Dippo

Apparently the top of the range Camry is going to be priced at £31,295 - the entry model will be £29,995. https://blog.toyota.co.uk/new-2019-toyota-camry-prices-sale-date

Top speed of the current BMW 520d (best selling model?) is 146 mph.

They're built all over the place for different markets. Trump's talk of taxes on Chinese products means that some US production may be switched to Europe, and cars for the European market switched to Chinese plants. Currently, the V90 for the UK is built in Sweden, and the S90 in China. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Volvo_Car_production_plants

It's here: https://www.businesscar.co.uk/tests/2019/lexus-es-300h-takumi

Do you have actual evidence of this, or is it anecdotal? I can't see any reason why a company would report data that shows it in a less favourable light than its competitors.

I've noticed that this forum's contributors are all great believers in Lexus (OK, I'll make an exception for the odd one or two), much more so than in other car forums. However, I do think it requires an extraordinary type of faith to say that as you believe the GS to be faster over 0 -100 kph than the figure quoted by Lexus, then the ES figures must be incorrect by a similar amount, and to even suggest a time down to 0.1 of a second. Were these faster times ever officially recorded? What was the road surface? How many runs in each direction? What was the temperature, wind speed, atmospheric pressure, tyre pressures, fuel load, driver weight etc? How does that data compare to the conditions for the tests conducted by Lexus?

The UK brochure quotes a 0-100 kph time of 8.9 seconds.

I wasn't questioning the reliability of Lexus - I worked for a Toyota importer for 4 years back in the days when Lexus didn't exist. What I questioned was whether the ES was a true competitor of the 5 Series, E Class, and A6 in terms of size, specification, performance, option availability and price. I'm yet to be convinced.

I’m not sure why you think a lot of German owners will be attracted to the ES. I’m currently driving a Mercedes E220, and before that I had a BMW 520. When I was looking to replace the 520, the GS 300 Executive was on my shopping list. Lexus were offering a 24 hour test drive programme through selected dealers, so I applied to Lexus for a 24 hour drive with Lexus Twickenham. They contacted me, and said that I could come in and they would take me for a test drive. When I mentioned the 24 hour element, they told me they didn’t do that – they hadn’t got enough cars. After a complaint to Lexus, I was contacted by the Dealer Principal who said I should get in touch with him if I had any problems; unfortunately he forgot to offer the test drive. I bought the E Class. Looking at the ES, I can appreciate that it’s more modern than the GS. I’m not sure the looks attract me; I’m not a great fan of the spindle grille, and it seems more pronounced on the ES than it was on the GS. Other features compared to the GS – it hasn’t got leather as standard, and the satnav screen is a lot smaller. I’m not that concerned about FWD versus RWD; I don’t think executive saloons are bought for their handling characteristics towards the limits, despite what journalists write. The biggest problem I have is with the price. In most other markets, the ES was traditionally positioned well below the GS, and was seen as a competitor in the next segment down. Reviews of the new ES in Australia compare it with the Mondeo and the Mazda 6, whereas in the UK it seems to be regarded and positioned (by Lexus) as a full replacement for the GS. While it may compete roughly in terms of list price, the discounts and support offered by the Germans are around twice the level of those on the ES, so that’s an extra price hurdle of around £3K - £4K. So I’m looking at the ES, as I want to move away from diesel, but for the reasons above I’d find it hard to justify.

Are you sure about that? If you read the press release, it doesn't actually say that anywhere!

Just looking at the Lexus USA website, the ES Hybrid starts at $41,000, and the GS Hybrid at $63,000. That might influence the sales figures.

According to the DVLA website, they do send out reminders. https://www.gov.uk/renew-driving-licence

Google is your friend. https://www.gov.uk/capital-allowances/business-cars

It really depends on the time of day (and which day) you hit the M25. People in London use it because it may be slow, but it's still quicker than a lot of the alternatives. You say your route would be M5/M4 - that sounds equally frightening to me, as we've all heard horror stories about the M5 at certain times in August. If you go to https://mydrive.tomtom.com/en_gb/ you can check the live traffic on the route to see what delays you could expect at a similar time of day.

This is how to get the documentation from Lexus. http://www.lexus.co.uk/owners/your-lexus/#ImportingExportingYourLexusVehicle

These are the rates for cars registered on or after 1 April 2017: This measure reforms Vehicle Excise Duty (VED) for cars first registered from 1 April 2017 onwards. First Year Rates (FYRs) of VED will vary according to the carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions of the vehicle. A flat Standard Rate (SR) of £140 will apply in all subsequent years, except for zero-emission cars for which the SR will be £0. Cars with a list price above £40,000 will attract a supplement of £310 on their SR for the first 5 years in which a SR is paid. All cars first registered before 1 April 2017 will remain in the current VED system, which will not change. The new rates and bands for the post-2017VED system are set out in the table below: New VED system - for cars registered from 2017 Emissions (g/CO2/km) First year rate Standard rate* 0 £0 £0 1-50 £10 £140 51-75 £25 £140 76-90 £100 £140 91-100 £120 £140 101-110 £140 £140 111-130 £160 £140 131-150 £200 £140 151-170 £500 £140 171-190 £800 £140 191-225 £1200 £140 226-255 £1700 £140 over 255 £2000 £140 *cars over £40,000 pay £310 supplement for 5 years