GSLV6

I think it's more that they use a softer compound for superb all weather grip. Recommendations were asked for and that's precisely what I've provided. They may get half the mileage of Michelins but my local supplier always has ready stocks of the Avons and they work for me. However, for the sake of an extra £50 per corner I have my eye on the Michelins as I would like to compare them🙂 The Pirellis don't work as well in the wet as the Avons...bought one set of the Pirellis and whilst they were fine in the dry, the Avons provided more feedback and superior grip in mixed conditions. As a frequent motorcycle rider, I know what it is to have confidence in wet conditions and never compromise where brakes or tyres are concerned.

Well, after doing some more digging I've shortlisted the Nextbase 312GW and the Aukey DR02 used with the optional gps module. They both seem to be the best in class from real world reviews and feedback. Transcend driver Pro 230 seems good value too but the Aukey seems to have the best night time footage and its bit rate means sharp images when vids are paused to retrieve number plate data.

Cross climates are very good as are the Pirellis but they're both a tad expensive. I have fitted Avon ZX7 tyres to mine as they can be had for just £400 fitted all round! They give superb wet weather grip, are very quiet and hold the road way better than the rubbish OEM Dunlops which frankly have nothing to recommend them except they last a long time...mostly because they seem to be made from a cross between ptfe and iron!!! The wet weather grip ion the Dunlops was atrocious and the noise was terrible. Whereas you'd easily get 25K miles on the OEM tyres, I've only managed 7K miles from the Avons before changing them so have gone through one set of fronts each year. Rears last longer, perhaps twice as long but I don't mind new tyres every year or two. Grip is not something I take chances with and the Avons are superb in all conditions. I used them last year in the snow and ice, and once passed a few 4wd SUVs which were stuck. I've also used it off road but really it needs proper off road tyres to be any good. In the snow it was superb even with just the Avons fitted.

RE suspension: reason that few problems are reported with the Mk3/4 is that they're too new. It's not until air suspension has many miles under it, and perhaps 10/15/20 yrs old that it gives problems. Unless Lexus have a secret to wear and tear that no other manufacturer knows about, they'll likely need looking at after a decade or more of wear and tear (if you're unlucky) but on the whole, Lexus seem to have had few problems. Earlier LS models did have issues and as already reported further up this thread, 2002/3/4 RX's had a few issues but most of these seem only to have been reported after many years of use bringing us back to the main point....too early to tell for the Mk3! Of more importance, and something most seem to miss are potential corrosion issues with rear fuel pipe and sub frame assemblies. At 2 years old, I noticed a surprising amount of corrosion (mostly surface) on the rear subframe which was inexcusable for such a premium brand. They leave the factory with little to no corrosion protection here from what I've seen, so what is recommended after you buy one is lie underneath (with goggles on!) and scrub the area with a brass or wire brush to remove any loose corrosion and muck then liberally spray with ACF50 which will convert any remaining corrosion to be inert. Give it a month or so, clean off the underside and liberally re-coat with XCP Professional (£16 per 400ml spray can and one is all that's needed per annum). This coat should be repeated twice yearly and will provide comprehensive corrosion protection for the sub-frame. For servicing, I thoroughly recommend the Lexus service plan which gives you 3 years servicing for around £1100 and covers the big service interval (at least with mine). Lexus have been brilliant to deal with and when I transferred the service plan from my GS300 to my current RX, they even added on an extra year for free, bringing it up to 3 years servicing at no cost to me so I saved about £400. My local independent wanted over £300 per service (intermediate) and closer to £550 (main) so I do consider the lexus plan great value plus they valet the car each time and ply me with coffee and biscuits! Finally, the Lexus warranty is also worth budgeting for. Free hybrid health checks (or is that provided with the service plan...I can never remember!), free MOTs, full 5 star AA roadside assistance (worth £275 annually on its own) and all parts/labour in the event that something goes wrong. I just budget for it as part of the running costs and have complete peace of mind as a result knowing in the unlikely event anything does go amiss, I'll be looked after well. I initially baulked at stumping up for these things but when you break it all down, you do get a lot of value from them as well as peace of mind...well worth it if you can afford to buy an RX in the first place. I compared my experience with that of a friend who bought a similar aged BMW X3 just out of warranty. His gearbox failed within one year and cost him £3k to mend, and he still incurred similar running costs to me on top of that. With such expensive and complex vehicles, it pays to take no shortcuts with maintenance and warranties. Good Gap insurance is worthwhile too and a 3 year plan with an independant shouldn't cost more than £250 for a good policy. Overall, our RX has cost us less annually to run than a Skoda diesel hatchback we owned. Mechanical issues and wear and tear cost us dearly with that...over £2000 in repairs alone over a similar timeframe. Finally, that tax alluded to only applies to new vehicles bought after April 2018 and not to used cars.

I don't think you'd be disappointed with the F-Sport Nigel. The "Sport" badge is a misnomer anyway (mostly a styling exercise) as the spring rate is only slightly up on the standard model and the main difference is that the F-sport offers lateral as well as conventional dampers to control body-roll better. I found that low speed bumps were more noticeable than at higher speed both in the standard model as well as the F-Sport, the major difference being much better composure retained with the latter where as the with the standard one you noticed the pitch and roll was more pronounced. I liked the styling of the F-Sport in Mk3 guise too, so the decision was an easy one for me. It can't compete for road manners and compliance of ride with older GS300 models in any trim, including Premier, but few cars can.

I'd recommend the F-Sport over the Premier or the Advance Jeff. Ride quality is better than the Advance (I test drove both before buying and not nearly as much body roll thanks to the F-Sport's lateral dampers) and simpler than the Premier (less to go wrong) whilst retaining almost similar levels of kit. You ought realy to arrange a test drive in each though as it can just be a personal preference. F-Sport is a bit lighter than the premier too so feels a little more sprightly under throttle. If buying used, best to look for one up-spec'd with things like HUD and LED lighting (a must which I couldn't do without now!). The Premier is quieter in the cabin (more sound deadening?) and has a better ride quality but those compressors can go wrong and at £2k a shot, not cheap to replace, nor are the air struts. From everything I've read, at 10 to 15 years old, some can need attention, although there are still older LS400's wafting about on their original air suspension with star-ship miles on them! Like all things, you could be unlucky but as long as you buy with a decent extended warranty, you ought to have peace of mind. You have the same GS as my old one and it remains to this day the best car I've owned in over 30 years of motoring. I was comparing build quality to both the Mk3 and 4 BUT Mk4 interiors markedly better than the Mk3 imho. Seats in Mk3 are softer but I like that anyway. I'm not suggesting for a second that build quality in any of them is below par, as that's not the case but being lucky enough to have experienced them all first hand, I was most impressed with the interior of the Mk4. GS is a little more dated than the Mk3 but in a timeless fashion as with such quality interiors they always remain a nice place to be.

Hi Steve I just meant the engine howl when revved (CVT howl was badly worded perhaps), as with all Lexus CVTs hanging onto high revs rather than building up as with a regular auto box. I don't mind it that much now I'm used to it as I like to hear that V6 motor anyway. I live in the Cotswolds and to get anywhere from here, I have to climb a steep hill (unless going South-West down onto the Severn plain) which means from cold, the engine has to work hard, so the car climbs steep hills almost daily. I like to make progress too so rather than sit behind slow moving traffic, where conditions allow and it's safe to do so, I'll overtake to make progress. Have to admit though, the RX isn't as swift when overtaking as my older GS300. That was surprisingly sprightly when put into kick-down for overtakes.

Thanks all for the feedback. Blackview are very good but above what I'm currently willing to pay and the lack of review monitor is a disadvantage for me. They do seem a top notch product though. I have looked at the Viofo but the Aukley DR02 seems to be very similar and was equally well reviewed by Techmoan (I believe it is his current dashcam). Similar spec, £40 cheaper.

Exactly...you could have bought another 2015 Advance (His and Hers LoL) and still had change from what it would otherwise cost you to trade "up" to the newer model. Simply not worth it.

Already worked that one out Jeff. If you carefully remove the under-dash panel (easily undone by pushing in 5 clips) containing the footwell light on the passenger side, then carefully remove the bottom side panel trim adjacent to the door pillar (front) you will see a chassis mounted bolt to which several wires from the fuse box are already earthed. Carefully undo (but do not remove!) the retaining bolt so that you can insert a new grounding fork arrangement (I will make one up and solder a wire tail to it) then re-tighten the retaining bolt, you have a point to run your earth wire to. Be careful when removing the bottom corner edge trim panel. To do this, first remove the footwell side trim panel (...just undo one plastic retaining nut clearly visible towards the rear of the panel then wiggle the panel out), then carefully prise the corner side panel trim out fron the top edge first, being careful not to damage the two white retaining plugs lower down. Once removed you will have clear access to the fuse box wiring and earth point. You have a choice of two reliable power supply points. Either take the 15A power point fuse out (cigarette lighter centre console), or as Lexus recommend, take the fuse marked "ECU IG1 Nr1" out and use this to plug your piggy back adaptor to. I am not sure if this powers off with the ignition...it must do otherwise Lexus wouldn't suggest using it but perhaps someone else could enlighten us? Main thing is whatever fuse point you choose, it must be 12v or less stable supply otherwise you will have issues with the camera. This is why you wouldn't for example want to wire a dashcam to say a sunroof supply as that draws variable voltage/current in operation which would affect the camera. The 15A and the lower amperage ECU supply are both stable supplies. Alternatively, remove the same trim and route your power socket adaptor lead from the lower centre consol power outlet offtake, up above the footwell panel (and replace panel), across to the side trim (and replace side trim) then simply peel back edge rubber slightly, just enough to rout the cable neatly under it, up to the roof trim and tuck into the front of the roof trim where it meets the screen leaving a flexible tail with connector for the camera supply connection. Hope this helps. Only thing I haven't worked out yet is what dashcam to buy!

@ Eggie: I looked at those, but they don't seem to offer anything that one at half the cost would. There's one on Ebay and it seems to be the Nextbase 380 model (fleet buyer's dashcam) which offers 1080p, GPS, decent app/PC interface with excellent software. I don't see what one of those offers over say a Nextbase 312GW available now for under £100. If you buy the 512GW at around £140, you get a 4K camera (at least you get a UHD spec one anyway), polarising filter so now annoying windscreen reflections, GPS, wifi connectivity (a gimmick really) and a monitor to set up and review in-car. That's still almost £100 cheaper. Have you a link to the one you saw, in case it differs from the one's I've seen advertised? Thanks for the link Jeff, but having already read that I'm still not sure which one offers longer term reliability! I guess you just pays your money and takes your chance... @C Mclean I looked at those and they do look excellent options, if quite expensive. I'd prefer to have ones with a monitor though built in in case review on site was needed.

Yes, fuel economy is still better than an average 2 litre family saloon of say a decade or more ago. Don't even get me started on these newer small capacity "disposable" direct injection puny little petrol engines stressed up to the nines with turbo charging, super charging or both! Few normally aspirated petrol cars of 1.8 to 2 litre in a medium to large body style, in reality, better mid 30mpg average, even Honda's excellent little i-vtec unit. Our 2.2 Merc Diesel estate in auto trim (Avantgarde Sport model I think) only managed 36mpg average. The Lexus GS300 (2007 V6 model) bettered it on a long run. I drove to the Lake district and back a few years ago in that, fully loaded and averaged over 40mpg! I miss the GS...it was faster, handled better and was more luxurious, better specified and better made I think that my current RX. Only sold it as I galled spending over £500 a year to tax it plus mileage was creeping up. The RX is a fine vehicle though and I don't miss the better road handling of the GS enough to go back to one....I dislike the later hybrid models which are too firmly sprung to offer a decent enough ride quality. The RX having longer travel suspension may have slightly coarser road manners but is still the more comfortable ride than the newer GS. At least the F-Sport we run is. Whatever people buy in RX trim, they're unlikely to be disappointed but it does take a longer term ownership to really appreciate them. If you jump in and do a direct comparison with your own car when looking to change it, you may judge the RX prematurely by comparisons of ride or handling alone. Longer term you'll come to appreciate its practicality, the effortless pulling power (even if that engine does rev loudly when on CVT howl to maintain peak torque) comfort, longer term reliability and satisfaction of ownership.

Looking to fit one now after witnessing so many close shaves in recent months (something in the water maybe?) non of which were attributable to us. Main ones seem to include being tail-gated on the motorway (when travelling at a smidgen over an indicated 70), vehicles pulling into our lane without looking, or pulling our in front of us, dangerous drivers coming the other way across white lines, especially out of corners on country roads around us and idiots who can't seem to work out how roundabouts work (or care...more like). It doesn't matter how good a driver you think you are, trouble will eventually come knocking these days when it comes to driving, and having insurance claims settled knock for knock where no witnesses were about on my last motorbike prang where I was T-boned at a roundabout (100% the other driver's fault) settled it for me. From now on, all our vehicles will be equipped with dashcams so we're protected in the event of a no-fault accident. Now I've managed to work out where to hard wire one for the RX. If you remove the fuse cover under the passenger side dash, and look for a fuse marked as "ECU IG1 Nr1" that is the most reliable one to piggy-back off according to my local dealership. You just require a £2.50 piggy-back kit for micro fuses which allows you to remove the fuse, plug the kit in and replace the fuse atop the kit fuse holder. It contains another fused outlet for your dashcam complete with crimped tail connection. You fit this, find a bolt to the chassis for an earth connection for your camera wiring, then route the cable inside the edge pof the trim up the passenger side to the roof and along the top towards the rear view mirror, job done. The camera will come on with the ignition. Otherwise you use the Power socket in the lower storage part of the centre console and run wiring discretely to there. That part is all easy enough. The hard part is which dashcam would others recommend? It's a minefield out there! I was tempted to the Nextbase 512GW but some user reports indicate reliability issues 6 months down the line with reading cards or starting up. This is not just common to that model but to other makes as well. I also short listed the Garmin 55 as it is neat, unobtrusive and GPS equipped, a must for insurance claims these days. Other than those the only one catching my eye was the Aukley DR02 which has received rave reviews but similarly has many reported reliability issues 6 months in. It uses a supercapacitor to be more heat resistant and do away with battery death issues suffered by many battery equipped models, when left in hot conditions attached to the windscreen (batteries eventually swell up and fail apparently). Any feedback/recommendations appreciated.

I think what you pay used depends entirely on demand at the time of looking and what's available. I was tempted earlier in the year to chop my 2015 RX F-Sport in for the newer "L" model as I wanted the extra space. Mine was valued at £26.5K with extras over standard including premium ML stereo, roof bars, LED lights, 19 inch alloys, HUD plus other upgrades and then it had 25K miles on the clock and was blemish free (still is). I decided not to go ahead with the change because I was disappointed in just what little extra space the newer 450L version had (I wanted something that would release two of the three rear seats when packing in our full camping outfit...the tent is a particularly big one!) but was offered no discount on the new prices which started at over £55K. Given that mine was around the £58K mark with the extras when new, to lose over 30K in 4 short years was an eye watering realisation of just what devaluation these cars suffer but saying that, it's still not as steep as say a Jaguar car depreciation of the same year, or any other prestige marque including BMW. Where people score with Lexus is in whole life running costs. A mate has a new F-Pace, another has an X3. The guy with the jag wouldn't dream of buying one, and has his on PCP because with depreciation and reliability issues, it works out cheaper than buying one and suffering depreciation plus the risk (STILL a big one with Jags it seems) of going wrong. The guy with the X3 has suffered transmission problems...very costly repair bills and depreciation was steeper percentage-wise than the RX. Looking around for a second vehicle, we discounted diesel totally. The last three that we've owned from Volvo, Mercedes and Skoda have all proved unreliable even with long trips every few weeks. The Merc was the best (older style W204 220CDi) but has multiple sensor failures (a grand's worth to rectify), the Volvo suffered multiple expensive transmission issues and electrical faults and the Skoda Fabia vRS was hellishly expensive after a 5 year ownership period. New suspension bushes, new Garret Turbo at 75K miles (£1300), new discs and pads, new caliper, new engine mounts, egr bypass and re-map for economy, inlet manifold removed for cleaning etc etc etc. I would never ever buy a diesel again. DMF and clutch irrespective of make will usually want replacing on manual cars circa 100K miles (£1000), turbos if you're unlucky, will go, DMF failures are still common (many of my mates have suffered dmf issues with theirs), and euro 6 engines operating higher boost and direct injection seem to need more frequent servicing (mech says that oil dilution with gas/diesel is a common issue with most direct injection engines) plus they've all had to become horrendously complex to pass EU emissions. Petrol engines just seem to be more reliable and cheaper to run longer term (bar fuel costs) if regularly serviced. At least that is they seem to suffer less issues. Our petrol engined cars have all been more reliable long term. When the skoda went, we replaced that with a 2016 Honda civic 1.8 i-vtec petrol after trying the 1.6 diesel (hated it...unrefined imho, gutless and will no doubt suffer similar issues to other diesels). We were lucky in finding a mint low miles example of the very l;ast of the 1.8 i-vtec engined cars....possibly the most reliable petrol engine ever made, after the Lexus 3 litre V-6 and V-8 motors. My advice to anyone looking in and contemplating a Lexus is this: don't buy one if you are buying purely on fuel economy....RX hybrids are NOT cheap to run fuel-wise. Over a 2 year period with a very careful right boot, driving in mainly hilly areas, I have averaged 30mpg. That's your lot. If you live in the Fens of Lincolnshire you may see closer to 36mpg average. Don't expect any more. You buy an RX (or any other petrol hybrid Lexus) for peace of mind....low running costs, comparatively speaking, due to great reliability and build quality, and customer service from dealerships that other makes look on with envy at. Is it worth holding out for one with all the bells and whistles? Yes, if buying used as used prices don't really reflect the differences in costs new between models. The sweet spot for post 2012 Mk3 RX's is the Advance Plus or F-Sport (which handles better) or if you fancy a more luxurious ride, the Premier. Bear in mind that active suspension can go wrong and if buying one, best to take out Lexus's excellent extended warranty which applies to all cars up to 10 years old. It's worth the extra..so budget for it. I did, and had a new steering rack £1800 incl fitting otherwise) in the first year as it was making a knocking noise. It functioned fine but the dealership recommended as I had the warranty, to replace it, which I did. I can't say that used prices have crept up as new prices have. When I was looking a few years back, a 2 year old F-Sport spec'd up like ours with less than 15K miles averaged £33K. Because the Mk4 came out, a 2 year old one now will cost you more, but bear in mind a similarly specified new car these days is £5K more to buy than the last of the Mk3's in the first place. I priced a new Mk4 to our specification and it came out at over £60K on the road. That's probably why used prices for 2 or 3 year old cars have risen but go back to 2015, and there's a significant price drop. That's where to look for a used RX. Trying the Mk4, I saw and felt very little difference in overall performance and driving than mine, but I much prefer the interior on the new ones. Ask yourself whether buying that new interior and a smidgen more space is worth paying £1000's more for...I don't think it is. The bargains are all in late model Mk3 RX cars. Forget the mileage and buy on condition, specification and service history and you won't go wrong. £25K buys a great low miles highly specified example, 18K still buys a good one a year or two older.

I had a look at the new Volvo XC launch photos, and from the side and rear, it looks almost pure NX300 sport. Is it just me or have they more than been influenced by the NX styling? Same windscreen rake, similar looking dimensions, similar side profile and windscreen styling queues, similar rear light styling queues...An opportunity lost for Volvo to do something different and maybe more practical?

I've also found their customer service excellent and have been using them for years now . Like your experience, I've had a few replacements under warranty with my lexus vehicles, and for those parts needed that weren't covered by the warranty, I've always had a discount on the parts so can't complain.

But I haven't made out that it's "a common thing". Where have I said that?! I've merely pointed out that MY dealership has repaired several now (3 or 4 including mine) in the past 12 months, and that's on a list of perhaps 30 RXs they've sold in the past 18 months. Don't shoot the messenger....I'm only passing on what was relayed to me by the dealership service department itself and from the experiences of 2 friends, both of whom have driven Lexus cars for years, and both of whom have owned 3RX models. The question was asked "what to look for" and all I've done is to respond honestly and without exaggeration based on MY own experiences. You may have owned 5 Lexus cars Rayaans but that doesn't mean that other people don't have any right to an opinion or to pass on what they have learnt, nor give you the right to be so domineering....Chill! Let the OP simply make his own mind up based on the balance of information available. It may well be that none of these issues are widespread, but they have occurred on 3RXs and that's a fact, not opinion, otherwise I would not have offered the feedback.

Is the 4RX really that much bigger than the 3RX? I know that it is a bit longer, but the specs suggest there's not much difference except the newer one's length is the biggest increase: 3RX: Wheelbase: 2.74m Width: 1.885m Length: 4.77m 4RX: Wheelbase: 2.79m (+2 inches) Width: 1.895m (0.4 inches) Length: 4.89m (5 inches) I guess with extra length, a different steering set up and a different cabin design with a few more blind spots, it's going to feel quite different. I like both the 3 and 4RX. I think that most in the market would be very happy with either.

I think that we had this conversation not long ago Rayaans, and there is obviously a difference of opinion between your dealership and mine. All I have done is to raise issues that are known about. Admittedly, they are probably rare in the grand scheme of things and without having the truth from every dealership on issues for every vehicle, these things are always going to be impossible to quantify, but as they have been flagged by others and by a dealership, they are worth pointing out. It was interesting when mentioning the issues that I had experienced with my GS300, a few were simply not going to believe the reliability issues that car suffered from, and the dealer was in denial even though they did the repair work! Reality is that all cars have their issues and surveys and marketing guff cannot always be relied upon. Lexus seem better than most which is all you can really conclude if searching, without owning and running one to get the low down.

If you have a valid warranty, it is a contract and is binding if the T's and C's are met and it is all paid up. Lexus have a policy of only granting warranties for vehicles of 10 years old or younger, and even then, the small print details things like on the hybrid models, only covering the inverters and motors for a limited time from new (5 years?) so even with a warranty, you have to know what is covered and what isn't. If you took a warranty out in good faith, one would like to think that they have to honour it. Their problem if they signed up to one and didn't check your car's age. If they've taken payment after offering a warranty, and that was specifically for your car and was the full Lexus warranty, that is offer to treat and acceptance in UK law, so must be honoured. Small claims court would settle that in an instant, so if they refuse, it could be worth mentioning that you have the option to go to the small claims court (which if Lexus had made an honest mistake, may not matter...they may still be liable but you may only get the cost of the warranty back). Worth speaking to your Lexus branch manager and try to get a reasonable outcome from them before going further.

Lots of questions will spawn lots of replies! Here's a few starters for Ten: What to look for: Full Lexus dealer service history is a must. Most newer, lower miles examples ought really to be fully dealer serviced from new as most owners tend to run with franchised dealerships for models up to 10 years old in order to benefit from the warranty. Best holding out for one of these; Check a few known issues as listed below: Rear subframe and rear suspension mounts for signs of rust. Expensive to replace. Avoid buying anything having lived near the coast. Fuel filler pipe, located behind the arch liner connecting main filler pipe to tank....these can rust and are very expensive to replace; Suspension...big heavy vehicles can be sore on bushes, shock absorbers and joints. Check these are all ok; Check waterpump (obvious signs of leaking from pulley bearing spells trouble). These can fail and are not especially cheap to replace on these. Battery....check when the vehicle had it's last hybrid health check. They are generally pretty reliable and individual cells can easily be replaced either via careful DIY or via specialist hybrid mechanics much cheaper than going to Lexus. Hybrid batteries seem generally to be good for at least 10 to 15 years. Inverters rarely seem to give problems unless the cooling vents beneath the rear seats have been blocked. It's easy to check. Simply start the vehicle and check battery state. If low, a quick spin for 15 to 20 minutes ought to have the batteries almost completely charged. When you put your foot down, you should get electric motors kicking in with main engine (check display). There'd be a warning light on or a fault code thrown if not. Always a good idea to beg, borrow or buy a code reader, as these can reveal a lot that the naked eye cannot detect and tell you of any current or historical issues; Brakes don't get a hammering on these due to the recovery system aiding breaking and most drivers of these seem to be of the more mature variety but worth checking disc condition and asking when the last full brake service was carried out; Check all electrics actually work and that menu system works. Anything broken here can be expensive to fix. Check headlamps. Xenons are not cheap. Any signs of flickering on the main bulb is a bulb ob its way out. These can be around £80 each to replace. Check steering rack for knocking sounds, best done on a ramp. These are electro-mechanical and a new rack (for the 3Rx at any rate) costs £1200 to replace. There've been reports of premature wear on these for the 3RX face-lift model, but unsure if the 2RX and older 3RX are the same. Check wheel alignment and tyre wear. Check exhaust and cat for signs of rust or leakage on older models Again, not a cheap part to replace. Other than that, they're pretty sound. Personally, I'd avoid the air suspension models. Old compressors have been known to fail and are very expensive to replace when they do go as are the air struts themselves. These models are also a bit heavier. You'll be fine for towing with one of these. They make ideal towing vehicles BUT expect a large hit on fuel economy if you do, possibly low 20's to the gallon if towing a heavy boat. Real world economy...well it depends on where most of your driving is done. Flattish A-roads with few stop-starts and high 30's are possible. Motorway at 70mph only yields 32mpg for mine. If you push on a bit harder, without taking the mickey and driving at 3 figure speeds, expect no more than mid to high 20's. We've just returned from a few weeks away in Cornwall, fully loaded up, and including local very hilly small roads and some urban crawling as well as hundreds of m-way miles saw only 27mpg average. Driving ultra cautiously and within speed limits and I can get this nudged up to 33mpg but that seems to be about your lot. Claims of 40+ mpg on a 3RX, frankly, I don't believe. I know a few people with these, my mate having had a 2010 SEL and his long term average was 31mpg, mixed driving. That seems about right to me.

Mine's a December 2014 F-Sport and the feature mentioned is not present. It's no bother though to simply press the "lock all doors" button when you get in to drive away. The feature was introduced generally (via many car makers) as an anti-hijack feature, not something a lot of us need worry about unless in some urban sprawls.

I tried with my GS but it was a waste of time and money. The OEM ones are really the only safe bet from my own experience.

I have the Lexus warranty cover. For a little over £480 per annum, as well as a full labour and parts warranty (which includes the hybrid system), you get full European breakdown assist (including at home) and recovery cover plus free MOTs. I priced the equivalent cover plus MOT costs up and it was close on £150 bought separately, so it seemed a no-brainer for me.

You're quite possibly right there, but it's never a great idea to run a tank to empty.