Scoops

When all the work is done, I will pop some pics up. I will also get my thoughts down about the car once I have managed to spend some proper time in it!

Not Police. Fire Service.

Picked up on Saturday morning! Nothing added work wise yet as that is done by a third party. The usual stuff really, grill lights, siren, rear reds, removable top light (not sure what yet), internal radio install and hardwired camera. Fingers crossed they do a decent job - God kno where they are going to put the internal stuff as there aren't any really obvious places!

Going back to the original post, the purposes of the economy figures given for cars isn't to reflect the actual expected fuel consumption of a vehicle (even though the manufacturers use it naughtily) but it is to allow comparison between vehicles which are tested in the same way. I know that is a subtle point but really, complaining about not getting the figures quoted is a bit pointless. Having said that, as the last poster states, no manufacturer can actually overcome the laws of physics yet so as much as I would like to get the quoted figures, I don't expect it!!

Finally, tomorrow is the day I get the IS!!! After loving the CT for the last 15 months I need a car for work and the IS fitted the bill perfectly. The car has been at the dealers for over two weeks while there were some paperwork issues but got the confirmation this morning all is good and we are ready to go! The dealer were kind enough to send some pictures though! It is an Executive Edition in titanium which is going to have a life as an emergency vehicle so it will have a few additions to make it 'stand out' from the crowd! Fingers crossed the dealership doesn't burn down overnight!!

I have just bought a mini 0805 with GPS for £68. I think this is the most discrete solution apart from the A118 which is a nice compact solution. Purely in terms of form factor the Transcend ones look quite big when you factor in a suction mount too. All I need is a bloody car now - which has been waiting at the dealer for two weeks waiting for paperwork from work!!

It is hard to see the point of the 200 and 250 in the same lineup apart from the need to say you have a V6 available.

I see you have gone for the B40/A118 camera... What do you think and are you using the GPS module? Hardwire kits are available on the Internet quite easily and have a voltage regulator inline (the ones I have seen anyway) for about £15.

I love when people get so excited about getting their car!! Hope you have a great time with it - great colour interior too. For what it is worth I am hopefully picking my new IS Exec up next week which will replace a CT. I could have picked anything (within reason) but I was so impressed by the IS I decided to stay with the brand. Speed is important but the in gear acceleration and handling as well as the refined nature of the car when you aren't pushing it won it in the end. Couple that with the looks and dealer service, I am amazed there aren't more on the road. Bear in mind to, my car will also be used as an emergency reponse car in my particular job with blue lights etc.. so the abilities of the car were very important to me.

Bluetooth is a funny one. In terms of cars, I don't know of any which will allow you to connect both phones at once. Most systems will remember a set number of handsets so they automatically connect when you get in but it is unlikely you would be able to simultaneously connect two phones (I accept there may be the odd system out there that allow it but they are the exception I would suggest).

If it is plugged in on charge you can set it to activate when you say "Okay Siri" although I haven't tried this in a car it might struggle as it will use the phone's microphone. Other than that just press and hold the home button - depends where your phone is but you shouldn't have to 'handle' it although technically it still wouldn't be legal! Once on it links to the bluetooth microphone in the car. I could send basic tasks just fine in the CT although it wasn't always accurate!!

Have they pitched it against the M4? I would say so - check this out: I get what you are saying though - the media need an angle and it is easy to stick the two together when, as you say, they aren't the same thing. In fairness to Lexus UK they aren't mentioning the comparison from what I have seen. For the record I would be happy with either vehicle!

I quite enjoy Top Gear and to be honest I wasn't surprised with the review - he is pretty clear about the kind of car he likes and while the LFA is out of reach for most normal person I feel he wanted the RC to be a cheaper LFA.. I guess the only people to tell will be those who have had the M4 and can say from experience what the difference really is. The driving you or I would do if we had either vehicle isn't even comparable to a Top Gear track test of course but then they weren't really trying to give a balanced car review were they? I don't think M4 and RCF drivers are really looking for the same thing but Lexus don't help themselves by directly pitching the two against each other. If you have seen the comparison video from Lexus they talk about the greater power output but don't compare them driving directly. They don't talk about weight but they do talk about extending sun visors and a frameless rear view mirror!! Holy moly, if you were in the market for either cars would that even be on the radar? I get the need to flag the RCF as an M4 rival from a sales perspective but from what I have read and as 3 MSF states above, they really are very different cars..

In another forum post they said the aerial was only for Premium Nav equipped models... On a slightly unrelated note a colleague had a call from his BMW dealer saying his car was on the boat on its way... and then asked him "did you order heated seats?" He did, the one on the boat didn't...

Not really commenting on the circumstances of the OP but I am not surprised. These systems and passive car safety systems in general have one aim in mind - protect the occupants (or pedestrian) at all costs. That involves absorbing every bit of energy it can. The driver may perceive a very minor impact which is partly due to the fact the car has done its job. The fact is, a significant amount of damage may have occurred... Expensive repairs are often, unfortunately, the trade off.

Due to get mine next week I hope and then get it's blue lights fitted :) I did see some Alpina wheels on a 5 Series the other day which looks bloody fab (just the wheels) but utterly horrible to clean!

In fairness you can always reply using Siri - worked okay in my CT when the background noise wasn't too loud..

They are also part of the NCAP rating marking system so if you want a five star rating those are things you need to have.

Some interesting comments here and I have to say while I am surprised at the low figures on display here, it is early days. I would expect them to increase as the engine and drivetrain bed in and the drivers get used to the idiosyncrasies of driving a hybrid. I know very different cars but many in the IS are hitting over 50mpg so with the reduction in aerodynamics and increase in weight it would be nice to think 45mpg would be nice. The NX is an outside bet for my next vehicle so I will be keeping a close eye on this thread!

Hi! Just after some opinions really from owners who had a CT and moved to the IS. I am looking to change cars and the IS is on the list of possibilities. I did have one for a 24 hour test drive but I wonder what you all think about having made the change after a decent period of time? What are the main differences you have noticed, what disappoints, would you do it again etc? Cheers!

While you could run winter tyres all year round you are going to suffer a few issues: Increased wear meaning more changes Increased road noise and possibly a change in feel to the car due to the tread pattern being used Increased stopping distance (in warm weather compared to a summer tyre according to Michelin) It depends where you live and the conditions of course but for the urban population, winter tyres should be more than sufficient - snow socks are for extreme weather conditions and short/low speed distances. Every test I have seen of winter vs summer outline just how superior they are but I reckon have separate winter/summer tyres and changing them every 6 months (or whatever the average temp below 7 degrees is in months) is the best way to go..

I am looking to change vehicle at the moment and am looking at a few options including the 'new' CT which I had a very quick drive of a while back and remember being quite impressed at the time. Just looking for thoughts from those who have made that move and so have lived with their new version for a bit now... Glad you did it? What impresses or disappoints most over the previous version etc? Cheers!!

Well a lot of it will come down to preference and how much money you want to spend. I would recommend the slightly later models with the added pad on the drivers side next to the cup holders - I think they arrived 2013 onward - as I imagine it can be quite uncomfortable. The premium navigation also gets you nice things like a decent display, reversing camera, sound upgrade and, of course, navigation. Mechanically I don't think there are too many issues or differences across the pre-facelift models..

How is the DAB going? You will find 10-15 or so stations on each 'channel'. You need to hit the CH + or - to retune to another channel and find another group of radio stations. As you travel around you will find these groups will change. To store your favourite radio station all you need to do is tune into the station you want to store, select 'Preset Mode' on the screen, select the slot you want to save the station to and then hold down the remote touch controller until you hear a beep. The station is now tuned in! You shouldn't have issues getting BBC in Central Scotland unless you are out in the sticks. I really like the feature where if you lose the DAB signal the radio automatically switches to analogue until it acquires the signal and then switches back! Clever!

Hopefully, early next year, I will be able to show you something similar however for now, I can say no more!