toffee_pie

A shame the IS350 wasnt sold in the UK - they have AWD versions also but for some reason Lexus never sold any of them here, ditto to the AWD LS460

I suggest you drive a 6 speed SpecB but you never did and never will, a bit ironic saying Farmers when you have a BRZ, if you want some decent compact coupe at least get a Porsche Cayman 3.4 - A BRZ wouldn’t entertain me at all. This red Ford ST was taking interest to my car a few years back, I wasn’t even pushing my car - if I drove it hard that car couldn’t keep up and it would easily outpace your BRZ. The farmers Subaru would leave your BRZ or Lexus behind quite easily on a B road or a motorway for that matter

I live in the country, wouldn’t swap my car for anything particularly during adverse weather, cannot beat the handling a Subaru provides - in the wet it’s in a league of its own, have done many motorway runs in the SE of England in torrential rain and it’s like having the outside lane to yourself, my car doesn’t have traction control only ABS and the only time that activated was about a month ago when I was taking an acute roundabout way too quickly. +1 on Tyres, the first thing I done when I looked at this car was inspecting the tyres, I was looking for 2 things- Brand name and 4 matching tyres. Everything checked out. If an owner cannot afford tyres they probably cannot afford to service it

Wet roads, corners - motorways in the wet driving fast or country roads - AWD any day and the weather in England is unpredictable most of the time. The quickest I drove my Subaru was going from Dublin to Cork one Christmas years ago, it was around 120mph on the motorway going down and it was wet also - no problem at all, I eased off when I looked at the speedo but didn’t think I was going that fast. The Subaru’s with manual gearboxes have 50/50 torque bias also which makes for a perfect 'sport' mode - right out of the box, hydraulic steering also so no computers involved. I have been looking at cars like Jaguars with 500bhp but having all that power at rear wheels without even LSD seems a disaster waiting to happen

AWD is amazing, take it from someone who has a Subaru with proper AWD - Looking at fast cars is well and good but if you are putting 400 odd horses through one pair of wheels it can get a bit tricky at times. I would not pay 14k for a GS450h let alone 70k - I would get a LS460 at least that got a V8 and a proper auto box. The AWD LS460 would be great, if one came for sale I probably would buy it - seems like they only sold 1 or 2 in England however and it looks more rare than what I currently drive - 37 cars made with matching spec - 17 sold in UK

Good summary, that is what I would say also. I have looked at GS450h's but the CVT is a no for me, plus that navi interface is meant to be a bit of a faff. A lot of car for the money however, just not this one 😗

The beauty about cars is that everyone has a different opinion and its why so many forums the world over are plastered with discussions and tit for tat backstabbing. The guy selling his ISF for a Maserati is a perfect example, few cars can match a Maserati for the stand out ‘wow’ factor and watch that road open up in front of you when you appear behind someone. I sold my old IS250 as it was pretty slow and uninspiring but that doesn’t mean to say it’s not a good car, had I not ended up in the countryside where my Subaru excels with its close-range manual gearbox, I would most likely have some auto car and I wouldn’t say no to another Lexus - well maybe a LS460 this time. The Subaru is a backbreaking car to drive in the city, because you feel every gearchange going through your body as well as have the privilage of seeing the fuel gauge drop down in real time and if you are older than 40 years of age that does takes its toll but my city jaunts tend to be infrequent so for now I am good.

If there was treasure chests under said holes in the Atlantic Ocean I am sure the governments would be interested. 🙄

My car is far more responsive when I use Shell E5, the economy isn’t too bad either but it’s not just that the engine seems to run so much better and it sails through MOTs - E10 is watered down pish, that governments have hoodwinked people to get to seemingly break their cars down and I am not pitting that into a car. Based on the 5-minute spreadsheet I done it’s entirely possible we won’t even have enough fossil fuels to keep mining batteries in 2040 - unless these amazing experts can think of ways to grow batteries from recycling food waste. EVs are just another government scam of which people have no say in the matter * I added years 2031 to 2039 and increased sales to 10% year on year - and I reduced the amount of batteries used per vehicle from 5000 to 3000, I am sure the boffins can do that, even still the figures I am seeing look a bit difficult to express. The total amount of batteries needed to make 347066666 EVs between 2031 to 2039 comes up as 964525470783 So between 2023 - 2039 > 1604169584541 batteries. The bucket of this 9800 can do 80 Tonnes, wonder how many buckets will be needed...🤔 I have one to put together actually, it will go on the top of my showcase cabinet as its way too big to go anywhere else

Esso Shell - contains up to 5% bio ethanol maximum. Once Governments found a Goose that laided golden eggs <fuel tax> they have been free to increase them, knowing the vast majority will continue driving because we don't have another choice, and they can claim they are being Green to boot. - cunning eh

Thats a decent drop, I bet you get some raised eyebrows at the till, the servant seeing if there is a truck outside and not a car - my tank is apparently 65L but I dont think I even filled up with 60, I try not to run it on empty however.

Correct, that is still too much for regular unleaded petrol. Get the petrol app and scan your area for price

Tell me about it, I only ever use E5, it's an extra tenner or so a tank of fuel but I just chalk it down to one of those things. I don't think there a huge difference in Esso or BP and I think Shell has less ethanol than the others. Costco 97 RON is dirt cheap in comparison but you need be a member and they only have a few outlets in the country

I think that resonates with a lot of people who have a Lexus or even any Japanese car and also with me - my Subaru is too rare and too good to sell and even thou I could get a newer car you always wonder what you are getting into regarding bills that could be coming your way and I have no space for another (second) car so that pretty much makes it a non event for me anyway. The IS250 FSport still looks great.

Ahead of the time...🙄

Going back to EVs, because I was bored I pulled together a spreadsheet to see exactly how many batteries would they use up - by 2030 Tesla aim to ship 2 million cars towards the year so I used that as a benchmark, I put in some other manufacturers and gave them a few years to catch up with Musk, with a 5 percent year on increase in sales -- they are greedy like that This is the <approx> amount of batteries required, approx or not its not feasilbe in the long run and excludes all the other materials needed for a EV and the charging, most of which is fossil fuel based anyway The total amount of batteries consumed by the 9 manufacturers comes up as 639644113758 - you can see why a LS460 is better for the planet

You cant go comparing competition race cars with road legal ones, I am sure I can point you towards some V8 saloon race cars or the Subaru below that would ask your volvo estate to hold my beer. I think some countries has a bias towards wagons and more saloon type cars

Saloons for me all day - some cars are suited to manual and some to auto - the Legacy and the IS250 are good cases in point, the Lexus is far better with an auto but the Legacy cries out for a manual - the Spec.B launched way back in 2003 came with the 6-speed manual standard, Subaru knew what to do - the auto came about later on A lot of people import autos from Japan but I secretly think they would get manual if they were less expensive and more readily available, I had a peep at Legacy B4 (basically the JDM equivalent of the UK Saloon) and they are not cheap - these are recent prices https://subarumedia.co.uk/en-gb/releases/236 Year Model Type CC Shift Mileage Price in Japan USD 2007 SUBARU LEGACY B4 3.0R SPEC.B 3000cc MT 14471 33,050 2005 SUBARU LEGACY B4 3.0R SPEC.B 3000cc MT 75000 20,530 2007 SUBARU LEGACY B4 3.0R SPEC.B 3000cc MT 97800 20,280 2004 SUBARU LEGACY B4 3.0R SPEC.B 3000cc MT 101916 13,350 2005 SUBARU LEGACY B4 3.0R SPEC.B 3000cc MT 135000 12,580 2005 SUBARU LEGACY B4 3.0R SPEC.B 3000cc MT 92829 12,230 2005 SUBARU LEGACY B4 3.0R SPEC.B 3000cc MT 153000 11,568 2004 SUBARU LEGACY B4 3.0R SPEC.B 3000cc MT 91303 11,040 2004 SUBARU LEGACY B4 3.0R SPEC.B 3000cc MT 130000 10,028

i had a CL9 Accord, the Subaru 3.0 SpecB is a far quicker car with sharper handling. I had the Accord for about 2 years also - The Subaru feels far more special when you drive it and in terms of engine noise there is no comparison, but you need the manual box in the Subaru with the close ratios the auto takes away all the enjoyment - and speed since the torque convertor zaps power to the wheels. I can take some tight bends in 4th gear without even dropping down a gear and just floor it when you exit the corner, most cars would be just stuck back at the corner when you are way off - 50/50 torque bias is standard on the 6 speeds which explains the handling You are like me in not being a fan of wagons / estates - its either a coupe or a saloon for me. I find the saloons more nimble and easier to throw around bends than wagons and they look great too

Ive read it, nothing much to report - its a ZF looks to be a 4.2 - As the chap said they draw attention that not many a car can do and if you see one in your rear view mirror you will gently get out of the way in a manner you wouldnt do for most cars For a daily they are going to wrack up huge bills however, but you want to drive a car with that engine them are the downsides but it sets you out from other motorists thats for sure. I hope it contines to serve dandydons well.

interesting, let me read -- I would have got a facelift QP with ZF box, not sure what one this is but having a cold beer now reading it.😁

Nah, thats nnonsens - Maserati are (or can be!) astonishing cars - they may share a few parts from Fiat in the same way Lexus share parts with Toyota but thats where it ends, they are made in assembly lines producing Maserati cars only. They are complex but due to the pretty resonably used cost its the devil talking to me - The downside is the bork factor but some people have had little or no issues with them

A totally dead screen has all the hallmarks of a dodge connector - its been years since I had mine repaired. If your unit goes bad again you probably need to pull it out and open them modules up, the navi unit is split into different bits. I wouldnt fancy taking it to Lexus unles you have a few grand spare. @Linas.P also done this fix, I believe. I dont reemmber was my fix due to a flakey connector, I think they were ZIF types or was it from the ribbon cable that exits the LCD screen

Cars have different meanings to different people - The IS250 is a good car indeed, I don’t know how long I had mine I think it was a few years, I sold it because it just wasn’t exciting and fast enough for me, it was too comfortable with lack of driver feedback and the gearbox was not good - this was a manual, on hindsight I probably would have got an auto but I as an old school manual driver I try keep away from autos while I still have two working legs. The Lexus went and a CL55 AMG arrived, the 500bhp variant, yes its auto but I was prepared to live with it for a few years because its not a run of the mill motor but it didn’t quite hold up, I had it a month and the dodge seller took it back - it was a dud with dodge MOTs - after I had the money back in my bank I went straight back to Japanese cars as I had a Honda Accord prior to the Lexus and that led me down the road to the Subaru, a really amazing car - it was convenient that the seller lived in a B road area so I just winged it around that place and had my mind made up in 5 minutes and that flat 6 engine sounds amazing, which is reason enough to keep it. The running costs of this are worse than a IS250, the fuel economy is worse but 34mpg can be done on a long run holding at 80mph. Crucially its reliable, in 6 1/2 years I replaced 2 CV boot joints, a sticky calliper and a wheel bearing (just last Friday actually) and the handling is astonishing, even with that engine sticking out the front. Bilstein suspension is fitted as standard, as is a torsen LSD. It’s a fantastic driver’s car and pretty old school with that gearbox and hydraulic steering and ABS, nothing else and has the renowned 6 speed transmission from Subaru - the OEM value of that part is 13K EURO itself. Only a handful of such cars ever sold in Europe and imports from Japan cost serious money, which are basically the same car with +5bhp due to the fuel map in Japan, mine is already mapped for 99RON anyway. It goes under the radar and nobody knows what is it, until they hear it. So, cars are different to everyone - had I to get something else I secretly have demons telling me to get a Maserati, but I just keep ignoring them as I don’t want to end up homeless and sleeping in a broken Maserati with my wife calling over each day with ready meals.

Maybe I was too generous on the EVs, your Lexus is a prime example of how bad they are.