot 208, previous generation Renault Scenic, previous generation Seat Altea/Toledo/Leon and others.

Geoff, the interior of a 3RX is far from basic: after all, it sits above the NX in the range and is much more expensive, but you need to consider that it is a much older design to that of the NX. You really need to sit in and test drive a RX... don't just go by the pictures, especially because a light interior colour or the addition of a sunroof or pan roof will make the car feel bigger, whilst a black interior will make it more cosetting. RX and NX feel very different, not only in size but in performance. For a start, the NX has 4 cyl, the RX has 6 cyl with approx 300bhp (I think it's 296). Because of its laminated windows (a bit like doubleglazing!) the RX is very quiet. While the NX may not be much shorter than the 3RX, it is not as wide, etc. Take a trip to your local dealer!

I lived in Bavaria for 9 years and the use of winter tyres was a must. You would typically swap at the end of October, and again at the end of March, typically using plain steel wheels rather than alloys over the winter so that you would not have to worry so much about corrosion or kerbing when sliding into a kerb! Most garages would charge a few quid a year for storing your unused set of wheels, and the service would include inspection and fitting each time you were ready to swap. The cost of running two sets was in fact minimal: your tyres being used 5/6 months per year lasted twice as long. Having said that, winter tyres are not worth the expense unless you regularly drive in snow and in temperatures below 7 degrees: Aside from different tread, winter tyres are made of a softer compound that will wear very much quicker than summer tyres above 7 degrees, without added benefits. In fact, I would go as far that road holding is negatively impacted when driving in winter tyres in "warmer" temperatures AND you will notice an decrease in your MPG because of the added friction. Personally, investing in good quality all-season tyres makes much more sense, especially in a AWD vehicle, unless you drive in snow and ice more than 75% of your time.

I have cables permanently plugged into all the available outlets under the armrest to power an old iPod (which I leave at the bottom of the storage bin under the armrest), an iPhone charger, an Android charger... and I also have an AUX cable so that I can play music from my Android phone. I also have in there a USB extension lead that can reach the back seats! I have to admit that it's a bit messy, with loads of cables within the storage bin, but on the other hand I don't use that bin for anything else, and it all works fine. I have just made sure I use different colour cables to make life easier.

Yes I did get mixed up. I lived in Germany for 9 years and you are right: autobahn are brilliant when unrestricted, but if and when there are speed limits, better stick to them! I agree that the CT is bettered by many, and also that it has many good points: it is extremely reliable, relatively cheap to run, has plenty of toys and I love its go-kart attitude. I also agree that an older IS300h is most probably a better buy for many reasons. The reason I am/was looking at the CT is that I will be on my own in it 90% of the time. Maybe I should wait a little longer and treat myself to a RC300h instead. And before you start, I know you can get better for the money :-) ...but I do love the looks, especially in Ultra Blue or Sonic White.

Because Hybrids use regenerative braking most of the time. They only use friction brakes at low speed (when regenerative braking would be inefficient), or in emergencies when additional stopping power is required. Brakes and pads therefore last much longer than on a non-hybrid car. Based on the above, will you really benefit from having ceramic brakes, and is it worth the investment? It's only a question... (I had always thought that ceramics were a lot more expensive than the traditional pads)

AVERAGE 102mph and 109mph over 1,500 miles? And that's including being stuck behind caravans and up mountain passes? AVERAGE 70mph over 1,500 miles in the UK? Really. I would suggest your speedo needs recalibrating.

I'm holding off for now, as I have had no recurrence of the light no working.

This is what it should look like. Each beige plastic clip should push into dedicated fixings on the back of each of the two seats.

Hmmm... given that my front bumper was replaced a few weeks ago... I wonder...

I travel through France 3 to 4 times per year and I have noticed the same with our RX450h, and previously our RX400h. I think this is either because French tunnels are comparatively brightly lit, or because of the orange tint of the lights used in tunnels. I usually switch the lights on/off manually.

Is it really worth the hassle and expense when Hybrids hardly ever rely on pads and disks for braking anyway?

Double declutching?!? - Wow.... does any one ever do this nowadays?

I don't think it will have any incidence on route calculation, in particular because lowest speed will remain "urban" and the highest will continue to be "motorway", but it should affect estimated time of travel/arrival time. No speed camera alerts on 2011 model.

It could well be an option, but not one I have looked into as yet. I am keen to stay with Lexus, so an early CT could do the trick... or I would need to look elsewhere. I recently drove a Peugeot 308 and was actually rather impressed. Downside is that it may have to be a diesel for the economy. Surely road tax and insurance would be much higher for the IS250? - Also, after 7 years, despite the car's reliability, I expect that some components will start failing and need replacing?

Simply put: no.

Thanks Rayaan, much appreciated. Tim: interesting comment... I have wondered the same. I will get both bulbs replaced over the next couple of weeks and report back on whether or not there is a noticeable difference.

If you are talking about the dashboard dials, you should find a dimmer switch by your right knee. If it is set to MAX, the display will not dim at all. If you are talking about the SATNAV screen, you need to look into the menus and make sure that the AUTO option is enabled for automatic switching between day and night settings.

I would have to check (it's the same on all Lexus models), but I seem to recall that one of the quick routes shows as green on the map and is meant to be the "greener option".