Linas.P

I blame auto-correct.. wanted to say regardless

Yes they did - they invested their dirty oil money into various aspects related to BEV because government matched it 1:1 if not 2:1... now they have no interest in hydrogen, they secured their profits for another 30-50 years and eventually we going to have same discussion "how oil companies where hampering battery tech" vs "how battery companies are hampering hydrogen tech". Problem is that without proper long term vision and strategy from the governments or extra-governmental powers like EU, business will always do what is best for their investors... they will never care about such inspirational goals like long term environmental protection. Yes they will do a bit, just enough to avoid sanctions today. And I am not any sort of socialist, who believes that we should have "5 year plans". Business have a right to be profitable and should be free to do what is needed to be competitive and progressive. But global problems which are very complex, requires decades to figure out, multiple governments to agree etc. should be set in clear directives and enforced by governments. Simply saying we need to be "carbon neutral" is not good enough... sure we will be carbon neutral, but at the same time maybe we will pollute all the water on the planet with cadmium, lead or some other crap. Is that really good solution? Obviously not... and therefore we should not jump every time when somebody offers solution with lower carbon without considering whole impact and every aspect. Just recently it happened with diesel... somehow for last 3 years diesel is not lowed so much... do you remember how it sounded in 2010?! According to government that was perfect solution for all issues and if not for diesel gate they would be offering diesel therapies for covid 😁 Who is to blame? Government and their policy - they had goal to reduce the CO2 at any price to look good on reports, business offered them what they asked... just small caveat CO2 was lower, all the rest of pollution was higher. And it wasn't like government didn't know, maybe not initially but diesel fuel was supported years after it was clear that it has more side effects then it makes good. I just see this pattern repeating again...

It meant to say harder/stiffer. As well I tend to believe the shocks are the same leverages if you have adjustment or not- I had done some digging and depending on the year premier/takumi has same shocks as well and for later years electronically adjustable dampers seems to be standard. The trick in itself is nice, but it is important to consider alternative - if you don't get F-Sport digital dash then standard dials are really boring and dated looking which in my opinion just brings down overall experience with the car. When you have digital dash, then interior kind of matches exterior more (otherwise it is like 2013 outside and 2003 inside).

Some say suspension is harsher, but I would say that is more to do with larger wheels than suspension itself. Suspension is certainly electronically adjustable which can be set higher for better handling. They may have slightly different details in interior and some small option, but overall not much... same engine, same gearbox (was the sport+ mode only available on F-Sport?)... BUT there is party trick - after seeing it, it cannot be unseen and I could not accept anything else but F-sport trim for this reason alone:

Ohhh... I see - you mean the last picture. I am pretty certain he just showing how much they could cost.

From the description is sounds like a set... but I don't know could be... I doubt he would describe condition of all 4 and then say that perfect set costs £1000, but try to sell each wheel for £480. Actually, quite fair description as well as indeed they do sell for ~£1000 when in good condition, just perhaps a bit low on refurb price - I would say more like £80 per wheel if you want them to be done decently.

It seems he left the pleasure for you 😁

And it is your lucky day! Somebody is selling them for £480 - that is very cheap and you almost never see them for sale. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lexus-F-Sport-Wheels-18-rare/224233708367?hash=item34355edb4f%3Ag%3AiMIAAOSwmktfrv~u&LH_ItemCondition=3000

Looks very tidy and rare colour for mk2 IS.

I don't believe IS was available in UK with black F-sport wheels from factory, certainly no wheel options is available in UK brochure: https://forms.lexus.co.uk/EBrochures/Lexus_IS_e-brochure.pdf I am not sure but US IS350 F-Sport may had an option for black wheels at some point, that option is no longer available ... https://www.lexus.com/documents/brochures/2020/MY20-Lexus-IS-Brochure.pdf That said they are often refurbished to black finish (simply because that is cheapest option), but as far as I am aware all IS mk3 F-sport wheels in UK were in sort of gun "metal grey" colour, some call it "phantom grey" as well. You picture is from US and even then I am not convinced that they came that way from factory, or seller just claims they are new because they have been just refurbished. What muddles the water further is that there is no colour code for these wheels, so you will find all shades of grey (and some black) on the market - basically if they been refurbished they almost never match original colour... like here: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202007201444059 or here: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202010014470689 Finally, because the colour itself shifts (original finish is multi-layer) - black base and grey metal flakes suspended in clear coat, these wheels can look black under certain conditions: https://www.autotrader.co.uk/car-details/202011166177010 Either way even "gun metal" ones rarely comes for sale already, so getting some special edition wheels which may not have been sold in UK will likely be impossible. Your best bet is to get at least standard F-sport wheels and then refurbish them in black colour (that is certainly the cheapest way)

I hope so, other countries with reasonable infrastructure are France, Norway.. Germany is not bad. I generally think smaller countries are more likely to use it - so like Scandinavians probably. Singapore, Hongkong, perhaps Switzerland (although focus there are BEV point for the time being). Overall, it seems HCEVs have lost worldwide battle for primary EV technology, but they can still focus on certain nations and selectively support infrastructure there. Besides it seems for HCEV the time was an issue - BEV technology was more readily available and beat them to the market with exciting offering. If HCEV can survive this decade without going into complete obscurity and becoming irrelevant I think they have long term future. Especially, when ICE bans get's into place, when people finally going to realise that charging BEVs at home infrastructure is not achievable but yet they needs the cars HCEV alternative may become attractive again.

I didn't read the comment it like that - don't think anyone blaming mods, just something has changed and potentially mods knows something about it or can forward the feedback maybe..

Yeah refuelling looks like future of LPG... similar just much nicer.

That actually the most informative video I have ever seen from the 3 chaps on top gear. Yet it was just as fun... he nailed the conversation between BEV and HCEV owners and arguments made for both.

I guess - it was about the same when Toyota decided to focus on HCEVs, but it seems to be true at the moment. This is just kind of sad that as always instead of "better" technology we have chosen the one which was marketed better and more readily available. Yet it could still come back to bite us in the *** when few decades ago we will realise that we made irreversible damage by digging all lithium up. I am just hoping HCEVs will survive on the customer base in certain countries where hydrogen supply is better. Obviously, Toyota directly funding hydrogen infrastructure would be massive help for keeping it alive.

That is true, but you see - we already waste ~50% of electricity we produce. This is because electricity cannot be stored. However, it is not too difficult to electrolize the water into hydrogen at the power station and store it. This is especially true with nuclear power - that is what I had in mind saying that hydrogen could be "mass produced". The renewable energy itself has issue and that is something I have already touched on. But that said it is difficult to find respectable source which is not afraid of pointing those issues out. When it comes to specifically CO2 I always suggest to look into 2 exemplary nations - France and Germany. France has taken nuclear approach and has one of the cleanest electrical production in the world and one of the cheapest electricity prices, German has taken renewable approach have recently failed to significantly reduce CO2/KWh, yet electricity 3 times more expensive in Germany compared to France. just for reference: https://www.eea.europa.eu/data-and-maps/daviz/co2-emission-intensity-5#tab-googlechartid_chart_11_filters={"rowFilters"%3A{}%3B"columnFilters"%3A{"pre_config_ugeo"%3A["European Union (current composition)"%3B"France"%3B"Germany"%3B"United Kingdom"]}} I am not nuclear promoter or something, but when it comes to large scale strategic electricity production renewable are just not reliable enough at the moment. AT least that is conclusion I made from example above.

Same here - I noticed forum being updated today, but after update it seem to have lost background, it is very bright, the font is too light and harder to read than before. what browser are you using?

Yes I have seen it - it is actually pinned down in this forum as well. Generally interesting technology and it seems that their test "mule" for saloon is ES. Why I didn't like about the video is that is clearly scripted, but the tech itself is interesting/

I haven't read this particular article, but I am sure I will read it now - Thanks! Environmental damage from large scale lithium production is well known concern. This was already concern back in the days of mobile phones boom, when BEVs came on the horizon this just became much much worse. Yet I keep seeing a lot of deniers of this problem and BEV apologists - they tend to compare "lifetime" CO2 emissions of BEVs and ICEs and in that metric they always claims (and that is factually correct), that in ~3 years of lifetime average BEVs (Tesla is not average) actually becomes more "environmentally friendly" compared to average ICE in overall 10 years lifetime. However, they are considering only the CO2, they always fail to add other types of pollution, like heavy metals, toxic substances etc. which are emitted in process of making lithium batteries. On top of that there isn't even very good method of recycling them either. For this reason HCEVs again are advantageous, because they need relatively small battery (in case of Toyota Mirai it isn't even Lithium, but rather "good old and stable" NiCi) and that reduces both need for Lithium and overall size/weight of the battery. Sadly, it is the same case for "renewable energy" as well - solar panels contains large amounts of heavy metals and are not recyclable. Wind turbines are made from composites which are not recyclable etc. As always our governments is looking into sole indicator of pollution like CO2 or NOx... without properly understanding whole picture. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/features/2020-02-05/wind-turbine-blades-can-t-be-recycled-so-they-re-piling-up-in-landfills This is very similar to what happened to the diesel in last decade - because it was lower CO2 all countries suddenly incentivised it over petrol... as it turns out despite producing less CO2 it produces much more pollutants overall. And this is the same story across the board when it comes to environmental policies.

you welcome... well and Honda as well. Regarding the specs that is exactly my point - nobody is hyped about 9.6s and considering current hydrogen stations location 342 miles range somehow sounds even worse than 280 miles of BEVs. Yet everyone are hyped about 2.9s "ludicrous" mode! I guess few reasons... One is that they actually working on BEVs now, if I am not mistaken they planning 8 Toyota EVs and 2 Lexus EVs (rumour has it one saloon) by 2022. And two - domestic market. You see in Japan and I assume Korea (both nations without huge oil reserves), and both nations where auto manufacturers have a lot of influence is easier to implement hydrogen infrastructure. On to of that Japan is not even nuclear now, so it is much harder for them to justify increasing electricity consumption to satisfy BEV needs.

That is great way to put it - current BEVs are effectively "electricity guzzlers", but we not yet think in that way about EVs and that is why they can get away with it. Maybe for comparison we can think for one second about electrical heaters, and those who pay bills may know that having say 2KW electric heater on overnight will add to the bill quite a bit! Now think about EV cars - we start from 7KW for over 12h or several hours on even 22KW. If such number would ever be on electrical heater most people would say that it is crazy, but somehow when we look at EVs that is somehow "normal". and what about 150KW?! That used to be industrial estate sort of power requirements, not individual household. My circumstances exactly! For 100 flats we have ~30 parking spaces in the estate. I am happy to have parking space (which was by the way £40k), but obviously there is no way to charge the car there and I am already better of then 70 other residents who don't even have space. Now previously I have considered BMW i8 and I asked management company/freeholder for permission to install it - as surprise to nobody it his was quickly rejected on the technical grounds. I have challenged it and offered to cover the costs not only of the charger, but as well wiring, but it has been rejected again on the grounds of fire safety. Without their approval I cannot apply for planning permission, and without planning permission I cannot have charging point. This is not issue for ICE, but it is and issue for EV. Obviously even bigger issue is you don't even have space, as now you could rent it or park somewhere on nearby street (like council space or council garage), but for EV that doesn't work. And this is majority of the population... really only minority has off-street parking on driveways.

You kind of answered your question partially. Toyota at the turn of the century chosen to go HCEV and not BEV route, they invested heavily into it and are leading in that sort of the technology. I share Toyota view here and consider BEV fundamentally worse technology, lazy approach. HCEV was a brand new technology, bigger technological challenge, but fundamentally better and more practical technology. As you know batteries are not up to scratch yet, infrastructure is not up to scratch and it is just not practical - one can take ICE or HCEV car and refuel in under a minute and drive on without altering and planning their root in line with available charging stations and mandatory 45min+ stops. That is why Toyota even mocked Tesla for basically using 19th century ideas which once have failed already. However, here is where theory meets reality, as it turns out Hydrogen infrastructure is just as bad as charging infrastructure for EVs. In long term both would require same investment, but as it happened Tesla managed to market their technology better (with outright lies) and were able to ramp it up gradually (not something you can do with Hydrogen). This is something @Steve touched above - cost of 300 hydrogen stations maybe same as 1 million charging points, but with hydrogen you have to pay this cost upfront. With EV you can start by gradually adding charging points and gradually increasing charging capacity. On top of that Tesla has managed to exploit misconceptions very well - e.g. EVs are considered "green" which is partially true. Performance EVs are "greener" than performance ICEs, but say Tesla is not fundamentally "green" car if you compare it to average vehicle. However, people still looks into Tesla as green car. With such deliberate misconception Tesla was able to advertise themselves as both "sustainability" and performance leader. Toyota HCEV is fundamentally greener, more sustainable and practical to use car, but that comes at the cost - it is slow. Tesla could generate a lot of hype with 2.9s 0-60 @2.2 miles/kwh, Toyota generates very little hype with 10 miles/KW efficiency + nobody thinks in "miles/kwh" yet. Everyone knows that 100MPG is great, but we don't have such perception with EVs. As such nobody really appreciates the efficiency of HCEV. Then we have economy of scales issue... Electricity is generated in large quantities and is generally cheap. so Tesla has advantage straight away by using such cheap and "universal" power source. In theory Hydrogen could be mass-produced as well + it could be relatively easily stored and transported, BUT it isn't and as result Hydrogen at the moment is very expensive compared to simple electricity. Obviously, Toyota expected to generate interest in hydrogen production but no such thing happened, old oil producers simply went the easiest way and just bought the share in existing electricity production + clueless governments even subsidised "sustainable" electricity so those same oil producers not only diversified into electricity, but did so in public money. Finally, why Toyota is not embracing BEV - for one, because it is fundamentally worse technology and secondly because they have wasted a lot of money on HCEV and finally because they are realistically behind the competition now as they focused on HCEV which kind of failed.

I am sure it is the same design I have on my seat. I guess the difference was that you were taking care when getting in and out not to overly scrub on bolster, wheres previous owner of my car did not care for it at all. By 50k the bolster was just one big hole and sticking clearly acted as a focus point for wear. So in a sense you right - it preventing it from creasing, but made it to stay proud and as result ended up getting ripped.

Not really the case as it just rips at the stitching, my seat bolster was destroyed at just 50k miles - in comparison IS250 had 200k miles and leather still looked great. Dealership tried fixing it but did poor job - now I am looking for proper leather specialist to do it properly. The most annoying thing is that they had car for repairs and it required £4200 repair to electric motors (warranty job). I was hoping they just going to fit new seat, but no - they went and changed every motor on the seat and kept the tired top section of the leather 😁

Yeah, replacing disks and pads is quite simple. I am not the best mechanic, but even for me it takes 15 minutes per corner at most. The only thing to focus on is to make sure you clean the hubs well to and that disks fit straight. In theory maintenance manual says you should use micrometer to make sure disk tracks correctly and rotate disk if not, in practice however I have never seen even Lexus dealer doing it.