Rabbers

I think the 2023 Prius with the 2.0 L engine due for launch in continental Europe around April will attract a closer look from a good number of present IS, RC, and maybe CT owners whose size and price requirements are no longer catered to in the Lexus range. The body design, with a 5cm lower roof and 2cm greater width than the current model objectively looks good, especially with 19” rims as standard; 223bhp and a 0-100kmh acceleration of 6.7’ sounds excellent, as does the rumored top speed of 200kmh; the availability (?-optional) of a solar roof that recharges the battery during parking and supplies auxiliary power for the air conditioning and other accessories during driving also sounds interesting. Prices are not known at present, but it would be logical to expect increases that broadly reflect the improvements in performance. The materials and build quality will probably fall short of Lexus standards, and unless there are some optionals capable of improving cabin appearance and comfort, this is the area where Lexus owners are likeliest to be disappointed.

What’s guaranteed to put me in a good mood, especially when faced with the prospect of heavy-duty shopping, is the chance to drive through the first of two empty vertical spaces and occupy the second as though I’d reversed in. Of such small things is happiness made.

So was I, and I have habitually done so ever since, even if it sometimes means momentarily blocking other cars - and despite being aware that people’s definitions of “momentarily” are highly variable.

The consoling thing about the sort of embarrassment Antony describes is that for most people it becomes a distant memory after a couple of minutes or less.

Too cramped. Even for the living.

Yes, I hear it's to die for.

Spotted these the other day. Looks like a perfect choice for getting to your final destination quickly and in style. Never seen one before, but a quick online search shows the marque to have a significant presence in this line of business. No doubt profitability compensates for any negative impact on the house image.

Believe me, Bernard, it takes a lot more than this to keep me awake at night, especially as true philosophising is something I am perfectly happy to leave to others. I will add, though, that it would be legitimate, after falling asleep, to dream of a systems check that gives advance warning of a possible malfunction so that you could contact an “authorised Lexus repairer or other reliable repairer” in your own good time and not as a matter of urgency or with a stopped car.

Do you mean it’s technically not feasible or that its prospective usefulness by way of forewarning would be dubious?

When, ignition ON, the icons in the instrument cluster light up, they all do so simultaneously. But then, once the system check is complete, they disappear in a process that is too quick for the eye to fully register but is clearly sequential and not simultaneous. My only certainty is that the last icon to disappear is the Airbags (SRS) one. Although I am now on my second RC300h F-Sport, I frankly can’t remember if the sequence was the same when the cars were new, but my suspicion is that it might have changed in both cars. Is it possible that the system check reflects, or is perhaps programmed to simulate, the extent of age-related wear and tear on the individual functions so that the last icons to go out represent the likeliest (though hopefully still improbable) malfunctions within the system?

Don’t know how John manages it but I would recommend getting a sporty-ish but well-behaved car like the RC. Works for me.

When the requirement for yellow headlamps on French-registered cars was lifted, sometime in the early 90s as I recall, more than a few people were angry to learn that studies refuting long-held official claims that yellow was less dazzling and made cars more visible had for several decades been kept locked in a drawer at the Ministry of Transport. This meant, somewhat embarrassingly, that well-founded lobbying by foreign car manufacturers as well as much of the motoring press had long been unjustifiably and inexplicably ignored. Personally, I never met a Frenchman who actually believed that yellow headlamps were better, and when the subject came up in conversation, as it quite often did, the explanation offered mainly in jest but not without a hint of earnestness was that it was perfectly normal for things to be done differently in France.

I don’t mean to alarm anybody but weaker night vision and a tendency to be troubled by headlights are symptoms of cataracts, which is itself a condition that becomes more common with age. If the symptoms become more marked and perhaps accompanied by others such as seeing halos around lights it would be a good idea to have a retinal test.

Just noticed from an earlier post of yours that your RC has non-standard exhausts. Are you sure they were properly installed?

Exhaust pipe hanger, perhaps. If damaged, any vibration would tend to worsen when you drive. Did your dealer lift the car to check underneath?

That Tony Soprano gave his daughter Meadow an IS250 is praise enough for anybody …

Whether or not to buy winter (or perhaps all-seasons) tyres in areas with infrequent snow is largely a question of how much you are willing to pay for increased peace of mind. To have them is much the same as insuring against events that are not likely to happen but whose negative repercussions for you and your property might be serious. Also, although good winter tyres aren’t cheap, the mileage you get from them directly translates into a longer life for your normal ones with an evident partial compensatory benefit.

Seen from Italy, whose team didn’t qualify for the final stage for the second consecutive time, this World Cup has been particularly enjoyable because the otherwise inevitable excessive patriotic fervour on the part of fans and commentators was replaced by a generally more dispassionate appreciation of the quality of the play and players. Which is not to say that Italy’s participation would not have been welcome. Perhaps the only exception to this forced neutrality was what has now become a more or less traditional antipathy towards the French team (in which Italy supporters are not alone), and, of course, this has less to do with levels of footballing merit than perceptions of national arrogance.

You mean like snooker players?

I do, but very occasionally I help it along, perhaps over-impatiently.

I’ve noticed that too. I don’t know exactly what the outside temperature might be when it happens but, given the greater likelihood in rainy weather, I suspect the level of humidity is as much to blame as the temperature. Anyway, I find that hitting the recirculated air button at the first appearance of condensation will stop it.

Bernard, one or two of your cultural and social observations may be open to debate but your conclusions are not,

Patience, Bernard. Wait for the final and we’ll find out. So far I think they are just about even.

Absolutely no hate from my side, AF. People are free to use whatever additives they like whenever and for whatever purpose they like. My own experience with injector cleaner yielded no objective proof of effectiveness, so I stopped using it. My interest in MMO, such as it is, is purely for its nature as a surviving brand within a genre of American automotive advertising history.

Yes indeed. One very rarely gets the chance, and then only briefly, but drives on deep-ish crunchy virgin snow with winter tyres and the feeling of a good grip can be highly pleasurable - at least until it crosses your mind that the snow may well soon be turning into icy slush or you actually come to a road where this has already happened! Concerning FWD cars having the edge on RWD ones in snow, I have always thought so too, and was surprised to read negative comments about the ES in this regard.