Rabbers

I think the guiding logic, rightly or wrongly - but probably the latter - is that if the car can handle such acceleration so can the driver.

No question about it. Still, if he makes a habit of it I’d be interested to know how long his tyres last.

Unless they are moral philosophers of proven distinction, I make it a rule to mistrust anyone who considers the difference between honesty and dishonesty to be a subject for debate.

Based on my admittedly limited experience of the NX350h, I was surprised by your criticism of the ride. On the two occasions I have driven the car, once for the best part of a day on a variety of surfaces ranging from good to barely acceptable, I found the suspensions exceptionally good by comparison with my own RC300h, which are themselves excellent, and, more significantly, by comparison with those of the previous generation NX300h, which I have had as a courtesy car several times and invariably found very poorly sprung and noisy on rough roads. If I were you I would ask a Lexus dealer, hopefully one you trust to be objective, to take the car for a drive and see if his opinion coincides with yours.

.... or perhaps even want it?😳!

My first Lexus was a 2002 IS200, silver with black trim. I bought it for my wife but ended up mainly driving it myself before trading it in for a 2005 IS250 when it had done about 50000km and still looked and drove like new. Amazingly enough I still occasionally spot it on the road and, as far as I can tell, it still looks to be in good nick. In my recollection it did not offer a particularly exciting drive but had an exceptionally smooth gearbox complementing the equally smooth ride. I was fond of the unique chronograph-style instrument cluster and the highly tactile gearstick with the spherical chrome grip. Unfortunately this tended to peel and flake, and after I had it replaced once under warranty it already needed replacing again when I sold the car. Also, both headlights were replaced under warranty because of water ingress, and one of them was replaced a second time for the same reason.

These types of wheel supposedly allow more space for beer bellies, and for this reason are said to be especially popular in German cars.

If you want an all-black car, wheels and all, and that is your taste you should by all means go for it. But, to be practical, you should bear in mind that the F-Sport black cloth roof lining combined with black leather, black plastics and black mats makes the cabin look and feel murky. I have had red leather in 2016 and 2019 F-Sport RCs in Sonic Titanium, the Dark Rose shade replaced by the brighter Flare Red (see Peter's photo in his post above) in the later model. Red leather trim is well suited to any metallic silver-type car but in my opinion looks a bit naff in a black one. There is no disputing that black leather is more convenient to maintain than any other colour if only because it hides dirt better and can more easily be recoloured if necessary. With specific regard to the two aforementioned Lexus reds, my experience is that they wear well with a minimum of maintenance, being favoured by the shape and firmness of the F-Sport seats, which make the horizontal surfaces less prone to lateral pressure and rubbing and therefore to creasing. This, of course, is regardless of colour but is a feature that might make one more reluctant to consider black as a first choice.

Didn’t they also keep out the Welsh?

Complaining about someone bad without realising that it takes one to know one.

Good Grief, Malc! I thought the only gfs you had were the one you just bought and the one you kept. Now you’re telling us you’ve got at least one other that doesn’t have four wheels and helps out with communications technology issues. You are making us all jealous.

I have occasionally experienced minor but nevertheless irritating noises upon closing rather than opening the sunroof (or "moonroof", take your pick), which have aways gone away of their own accord. Being an optimist, I attribute them not to any mechanical issue but to grit or other forms of dirt which as likely as not might have come unstuck from the surface of the glass if it is none too clean. Also, although I can't really explain how it might have any direct effect on noises, it seems helpful to apply a rubber dressing such as GummiPflege to the external roof seal every once in a while.

Vlad, for one reason or another I‘ve been unlucky with just about every Ford I’ve ever driven, and this, justly or unjustly, had made me prejudiced. The only Ford I’ve ever owned was a 2003 1600cc Fiesta, Ghia trim, bought new and used mainly by my wife. It spent a lot of time in the workshop because of engine- and brakes-related issues, more irritating than serious, and we kept it for less than two years. My memory of it is of overlong braking distances and poor stability in the wet. One of my worst experiences with any car regarded a mid-90s Mondeo I once rented in Germany. After leaving it overnight in a motel car park, I found it covered in thick frost. Upon yanking the door open, the rubber door-seal came away with it, leaving me to try and get it back in position in the bitter cold, which I managed with the help of tape before driving 100km in sleet and snow to the next town with a Hertz office to get a replacement. As regards American Fords, I occasionally had use when visiting my company’s HQ in Chicago of a car pool consisting entirely of Fairmonts and a few Mercury models. I never drove one that didn’t have a rattle. Mind you, I was once a passenger in the CEO’s Lincoln Continental, and that was totally rattle-free.

Interesting. When I asked at my 60000km service if my pads were OK, I was assured they were. Same reply at 75000km, leading me to comment that this was impressive. The service manager agreed, adding that this was not unusual after the pads were “improved” with the RC’s 2019 facelift. Checking back, we saw that the front pads on my 2016 RC had in fact been changed at 58700km (i.e. with the 60000km service). I haven’t thought about it again until now but my understanding was that the quality of the compound used for all sizes of Lexus/Toyota pads then current was modified for the better around 2019 and would presumably have been adopted as standard across the range thereafter.

I don’t see much connection between airline and car dealership personnel. The only function they have in common consists of face-to-face contact with customers who, being generally more demanding than they once were, have also become more demanding and consequently more prone to anger. In no other areas of activity are the two staffs functionally interchangeable. Of course, airline personnel, be they ground or flight, are likely to handle and resolve customer-related issues more effectively because they have been given job-specific training enabling them to do so. That said, in normal workaday circumstances, I’m sure that most Lexus receptionists, monolingual or otherwise, would be as capable of serving me a glass of bubbly as civilly as any Etihad or Emirates or Singapore steward or stewardess.

Nice move, Malc. Congratulations.

If it was they were wrong!

Very true, and in itself a highly positive contribution to Lexus’s image without the company’s involvement …“LEXUS. THE CIVILIZED PERSON’S CAR”.

I have always assumed that Lexus’ marketing and technical support people do not participate in independent forums because it is the company’s policy not to do so. And although the policy may not extend to dealerships, perhaps because of enforcement difficulties, the latter are probably informally encouraged to follow it. Not, I imagine, that the majority of dealers disagree and haven’t already instructed their staff accordingly. Independent forums are not a controllable medium and are, as such, anathema to anyone responsible for promoting and protecting a company’s interests and reputation. I sometimes find it difficult, as a follower and occasional contributor to the LOC, to quickly and confidently distinguish legitimate opinion-based argument from sterile forms of argumentativeness, correct information from incorrect information or (heaven forbid) wilful misinformation, and legitimate complaints from generic rants. Lexus, were it to actively participate, would need to address and evaluate these and other issues before responding or risk alienating unquantifiable numbers of people by not doing so.

I can't believe you actually let someone lay hands on your Betsy 😲 !!?? In return for coffee and biscuits 😳 !!!??? What is the world coming to 🥹!!!!????

I find it admirable that the U.K. Highway Code should recommend rather than regulate against day-time parking against the traffic flow. The U.K. is probably not alone in allowing its citizens to exercise some measure of common sense, but comparisons are academic. That you are unlikely to find a busy street anywhere in Italy (and not only Italy) without several vehicles parked against the traffic flow has less to do with indiscipline or any lack of common sense than with physical circumstances. Only last week I was in an area of Milan consisting of narrow two-way streets lined with parked cars on both sides. After driving around for quite a while looking for a spot to park I suddenly saw one on the other side of the street. I quickly crossed over and took it, naturally after signalling my intent. And I must admit I was rather proud of myself for having made what was unquestionably a very nifty move. The thought of blocking the traffic in an entire neighbourhood by attempting a series of three-point wriggles with the aim of reversing into the space with my nose pointing in the right direction would have been totally ridiculous. Of course, I could have decided to not take the spot and thus continue driving around getting more and more desperate. Whether this would have made me feel like a solid citizen rather than an idiot is a question to which I already know the answer.

That, apparently, is the rule or code or law or local bylaw or whatever in several countries. I got a ticket tucked under my wipers for doing it in some town in Germany more than twenty years ago. I never paid the fine, and my conscience has been tormented 😩 ever since.

Nothing compares to either except perhaps the Italian Dolomites. You might give a thought to a drive down the length of Portugal taking in the Douro Valley, or perhaps Croatia, which also has some spectacular scenery and among the best roads in Europe.

Anything preventing you from staying in Britain?

I attach photos of the newly refurbished driver-side headrest of my RC, and another of the disassembled original leather sections showing the stain and surface peeling that led me to have the job done. It should be mentioned that the stain and neighbouring peels and scuffs look worse than they originally did as the result of re-colouring tests etc., carried out by the workshop before recommending a complete replacement of the leather. I had initially hoped to have the stained section simply cleaned and re-coloured and the peeling repaired and ironed out. However, because the stain went too deep and there was no guarantee of it and the peels not reappearing it was decided to proceed with a complete replacement. The refurbishment was carried out by a specialist leather workshop which, for €180, did a very satisfactory job re-using the original seat-attachment rods and preserving most of the padded structure. I didn't bother to get a quote from Lexus for a new replacement headrest, knowing instinctively that it would have been a lot costlier, probably exorbitantly so. My only cause for dissatisfaction is a slight colour difference in respect of the original attributable to the use of a stock leather. An exact match for the original Lexus Flare Red would have involved the sourcing and dyeing of a whole skin with a consequent doubling of the cost and much longer lead-time. It was a pleasure to deal with expert craftspeople. Their work may or may not be of takumi standard, but it runs it close. And I won't dispute their claim that the replacement leather is superior to the original.