nickjwarman

The MAnager at my local dealership is certain its not coming. He also mentioned the 2007 GS 300 would include MM pack but no up grade to 350 engine.

Odd move, but i'm not complaining as the rx 350 killed the 300 dead as far as residuals were concerned.

The mag constantly refers to the LFA as Toyota's supercar. Does the Audi R8 ever get described as VW's?

Well to be fair, that's not quite the same thing anyway. Audi has a history all of its own, and as far as I know, Audi actually predates VW. All that's happened there is that two companies have merged together - we don't call Aston Martins Fords do we?

With Lexus, it is a name that has been purely fabricated from thin air - its history is Toyota's history. In addition, I can't remember which, but it was either the new GS or the new IS that was the first actual Lexus - which means the company has only really been around for a year, so its gonna take time before Lexus gets the respect it deserves.

Don't want this to sound like I'm having a go, cos I'm not, but its just that Lexus is a very new brand, a creation of Toyota, so its going to be a long time before its fully accepted as a true luxury brand.

Also Autocar is notoriously biased towards the Germans, so there gonna take every opportunity to have a go that they can :)

Fair point, well made!

I also think Lexus Europe could do more in their PR department to improve the image of Lexus. For example, when the IS250 appeared in all the mags, it wasn't in blacks and silvers, it was in the much more niche gold, red and greens, which appeal to far fewer people.

I suppose if everyone new Lexus was as good as it is, everyone would be driving them, they'd be common as muck and most of us would be looking for a different brand. haha!

It seems at the moment that if anything new is coming out from Lexus, the autocar guys just make up the picture by grafting on the IS250 front! They did it on the possible BS series and now the IS nose is on the LFA. Seems a bit lazy to me!

The mag constantly refers to the LFA as Toyota's supercar. Does the Audi R8 ever get described as VW's?

I don't understand the apathy that surrounds Lexus in the press!

according to the american sites, there will be 350 in autumn 06 and 460 in spring 07. both 300 and 430 will be discountinued.

Obviously our timings will be different in the uk....

I'd say you are dead right. The GS 350 is out in the states in a month or so, with demos doing the rounds already. A GS 460 will be available in the states by spring 07.

The 350 has more horsepower than the 430!

Would like to know release date over here, as residuals are going to take a beating (again)!

there's something odd about the image - the GS doesn't have a fin aerial and it definitely looks like GS350 was photoshopped on as the angle doesn't seem quite right....

26k is still a bit cheeky. Lexus nottingham and guildford have to pay more than that for these demo ones from lexus GB that are going out at 30k. Plus yours is 6 months newer than the 30k ones (i think i read that earlier)

BMW is taking the mickey as they know an M5 buyer is buying with they're heart and will therefore take a lower PX price.

Have you tried other BMW dealers?

I had a look on the Lexus web site last night, I cannot believe how much 430s have lost in value in 12 months. A 12 month old £47k vehicle is selling at a main dealer for £30k, trade in value must be around £26-27k.

I imagine the 450h will hold its value better.

I can't see a single valid reason why anyone would buy a GS430 in preference to the GS450h, apart from the boot space, a minor issue to most.

Personally, I'd say the 430 is doomed and will shortly be deleted.

bill

Congratulations on your 450h - I'm glad you are pleased with your purchase. Why not let others enjoy theirs? The post was questions on the 430, not 'put down my car please'.

The 430s for sale at 30k are a glut of pre registered ones that lexus had for various promotional reasons. There were about 20 - 30 of them - i saw the list as i bought one.

It may just cause a brief upset in the market as not all dealers are allowed these models.

This is the power of the internet - 10 years ago lexus could have sneaked these cars out at a few dealers and most poeple would be none the wiser.

I have traded my gs300 sel for a 430 and am over the moon with my decision. The V8 engine is amazing and only 0.5 sec max different to the 450h. I needed the extra boot space as i have a lot of luggage.

The hybrid is great for those who don't need to carry anything around - otherwise its got to be the 430.

like for like spec the hybrid is the same price as the 430.

handling is diminshed due to all the Battery weight according to this months top gear.

Unless the technology has moved on from the rx400h, real world mpg ain't gonna be that impressive.

Don't get me wrong, i'm all for the 450h but i don't think it is a complete enough package for the size of car that it is.

My Car goes in for it's 10000 mile service this week and is booked in for a few days for the rattle to be looked at.

Thanks for the info Rillo - should be a big help!

My Gs300 sel has the exact same rattle/creaking over the vents! I took it to the dealership a few months ago but the rattle soon came back and i am loathed to hand over the car again for non-specific rattles as it often causes as many problems as it solves!

If the rattle is a specific problem though - that could be great! Look forward to hearing the results!

Ha ha... false alarm - it is there - a little light on the right hand side - noticed it while i was cleaning the car.

Got to say it's pretty low on my extras list, but for those concerned about night time boot fumbling, the panic is over!

since i have one, i can tell you that - nope, no light! Bit of a pain in the dark! Not exactly an issue for me though - best car i've ever had!

My model has just arrived. It cost soooo much to get it here this fast, but i wanted it as soon as poss!

I've got several of these 1/18 models and this one is the best i've ever seen - fantastic detail!

18 " alloys come standard on the GS sel so if things went in line with that, you would hope 18s would come as standard on the is sel too....

I found those models last night, ordered two from the US straight away - the silver one is almost identical to my SEL that i picked up last month.

Anyway, They are to be released at the end of this month/beginning of next!

I think it could take a while for them to filter over to shops here - the distributor for auto art is not supposed to be great over here.

Had to order my black is200 model from belgium!

Anyone seen an RX model yet?

I saw the new Merc at the Geneva motor show. It does look great - a bit more aggressive than the RX.

To me, it looked like a mix of the old ML and an RX!

I test drove the RX400h sel last week. It was impressive but didn't blow me away. The sooner they get rid of aluminium bits and gimmicky displays on the hybrids, the better.

I had to turn the efficiency display off - it became quite irritating!

The one thing that no other 4x4 can get around is the 400h's low co2 levels. So it's ideal if you really want a 4x4 and have to tolerate hippy environmentalist banter from relatives or collegues!

27 years old, 7 years no claims - £600 with esure. They didn't want to insure me due to being under 30 but i'd insured my IS with them so they had to transfer me over.

My new GS sel is actually marginally cheaper to insure even though its group 17 and the rx is group 15. Odd. But good!

I'd recommend esure - but i will investigate Tesco when its time to change, they seem very competitive.

Hello all, am going into lexus tomorrow to negotiate a deal on a GS300.

How much should i ask for my RX300 SEL, 14 months old, 21500 miles, black with side bars and 'a' bar?

Thanks in advance!

Nick

I think depreciation is a big worry on the sel is250 especially - I noticed 1 year old RX300s have taken a 3k nose dive in value recently. Apparently thats due to the X5 being replaced soon and the market being flooded with old ones.

I would only have considered the is250 sel with media package (only for sat nav though) and at £32k, I would use drivethedeal.com and buy a GS300 SEL for £36K - much better value!!!

I really wanted an is350 but can you imagine the price - it would be stupid!

IS250 performance looks dull for the price. I could well imagine Lexus losing a lot of it's core customers on this car - are they looking to alienate current buyers (individual, want prestige but appreciate value) and replace them with BMW buyers?

I change my car every year - but this year, due to lack of anything interesting and appauling depreciation on my RX (I reckon £10k at least in 12months) I'm not prepared to keep handing cash over to Lexus when there is nothing of interest to buy!

Lexus used to do great packages and you knew you had every toy but at great value, if that policy is changing, I'll be off to check out other brands!

Hello all. Count me in on this problem too - roundabouts and speed bumps cause an annoying lurch in acceleration afterwards. Drives me crazy.

Perhaps this is not getting the attention it deserves because the americans may not have the problem. They have a different engine so the gear change program will be a bit different. Just a thought.

Whilst driving past Nottingham Trent Uni, Clifton campus - where the Lexus educational department is based - my brother spotted a black hybrid driving off the campus.

He said it looked like the alloys should be bigger, not just different and cause it's on springs it looks a little high.

He said the vent at the front is really obvious to and makes the nose look longer.

Looking forward to seeing how fast it feels!

That's exactly what i've got, except mine is the white one - i think it is harder to find the silver.

They are really amazing - even have true to life body roll!

Does anyone know if you can get the diecast 1:18 model of the rx330 yet?

Has anyone else noticed how awful the lexus website currently is? The pics are super low res and the layout is pants!

Looks like its been done on the cheap - very cheap!

Maybe it is a temporary site due to all the changes in the model line up?