colin79666

Good choice of car Yes these are all seasons but with a starting point of a summer tyre with some winter capabilities where as most all seasons start with a winter design and change the compound to survive hotter temperatures. These are perfect for most of the UK where you just need a summer tyre that can cope a bit better in the colder months and not be a total liability if it snows.

Michelin due to the Cross Climates. I would have voted Goodyear or Contis otherwise.

That was fast

I second this request!

Hmm when I passed my test (first time ) you had to do 2 of 3 manoeuvres. I got the two they are going to chop! I don't think the 3 point turn should be removed, it is a vital skill and can be tricky with a road camber and an audience of courier delivery drivers in white vans! I'm not sure about reverse out a parking space really. I usually reverse in so as to avoid having to reverse out when visibility if reduced.

Are you sure they aren't 235/55 R19 105W? I've found the Cross Climates to be an excellent tyre on my CT and I'd think they will perform well on the RX. While technically a summer tyre, like your fitter, I'd not recommend mixing them with something else as the different levels of grip would be significant, particularly in wet/snow. Will be interesting to hear how you get on with them.

Kwik-Fit have it for £27 just now if you book online. Are dealers likely to come down from the £49 at all? With hybrids they don't have to do the emissions part of the test and while I expect a dealer may have higher overheads I'd grudge paying more that £20 extra just for the convenience of having the MOT done in the same trip as the annual service.

Watched this morning. Good review, who needs to drink fizzy juice when power sliding anyway

Hmm I hope Lexus come out with something else as well then. Otherwise the CT 200h might be my first and last Lexus - I really don't want something high riding.

Tried running a lint roller over it?

I don't like the idea for the reasons stated above: tyres, lights and wipers. Personally if they go to 4 years my view is they should increase the number of police random checks on roadworthness or introduce a yearly MOT-lite test for cars up to 4 years old. It could be £20 and just cover lights, tyres, wipers and brakes with suspension, body and emissions waiting to 4 years.

Haha. Is that the road with the tank warnings?

It won't do any harm but I doubt it will make much difference. It might encourage some dealers with stock to pre register a few cars but £140 a year isn't going to put off someone who wants a new car. I see it making more difference to the bigger cars in the Lexus range however as the penalty for a list price over £40k is huge.

Lexus Insurance wanted about double what my current insurer charge me! Not 100% like for like but pretty close terms so there was no way I was going to be paying anything like what they quoted me.

Lexus IS 300h Hybrid auto Luxury up 950% over 3 years http://www.autoexpress.co.uk/car-news/consumer-news/88361/tax-disc-changes-everything-you-need-to-know-about-uk-road-tax The CT, currently zero rated, will go up to £100 in the first year and the standard £140 per year after that. That alone wouldn't put me off buying another one but it does play into the equation. Frankly I think it is time to stop VED all together and just tax the fuel. As long as pure electrics are exempt from VED anyway then taxing the fuel means: Someone with a sports car that is used only at weekends - therefore polluting less than someone doing 10k of a commute a year in a small hatchback doesn't get penalised Tax on fuel is much more difficult to avoid paying Tax on fuel is somewhat in line with the pollution caused and wear and tear on the road network Tax on fuel alone could save money by scrapping all the administration involved Diesels would have to pay their fair share as the current system is too focused on CO2 and forgets the damage done by soot and other particles expelled in greater quantity by diesel vehicles.

You can't start it straight to EV mode. Just power on and push the EV button. It usually takes a few seconds after power on for the petrol engine to kick in and you can go into EV before this happens.

In the warmer months I can start mine and stick it straight into EV mode before the petrol motor kicks in then sneak out the cul-de-sac. Not always, sometimes the battery mustn't have enough charge as it says EV mode not available but most times. In these winter months however that is less frequent and it usually wants to run the petrol motor as soon as I start moving, in order to get heat going, demisting etc. Next time you come back home in the car and it has at least half charge turn it off an give it a few minutes then start it up with the climate control off and see if it will run in EV mode then. It probably will but if it never goes into EV then it could have a fault - although that should trigger a warning.

Well step one is don't test drive it again until the tyre is changed. Well beyond the legal limit so dangerous and as the driver you could be done with a £2500 fine and 3 points. How long ago was the last MOT? That might give a clue as to how rapidly it has worn and if anything obvious was found amiss then. The rest of the tyre doesn't exactly look new so from the photo it isn't clear just how much more worn the inside has been over the rest. CT's have independent rear suspension and are adjustable as far as I'm aware. It could be it simply got kerbed and needs a proper 4 wheel alignment done.

The CT 200h is the quietest car I've owned. Even better since I switched from the oem Yokohama tyres to the Mitchelin Cross Climates. Depends what you are used to I guess. I was in a family members Nissan Micra at the weekend, now that certainly was significantly less refined at motorway speeds!

Looks like a GS 450 to me. Must have been going at a bit of speed to have gone through the railing like that.

Time for another update Over 1000 miles done now on the cross climates. Performing very well in all conditions including a dusting of snow earlier in the week. Come February I'll be using the car to commute so the mileage will ramp up considerably, giving more important to me in wear rate which seems ok so far. Given the different these tyres make I'm beginning to think these should be a factory option on all new cars for the UK market. All seasons are standard in many US states but they typically compromise quite a bit on dry braking/handling so not so appropriate for most of the UK but the latest Mitchelin Cross Climate and Goodyear Vector All seasons seems to be more summer balanced which is ideal for these parts.

I'd strongly advise a test drive as a next step. 2013 cars will be before the revised suspension and in f sport trim will be pretty hard which isn't to everyone's liking. If you do like the test drive then the act is otherwise a great choice. Generally reliable and apart from servicing and tyres they don't require must in the way of maintenance. 2 suitcases should be fine although be aware the boot is smaller than you might think from the outside due to the battery storage.

Yes on Fuelly. Taken a bit of a beating with the colder weather but still 10-12 mpg better than my last car!

I tried that for a couple of hours but had to switch back. My brain couldn't compute seeing 0 revs but quite happily driving along!

As above the pads will have corroded onto the discs in the damp weather. Next time just put it in park and leave the brake off. Unlikely to be on a steep slope in an airport car park so it won't be straining the transmission.