MNMJ

More spotted at the ring: A pair of red 5 litre V8 coupes

1. Reliability 2. Stealthy and unusual 3. Dealer Service 4. Noise when required

I saw an RC300h in Orange today at Lexus Chester. When the sun is reflecting on it and if you stand up close, there is a lovely goldish tinge. But from a distance or when overcast I found it to be an unpleasant shade. It was also interesting to see a 61 plate Blue IS-F next to a Blue 16 plate RC300h. The RC looked slightly darker and my opinion more striking. Shame about the crap engine though

My RCF squeaks too at low speeds. I'll see what the dealer says when I'm in next week

After many ever-faster Subarus, I wanted smooth power with the same reliability. I live in Cheshire so Audi, BMW, Porsche and Mercedes are just too common. When I bought the ISF, Jaguar had not released the XE, and I'm still waiting for an XER as a realistic alternative. A new ISF would be top of my list, if they made one

White one at Rally Fest Cholmondely last year. It was part of the 'supercar paddock' and went up the track after the WRC and Group B rally cars. I had a brief chat with the owner. Anyone in here? And a blue one in the car park at the Pageant of Power in (I think) 2014. Those are my on the road spotteds in 7 years of looking. And neither was on the road

I hope they stay high for a long time...According to Autoader, the trade-in value of mine went up by £500 in March. Mind you, that followed a £1740 fall in Feb and a £930 fall in Jan... I've started to track the price month my month to see if I can see a pattern. I don't particularly believe the results, but it is a mildly amusing diversion

I can confirm the RAF spent 20 minutes above the snowline, then went back to Aviemore for tea and medals. And this is the correct tool for hole digging...

I once spent 36 hours cooped up with a submariner, a marine and an infantryman in a snow hole on the Cairngorms. I reckon that had we been there for 36 days we still would not have exhausted their collection of filthy and hilarious stories

Shell V Power all the way for me, both on the RC-F and the IS-F, and all my fast Subarus before. After completely unscientific testing I decided it improved fuel consumption enough to offset the cost. It also makes cars faster. So basically its a free power boost... ....or the placebo effect. In any case, when depreciation is £500-2000 a month, an extra £5-20 a month on fuel is not worth fretting about

After 33,000 mles driving the IS-F and 13,500 in the RC-F, I have found the RC-F to feel faster in almost all road conditions, except the wet. It also has a greater sense of occasion and is no problem in car parks. The back seats are a little tight though. The RC-F does not feel heavier to me, possibly due to the improved power to weight ratio. I also prefer the steering, which is heavier. The IS-F did feel a little less attached to the road in a corner, which I imagine translates in the eyes of journalists into a looser back end and more drift potential. The biggest improvement is the ride; it is a step change better. I would love to get back in an IS-F to see if my memory is playing tricks on me. Now I've really fallen for the RC-F, there is a risk all sorts of biases have taken over. I've even decided not to swap it for an Alfa Quadrofoglio for at least another 2 years; it si that good.

How much is it and how does one get it?

Lexus Chester; get my vote. I've bought the cars from Wolverhampton and Manchester, but always gone for servicing at Chester. So far, so very good after 6 1/2 years and they have given me no reason to go to Stockport, Stoke or Manchester

The best colour. Seeing it almost makes me want my old one back

I've been up there many times and never seen it busy. Though I do try to avoid the A5 side and double back rather than use it. On the good bits of the Triangle there are many overtaking places if you do meet a dawdler. The quietest and most exciting time was in the IS-F at 5am on a Saturday in January. Its also been a hoot in various Scoobies, a Cooper S, an F-Type, Legacy, and a Mondeo. Oh and on a bicycle

Of the 3 that I drove, I must confess two were just test drives. But they were proper drives including the EVO triangle and other favourite North Wales roads

Ouch; that sounds nasty to me. I prefer it without the s/c

The 3.7 litre in the G37 was a beauty; I nearly bought one

Well spotted on the 3 year old comments. People have been talking about putting the V8 in the XE since it was announced. Maybe they just did a cut and paste of past comments to make it look like there is traffic? As to reliability; it was the same with the F-Type; there were many quality and reliability complaints at first. I had some good advice from insiders at BMW GB back in the nineties that said "Never buy a car built in the first 6 months of production; German Quality control tolerates 28 faults per ??? for the first 6 months, then it must drop to 6 per ??? (I can't remember the ??? metric, but the drop from 28 to 6 stuck in my mind). Jaguar seem to have embraced the principle. Waiting 12-18 months also gives the XE SVR time to depreciate; the Jag R models are, like our Fs, notorious for first year depreciation

Very handy for the EVO triangle. I did have to Google Lixwm to make sure it really exists

It made me realise its the first one I've seen moving in the UK, apart from the 3 I've driven. Outside of dealers, I've seen two parked up at the Cholmondely Pageant of Power and Rally Fest, but that's it. And then in one evening in Boston*, I saw 3 of them driving around. * Massachusetts, not Lincolnshire obviously

Black IS-F going through Whitegate village in Central Cheshire on Saturday. Sounded great passing me as I was cycling up the hill. It was 4 miles from Oulton Park, heading in the right direction and it sounded like a trackday was going on there. Was it anyone on here?

Whilst Lexus seem determined not to compete in the powerful small saloon market, Jaguar are going for it. http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/jaguar/xe/88275/new-jaguar-xe-svr-set-to-challenge-the-bmw-m3 The XE SVR looks like a direct rival for the Alfa Giula QF, AMG C63, and M3 Performance Pack. They have also upped the power of the XES to 380PS from an underwhelming 330. Hopefully Lexus will get a grip and make a new IS-F

I agree; steep drop at first, then it flattens out. I bought my IS-F at £19,000 under list at 8 months old with 2,000 miles on the clock. Then it took just short of 5 years and 33,000 miles to drop another £19,000

I'm trying Octane for 6 months as a possible EVO replacement. I like it a lot so far and may have both in parallel to give EVO a chance to recover.