Rabbers

For a RWD, the RC is good in snowy conditions, and you can be confident of the grip and stability in slush and on compacted snow provided you have the right tyres, which to me means winter tyres, i.e. with the snowflake-and-mountain symbol. If the conditions are severe, or borderline, or difficult to judge, it is best to engage manual mode in addition to snow mode and keep to a low gear setting, and, of course, brake gently. The same applies to gradients, only more so, and I recommend switching off the traction control if there is a risk of stopping and spinning the wheels. The RC prefers uphill gradients, and can feel as though it is getting away from you on downhill ones unless you keep to a low gear setting or are willing to risk braking too hard. Returning to the subject of tyres, if you know you are going to be driving in snowy/icy conditions for a prolonged period of time, or if you are heading for an area where there is a serious risk of snow, winter tyres are absolutely essential. I live in the foothills of a mountainous area, well below the snowline but unprotected from sudden and unexpected bouts of snowy and/or icy weather, and I prefer to change to winter tyres in October on the principle that hoping for the best shouldn't stop you from preparing for the worst. Cold weather and a warm cabin can cause fogging of the windows, but in my experience only momentarily if you turn up the fan. Check the cabin air filter anyway.

I felt much the same about the RC when Lexus dropped it from the range. I had settled comfortably into the belief that future editions of the car in whatever forms might then be available would remain my first choice for the rest of my motoring and hopefully natural life. However, if I now want to stay with Lexus, my choices are limited to an ES or an NX, both of which are nice cars but, apart from not being entirely suited to my needs, don’t really excite me. Mainly because my usual dealership, which has never given me cause for complaint over many years, also sells Toyota, I would certainly look at the Camry and, less enthusiastically, at the RAV before committing to either of the two Lexus models. But, then again, I haven’t lost sight of the fact that the Germans make coupes that are almost as nice as the RC.

That’s what I also used to tell people in order to keep the conversation short. As for indie mechs, I wouldn’t expect them to say anything else.

Vindicates the existence of the facelifted model and illustrates the virtues of an educated right foot ….👟I had noticed some improvement in fuel consumption but nothing quite so spectacular.

Interesting comment, Alex. It raises the broader question of how and why some of us tend to refer to Toyota when expressing an opinion about a Lexus, so I thought I'd start a new topic in the Lexus General Discussions Forum. See Lexus v. Toyota - A Fair Comparison? posted a few minutes ago.

In a recent thread about the new NX350h (see 2022 NX350h AWD - Quick Preview - NX300h etc. Forum) there was a comment about the car's interior being "too Toyota [with] too much RAV-4 DNA". One can agree or disagree in the specific context, but the comment raises the broader question of why and how some of us tend to refer to Toyota when expressing an opinion - almost invariably a more or less negative one - about Lexus instead of judging the relative cars on their own individual merits. Personally, I couldn't imagine myself driving along in an NX and thinking that I might as well have bought a RAV, though I could easily see myself driving a RAV and wishing it was an NX. And, similarly, I can't imagine that more than a few CT or IS or ES owners have ever been nagged by the thought that Toyota "equivalents" like a Corolla or Prius or Camry would have given them equal satisfaction. To think otherwise would be to believe that, where models in the respective ranges overlap in size and purpose, Lexus customers are fooled into parting with their money while Toyota customers are getting a bargain. The standard of materials, build and finish of the new NX is at least equal to that of any top-spec or F-Sport version of the IS or RC I have owned. This is to say that things within my normal line of vision and reach are generally of high quality. At the same time I know that on closer inspection I would almost certainly find, as I did in the IS and the RC, a few irritating blemishes in the form of crappy and potentially creaky plastics below knee level, which, fortunately and consolingly, I mainly wouldn't see except when cleaning the car. And nor would I be unaware that, in addition to one or two design features that Lexus and Toyota have in common, there will be a few shared components such as switches, handles etc., (quite apart from mechanical parts under the bonnet). But I would frankly in no way be surprised by them, given that economies of scale, exchanges of design and engineering personnel, common training programmes, shared suppliers and parts inventories etc., are presumably normal practices within the Toyota Corporation and to a greater or lesser extent must affect the design and engineering of some of the cars. While personally lacking the knowledge to understand the technicalities with which Lexus engineers and managers explain and justify differences between Lexus and Toyota, I can nevertheless rely on the evidence of my own eyes. Having usually had nothing better to do when waiting to collect my car after servicing, I have for many years made it my habit to wander around my dealer's used-cars lot, the main section of which contains almost exclusively Toyota and Lexus vehicles. Without fear of contradiction I can say that Lexus cars always, I repeat always, look better and fresher inside and outside than Toyotas of a comparable age. Insofar as durability to a large extent depends on initial quality, as does reliability, I am satisfied that these factors, which are also reflected in speeds of depreciation, alone justify the significant price premium asked for a Lexus over a Toyota.

Absolutely right. I think they might have jumped the gun a little with pre-marketing and hoped to have reduced inventories of the previous model more than they have.

You misunderstand me. I might well reconsider my initial decision as the result of a formal test drive, though my feeling is that I won’t. As regards the infotainment screen, I have no objection or right to object to other drivers allowing it to be operated by a passenger, and they should feel free to do what they prefer, just as I will.

Yesterday I got to drive a 2022 NX350h AWD taking turns at the wheel with two other prospective customers. This was not a formal test-drive, for which I still don't have a date (maybe early December?), but a sneak preview in a car obtained by my dealer for his private use. I understood this particular car, a fully specced model, unnamed but presumably corresponding to a Takumi, may have been among a fleet of Lexus models used to chauffeur VIPs around the Venice film festival in September by way of promoting brand awareness. That it already had 7000km on the clock is a measure of its popularity with Lexus personnel, and I gather there is some management concern about reducing inventories of the earlier model, no car in recent years having been considered so much of an improvement over its predecessor. Fifteen minutes at the wheel and twenty as a passenger were frustratingly short but enough to convince me that the new NX is a difficult car to fault. So difficult, in fact, that I can't help thinking, wrongly I hope, that months of pre-launch brainwashing prevented me from seeing the car other than favourably. I was mainly interested, probably like most people, in trying out the new infotainment system, and, having owned both the IS300h and the RC300h, I was also looking forward to assessing the benefits of the increase in power to 245bhp. Regrettably the brevity of the drive and its limitation to town roads meant that any viable conclusions about the latter will have to wait for a proper test-drive. Although declared figures clearly favour the NX, it did not feel much faster or more responsive than my RC when I had the chance to accelerate from about 50kmh to 120kmh+ upon approaching and merging with fast traffic from a secondary road, though it was certainly smooth and perceptibly quieter. I gather that the F-Sport, which is the version I would normally want, differs only in some aesthetic details but has the same suspensions, and wheels and tyres, and therefore drives no differently. The 14inch touch-screen is so visually dominant that the whole cabin and not just the dash seems designed around it. Being perfectly positioned in height and angle, it has an almost "magnetic" attraction for the eye and hand. Despite being angled towards the driver it can be operated almost as easily by the front-seat passenger, not that this is something I would encourage. Full appreciation of the system and the amount of data it can provide requires a period of familiarisation and practice, but major functions like navigation, media and climate are immediately and invitingly simple to operate. The display is graphically pleasing, sharp in definition, and readability is not seriously impaired by direct sunlight. The full-screen maps are particularly impressive in their size and clarity. I experienced no feeling of visual or mental overload from the large amount of data available, not least because of the summary data provided by the excellent HUD. My only complaint, in addition to the continuing proneness to error of the supposedly improved voice command function, is the absence of the traditional split-screen showing two sources, which I initially thought was because I couldn't find the relative control but, as it turned out, is actually no longer present. Lexus has done a very good job in re-designing the system, and the sooner it is adopted across the range the better. Unless competitors match it for functionality and quality (for all I know some of them already do), it will help Lexus to sell more cars and gain market share, and I don't doubt that quite a few existing Lexus owners will bring their plans for a new car forward in order to have it. By comparison, the otherwise perfectly serviceable system in my RC now suddenly seems - indeed is - out of date and, despite my long familiarity with it, much too fiddly to operate. In fact, I now dislike it. My drive of about 20km, during which I generally kept to the speed limits, was entirely on good roads in normal town traffic and included a stretch of dual carriageway where I was briefly able to get up a bit of speed. Before commenting further, I should say that I am generally not fond of SUVs as a type of vehicle. Based on my own admittedly limited experience, I find them too large for my everyday needs, uncomfortably high in driving position, wobbly at high speeds and on winding roads, overbearing in traffic, inelegant in appearance, and too numerous. The new NX, like the previous one, shares few or perhaps none of these drawbacks and lives up to its billing as the sort of "luxury compact" I would be proud and happy to own. Compared to the UX, it looks and feels better built and more luxurious inside and out, and compared to the RX, its size better suits my physical requirements and my finances. On the two occasions I have had the "old" NX as a courtesy car (RWD both times) I was slightly disappointed by the quality of the ride, describing it as choppy on uneven services when posting my thoughts on this forum back in 2016. Minor asperities on otherwise good roads remain detectable in the new NX and can be momentarily startling because of the contrast with the general feeling of insulation from the outside world. Did I like the new NX enough to buy it? The answer is a borderline No, though I will be keeping this decision under constant review. I still prefer my RC even if the time when it will become tiresome to own and drive (but probably not to look at) has now come significantly closer.

Changing the cabin filter is one of the few tasks, along with topping up the sprinkler fluid and maybe changing the wipers, that I was always inclined and able to do for myself rather than wait, and therefore pay, for them as part of scheduled maintenance. By almost invariably using non-original parts and products, I have saved quite a bit of money over the years and correspondingly deprived manufacturers and dealers of income. By introducing all-in charges for scheduled servicing Lexus recovers that income so that its gain has in recent years become my loss. Given that the tasks in question can be priced as single operations and therefore subtracted, if not required, from the all-in service price, I have toyed with the idea of negotiating with my dealer accordingly. That I have not done so is basically because I can't be bothered, and, in any case, although I don't like Lexus prices, I have never over many years had the slightest occasion to doubt the quality and honesty of my dealer's work.

Doesn’t Lexus still mail a Quality-of-Service questionnaire immediately after servicing, so that you can register complaints and mark the quality of the dealership’s services on a scale of 10? Serious complaints, of which billing for services not rendered would be one, and average scores of below 7 (I believe), would automatically bring an investigatory visit to the dealer from the Lexus regional inspector. All with a minimum of the sort of irritation that you the customer don’t want.

Lexus seat-heating has in my experience never been as “aggressive” as that of other marques, e.g. BMW, and I find it useless except at the highest setting. Could it have something to do with Lexus’ reliability intent? One occasionally reads about seats catching fire, but I doubt it has ever happened in a Lexus. Personally, I’ve never experienced age-related heat reduction in either of the seats. It would certainly be covered by the manufacturer’s warranty and any extensions thereof.

I confirm Bernard’s post above. I personally admire the German way, whereby the use of winter tyres is not dictated by legislation but by your own sense of responsibility, albeit under threat of potential blame in the event of your involvement in an accident without them.

I honestly don’t know, Phil, how much thought Yates devoted to tyres but I would imagine that, if faced with the choice, he would have nourished his mind by eschewing Michelin or Continental’s stern practicality in favour of Pirelli’s gentle lyricism.

They were once quite common even in other less snowy parts of Scandinavia, and one also used to see them on high passes in the Alps. Apparently there are fewer places with them nowadays because they are considered possibly deceptive, though I always thought them a great help in case of need.

What has a former England fast bowler got to do with tyres? Anyway, he retired years ago.

Rational choice, then. And with the assumption that others will also be comfortable with them.

As far as I know or can tell, any LOC member posting on the subject of tyres is an expert, so I hope they won't consider it tactless of me to suggest that the subject, like wine or craft-beers or cheeses etc., tempts people to pontificate with so little justification that they inevitably come across as bores. I, for example, have for many years favoured Michelin or Pirelli over other premium tyre brands without really knowing or recalling or being credibly able to explain why. Maybe I originally fell prey to an advertising campaign or admired a salesman's spiel, maybe they helped me to narrowly avoid a motorway pile-up or to stay straight after a high-speed blow-out, or perhaps I drove many happy km on one or another of them with my first girlfriend in the passenger seat. All I know is that if I were to blind-test alternative brands on my car every day for a week with, let's say, Goodyear, Bridgestone, Conti, Dunlop and Yokohama added to my first two preferences, I would almost certainly be unable to tell them apart. But, if pressed, I would probably be tempted to offer some sort of opinion anyway - and, although I'd never admit it, feel like a bit of a fraud doing so.

See my Car Seat Pocket Organizer post RC Forum, February 18, 2018 for a not dissimilar item in stitched leather matching the red/black upholstery. I didn’t carry it over to my next RC because this has the connecting slit between the cupholders which accommodates my phone equally well.

The local press counted, believe it or not (which I do), no less than 80 (yes EIGHTY) vehicles in the motorcade. 50, I think, was CNN’s figure, probably intended to alarm its audience less.

No, selected brands will actually be served bottled to go with Greta’s veggie burgers.

The main thing I do is apply Collinite Insulator Wax #845 to the wheels (double application the first time) and the skirts, bumpers and boot area, repeating every 6-8 weeks depending on severity of weather. Dirt and (if present) salt then come off easily with a plain-water jetwash.

Lots of good tyres out there if you go for the premium brands and shop around for the best prices for the same product. Some tyres are quieter than others, give a better or worse grip in the wet or dry, are less or more fuel-efficient, wear more quickly and noisily, etc., etc., and all of them lend themselves to debate and opinion. Personally, I’ve never been able to figure out to what extent any opinion I have come to about one premium brand compared to another is objective or subjective or worth passing on to other drivers.

Surely the subject is worth a conference of world leaders or at least be put on the agenda.

Sorry to disappoint but I’ve never set foot in a British Embassy in my life, not because I’ve not been allowed in, but because I’ve never had the need.