GSLV6

If this is a serious consideration, perhaps look at an RX as well? I don't find the ride fidgety or choppy at all in my F-sport 3RX. Oddly enough, I found it worse in the standard suspension RX Luxury model. Although the F-Sport has firmer tuned suspension, I think that it's the lateral dampers that make the ride more comfortable, with less roll and damping of vibrations into the cabin. It may be worthwhile seeing if you can get your dealer to provide an RX in the F-sport model for comparison with the NX as that'll be more definitive for you as they are really two quite different cars to drive.

Glad you got a resolution Jon, even if it isn't the one really wanted. All of this could have been avoided if they simply listed shock absorbers as a mileage limited item on the warranty, which they ought to. Mine went under 70K miles on the GS! Ahh, Radford. Peter Comeau one of the current directors of the IAG group and of former Heybrook and Quad fame now owns the Radford name, just not the designs and blueprints to transformer windings. A company called Radford Revival owns those and has the specifications for everything. They were given to them as one of the owners of Radford Revival worked with or was friends with John Widgery, latterly of Radford in Bristol, and whilst the name was sold off separately, the designs were not. Peter was very supportive of the Guys behind Radford Revival (Will and Steve Moores), and I sat in on a meeting a few years back between Peter and Will as William is a close personal friend of mine (for my sins, I am also a Hifi designer and owner of another hifi business, manufacturing other components). Peter was delighted to support Will and Steve and they had his full backing to push on with Radford Revival, whose aims are to reproduce exact replicas of the series 3 STA15 and STA25 amplifiers. They also manufacture the Series 5, and whilst the circuit is identical to the original, there have been improvements in the quality of the transformers, casework (better finished and more robust) and wiring (new far better PCBs) and with newly added fault protection. What makes them unique is that compared to even the best high-end amps on the market today costing many thousands of pounds, the STA25 exhibits a fraction of the output impedance of most valve amplifiers so is able to drive difficult speaker loads and has a vice like grip on bass. They have a website, if you Google Radford Revival, it'll take you there. Will and I (with my loudspeaker designs) may be joining forces with a few other British hifi manufacturers, Including TRON Audio next year to present an open day entitled "Best of British" ("BoB" day!)to demonstrate that we can compete in sound quality terms, with the best of them.

Thanks Norman We were offered white to start with as there seemed to be plenty of those, and whilst black looks fantastic in the photos, my experiences with looking after a black car in the past are that it shows up every scratch, swirl mark and spec of dirt, so we wanted to avoid that this time. Whilst silver is fast becoming "yesterday's" colour of choice, it still masks surface defects better than most other colours and I think lends an air of anonymity. Must admit that I got lazy and had the rails added as part of the deal. I think that they finish it off beautifully and really suit the car. We'll find them useful for transporting the bikes or roof box if needed but I need to remember to pack a stool, as joking apart, I don't think I could reach to put bike up on there! We added an interior protection mat too (formed rubber) from Ebay which will help keep the rear tidy and I'll get round to fitting aftermarket mats to save the originals. The only other thing that I want to do is to fit mudflaps, so a set of those will be on order shortly as it doesn't seem to take long for the sides of the car to become plastered. I'll wait for the warmer, dryer weather before re-polishing the car and adding a paint protection sealant.

It's just another stealth tax by the government. They obviously had a simpleton work out that people with more money who can afford £40K could well afford to pay extra tax, even though their car doesn't pollute more than the same model at under £40K. It's not an emissions tax though, it's a supplemental tax on "the rich". Instead of slapping and extra flat rate of £1500 on purchase tax, on top of the VAT, and then charging VED the same as for all other cars based on emissions, they felt it wiser to spread it over 5 years for fear of being accused by motor manufacturers of damaging UK sales on premium vehicles. The net effect will be the same, but the consumer is a far weaker voice than the collective might of the manufacturers, for some of whom it could have been the last straw to break the camel's back of investing in post-BREXIT Britain (Nissan for example), so one wonders what sort of horse trading went on here. Whatever, it's just another stealth tax.

Having tested the new NX and a 2 year old RX, I bought a 2 year olf RX F-Sport and would I'd pick the RX every day of the week if a more comfortable utilitarian vehicle was called for simply for the greater load space, passenger space, ground clearance and extra power. The NX I found too compromised in load area, but it was very nicely finished, very comfortable and handled well enough. As to speed, I personally would think you'd miss the performance of your Subaru and its off road capabilities if indeed you used it much off-road. The NX is more a crossover compact SUV with some off-road ability rather than a purpose built go-anywhere 4x4 like the Forrester (which, along with the Outback, are excellent off road and fast on it!). However, the NX will be light years ahead of the Subarus for build quality, refinement, toys etc and more economical to run, by far. If these things matter, then it's a smart choice. If you want performance though, you would have to look for or order a 2 litre turbo-petrol F-Sport version. That is quite fast, and is lighter than the 3.0 hybrid which has to lug around a 2.5 litre engine plus electric motors and hybrid drive. RE the RX...you can have a black or tan (yuck!) interior if you want it, and without beige carpets! Mine is a black interior with black carpets. The RX won't disappoint in terms of performance. For it's 2.2t bulk, it can accurately be described as deceptively/frighteningly* (delete as appropriate) quick . *( in that it picks up speed rather quicker than you'd expect for its size and often sees the newcomer diving on the stop peddle before the corner/tree/cliff comes up!). It is a lot quicker than the 300h, but there's probably not a lot in it between the 450h and the NX 2.0t. You haven't yet said what the primary use is for, ie commuting, or general family car or off roader with general family duties. For off roading, as you know, tyre choice if everying but neither the RX nor the NX have enough ground clearance to be considered serious off road contenders. With the right tyre choice, they're more than capable for muddy ruts, fire trails and general off road where loads of ground clearance isn't an issue. From what you say, if your wife is making the choice and you accept some of the compromises, your best bet might be the 2 litre turbo NX, but if she gets used to the size of the RX (my wife adapted to it very fast because it's so easy to drive and has excellent all round visibility), then I'd recommend a post 2012 face lift 450h F-Sport. The handling on the F-sport sets it apart from the luxury and advance models and it's worth the extra for that and the higher spec.

Alternatively, take the Steam Packet to the IoM and have some fun up over the mountain! Actually, thinking on that one, it probably isn't the best place for a GS as corners come up pretty fast from 150mph! (I have ridden my motorbike at 150mph+ speeds there though and it was a fab experience). The JK Rowling manual I think has a section on the menu systems and you should be able to access mpg data on both the main screen (trip info) and via the steering wheel for the dash display (real time and average). The locks sound like they need to be checked for configuration. I set mine so that the key locked/unlocked all doors, as did the touch of the black door handle button. CVT takes some getting used to and has come in for plenty of stick from motoring journalists, some of which is fair comment, some of which is not. It works by varying the transmission to pick up speed whilst holding the engine at optimum torque, so in theory is an efficient means of transmission. That is further helped by the transmission being mechanically simpler (a lot simpler) than a conventional auto box, which makes it lighter, and with fewer frictional losses, again helping efficiency (and reliability). The downsides are that it does tend to drone a bit when you press the "go" pedal and the revs won't climb and fall like a conventional manual or auto transmission, at least not past a certain point. This does change the driving characteristic to some extent and robs the driver of the freedom to choose whether to drive on torque or demand max power/revs from the off and have a bit of fun. I do find that it limits car control compared to a normal transmission though which is one of the more pertinent good reasons that some motoring journalists dislike it, but lets face it, we're not talking about a track-day car, we're talking about a road going vehicle. Whilst the "shift" control is marketed ostensibly as a hill descent transmission control to maximise engine braking, it can also be used very effectively to address the lack of choice on picking a gear/revs for car control in the twisties. You can down-shift and keep higher revs for longer to hold the car in the power band you want rather than leave in auto and have to go in on the brakes. For rapid cross country progress, it is less fuel efficient, but slow for the corner well before hand, drop the "gear" to pick up/hold the revs and you can keep the car balanced and on power all the way round a corner for more spirited driving and make more rapid progress this way. It just takes a bit of adjusting to, but there will be some people that wont get on with it and that's understandable. You do have to re-tune your ears and brain. On the plus side, it is a more relaxing way to make progress and there's no shortage of performance on tap, it's just that it's delivered without all the shouting and attention seeking of a conventional set-up and will see speed pick up without your realising, especially in the 450h!

+1 Lexus, nor any other manufacturer, are stupid enough to quote cold temperature pressures and neglect frictional heat increasing PSI. They all factor that in. The point HJ makes is really out of context, especially when he neglects to differentiate between lower profile tyres (requiring higher pressures to maintain their specified load ratings) and non-low profile. You are more likely to result in a crash from under inflation, not over inflation. There's a good factor of safety built into the hoop stresses generated from over inflation in the specification of the radial banding. If he is refusing to revise his opinions, his reputation will be tarnished and that would be a shame because he does provide a lot of good reviews.

If it's a tapping, then unlikely to be cambelt tensioner, and more likely to be tappets or fuel pump. If the restorative oil solution didn't fix it, then it could still be a failed tappet seal. The restorative isn't designed to mend blown seals, just rejuvenate tired seals by cleaning dirty deposits from the engine that could be preventing seals from working properly. I'd give it some more miles, it can take a few hundred miles of engine running for that restorative oil supplement to work its magic.

What there is looks positive to me . Although we didn't see it all, it did seem to cope quite well with the obstacles that it was filmed with. My only experience off road has been a badly rutted track that would trouble a lot of cars and it coped no problems with the OEM tyres but they would be a weakness for proper off-road where off road or winter tyres would improve it no end.

Yes, good advice Rayaans. I already had the Menzerna Powerlock so that is what I'll use for now. I can always re-polish with the DA polisher and then apply a Silicon Dioxide based sealant at a later date.

Part 3 - performance Don't worry, not many more installments left! (I will do one on practicality and running costs later when some miles are under the belt) For performance, I was interested only in a few areas: 1. Fuel economy/driving style 2. The obligatory 0-60 3. 40-70 1. I'll go into economy in more detail later on as I have only a few hundred miles to base it on but based on three driving scenarios I can offer this: Cross-country in normal mode, sticking to speed limits (naturally ) and driving smoothly and with empathy to the hybrid system: 37mpg average Fast driving with overtakes, a bit of hooning around in sport mode and without any nod towards smoother driving, throwing in some steep hills and traffic: 23mpg Some dual carriageway and motorway driving never exceeding 75mph: 32 to 34 mpg (so far). Bear in mind this is all in cold temperatures and I'd expect to see a few mpg more in warmer weather, perhaps 2 to 4mpg better. 2. 0-60 was done using GPS and a timer, the tests repeated multiple times with the vehicle set into Sport Mode: Average 6.9 seconds. This was much quicker than the official figures suggest, and a few tenths quicker than the GS300, all of which came as a huge surprise. This is deceptively quick off the mark and I'm not sure how this compares with other 450h's. The speedo was showing 62 to 63mph, which seems about right (ie 5% optimistic). 3. 40-70: This was an odd one. not quite as fast as some figures being banded about suggest. I've seen all sorts of figures from 7 seconds down to 4.4 seconds. My own tests showed a consistent 6.5 seconds which is slower than the GS300 by over a second. I may not have been doing things right here and this was only with one test, so I will have to repeat ( I started off at an indicated 37 mph for a start which didn't help matters but still...). Even if I account for my error, it seems closer to 6 seconds in the 40-70 sprint. I'll come back when I have had time and a passenger willing to do gps and stopwatch duties.

Part 2 Thanks chaps, and lovely looking car Ken. I like that colour and think that it suits the Premier really well. I feel that I have to say something more about the ride. The remarkable thing about the RX is it's so under-stated, the real under-dog of the SUV Crossover market in some respects. When you stop to think on that, it also dawns on you that it is also the most technically complex of all current SUVs, then things start to come together. Little subtleties in the ride and handling, the way it makes its power etc seem perfectly attuned to its purpose. Whilst the GS was more of a direct comparison with the rest of the luxury exec cars, the RX is different. It seems to sit in a class of its own. Part of this is down to the hybrid drive and part to the exceptional finish, the ride and reliability. After just over one short week, I am appreciating it for what it is now. From the moment you step into it (more accurately "climb aboard") and press the power button, the drivers seat cocoons you with a gentle forward motion to your correct position whilst the steering wheel comes up to greet you like some space age ship readying you for take-ff. The steering wheel sliding back isn't as necessary on this as the GS because the entry space is big enough with the seat back on it's own, but the net result is that it's a car adapting to your needs. Once the test drives are out of the way and you've drawn comparisons between your current drive, you can't stop to consider the finer details because you won't yet be able to appreciate them. Some are contained within the 700 page manual and you have yet you head around that when you buy the car. It is a complex vehicle but not so much so that nothing makes sense or is out of reach. In fact, much of that technology is hidden behind layers of electronic controls linked to the human interfaces of the dash, mouse, and control buttons but harnessed by the wheels and motor, the climate control, the brain that determines safety and efficiency. the car gets on with all of these things and really flatters the driver. That's one of the reasons that it feels special to drive. Yes, it won't turn in like a 1 tonne sports car but it's silly to expect that anyway. However, when viewed in a different light, it really impresses. It turns in better than just about any other 2 tonne vehicle that I've driven. The BMW X5 might be better but the ride is also harsher, the upkeep costs massive and longer term reliability questionable. It is also not finished as nicely inside. Round 1 to the Lexus fin my opinion anyway. Off-road abilities are not on a par with a Freelander or Discovery, or even a loaded Hilux or Landcruiser. However, those that have tried it with winter tyres say that on mu and in snow, it runs rings round the Disco on ordinary road tyres, so ignore the car journo reviews, because none of them will have gone to the trouble of swapping tyres and doing the job properly. I have tried it in rutted muddy tracks that my GS struggled with (on the way to a farm I visit regularly). The RX floats across without drama. Here's an eye opening example of its potential: Good, now that we have that out of the way, lets concentrate on what it is good at. Cross country runs this week have been a complete joy. In the rare occasion that I have "opened it up" in sport mode, it's absolutely flown past the car I wanted to safely get past, and had me stamping on the brakes harder than anticipated to get the excess speed down. It does this without drama and whisks you up to speed instead of growling and shoving you. It is a gentleman's car and you are sat in a gentleman's club seat enjoying the relaxed serenity as it does this. Practicality wise, the only consideration I hadn't thought about was cleaning it. I needed a stool to reach the roof! More later, that's all I've got time for now, but I'll add to it as an when.

double post...

After making the decision to trade my 2007 GS300 in for a 2014 Mk3 RX450h, I finally took the plunge a week ago: Since then, a fair few miles have been put up and whilst I've read much of the owner's manual, I gave up half way through as it's not the lightest of reading. I'll use it as a reference as and when needed. First impressions: Little point in saying too much as really, in a week of ownership I learned something very important about the RX, and that's that first impressions are misleading and count for little, even if a 24 hour test drive has been arranged. Despite this, my initial impressions were that it was well made, nicely finished inside, roomy and comfortable, although the front seats weren't as adjustable or comfortable for me as my GS ones had been. Initial thoughts on the drive were that it was a little crashy about town, over the bumps, not as quiet as I had been expecting (tyre noise mostly), pretty thirsty on the test drive at any rate and not as dynamic or involving as the GS. However, it had the space we needed, was newer and probably would be more reliable (lets face it, the £££££'s I spent on the GS would make anything look more reliable!) and I liked the hybrid drive a lot. One week on, and fair to say, the RX has grown on me quite a lot. I'm glad we went for the F Sport as the handling is better than the luxury model to the extent that I don't notice much body roll at all and it does corner as if on rails without any fuss or bother. Push it on a bit too hard and the front starts to run wide to remind you that you're behind the wheel of 2.2 tonnes of car, but it never feels unsafe and can be hustled through windy country roads at alarming pace if wanted. I've even grown to like the CVT box which suits this vehicle an it's hybrid drive system really well, and I hadn't expected to like the CVT at all. Fuel consumption has settled down on the longest cross country run this week of 50 miles in temperatures ranging from zero (early morning start) to 5 degrees, it returned an average of close to 37mpg. When this considers that a traffic jam or two was thrown in, two sets of road works, a city centre to navigate around and a few towns to drive through, then throw in some hills, then I thought this was pretty good all things considered. The information display and menus take some getting used to and whilst the mouse thingy is a good idea, as others have found, it is over sensitive and it can be a pain having to go back and forth but you soon get used to it and even after a week I can now find my way through all the menus and settings, except the satnav which I have yet to master fully! Whilst on the Satnav, I found it better than the one on the GS in some respects. Easier to programme, and more reliable in use. The HUD is another great feature which makes watching your speed in built up areas a doddle whilst not taking eyes off the road. Performance-wise, it is sluggish in anything other than Sport mode to get going, but once on the move, it has a surprising turn of speed. It doesn't kick down the same way that a true auto box does but with the sport Mode enabled, the battery power helps initial take -off and overtakes are dispatched without drama. The GS felt faster, but I wonder if it actually was? certainly it is much faster top-speed wise than the RX but that is irrelevant for driving in the UK. Fair to say that the RX has more than adequate performance and more than enough shove for safe and rapid overtakes BUT a sports car it is not. This then gets me on to an interesting point, and the reason why a short test drive tells you little. The more it is driven, the more it rewards smooth driving and has the sort of serene and effortless quality which keeps you fresh and longing for more. You want to go out and drive it NOT because it's quick or goes round corners well (it is quick enough and does go round corners well enough) but because it feels like an extension of the driver without being as literally connected as a more sporty drive. You soon learn the precise seating and steering wheel adjustments that suddenly make everything click into place and any distractions or comparisons with the GS are soon forgotten as you find the sweet spot and let the high sides seats cosset you. You sit in rather than on them and I like that. The radio is pretty good although FM gives by far the better quality audio than the DAB which I rarely use and which I dislike. Despite the premium, the sound system (Mark Levinson on this one) isn't up to the ML system of the older GS, in fact it's not even close. The processed surround sound is more compressed and speaker selection and tuning seems less well thought out. That said, it's easy enough to use and navigate through. I haven't tried the CD player yet and probably will never bother with the blue tooth streaming option although it's nice to have it. Storage room seems excellent, and general fit and finish in the cabin is excellent. Rear load room is also excellent, and rear seats exceptional for comfort and adjustment. No gripes there at all. I ordered a rubber protector mat from Ebay for the rear for £47 delivered and it's an exact fit with a 50mm lip all round to bund any spillages or mess. I also bought a throw to cover the rear seat backs and sides should any tip-runs be needed. Paint finish is excellent, as with most Lexus vehicles but is prone to stone chips as the water based base-coat is quite thin and the lacquer top coat easily chipped so a paint protection coating is a must. I elected not to pay for the outrageous amount Lexus quoted of well over £500 and will do it myself. I have a dual action polisher and a load of menzerna polishes. With the Lexus finish, such a recent car won't need claying or a coarse polish, but starting at a 4000 grit and then a 4500 will give a mirror finish and strip off any prior-applied wax. On top of that, a long chain polymerised synthetic sealant from menzerna (Menzerna Powerlock Sealant) will be applied, and then once cured, finished with Meguiars #26 Techwax. That little lot will provide superb paint protection for the sake of a day's work and save £450. The alternative would be to use an all in one finish such as Carlack 68. These are just a few initial views formed over the first week of ownership. It is interesting that my opinion has gone from "oh no, what have I done!" after the first day or two (yes, I really had serious misgivings about trading in my old GS which I loved driving), to "good move" by day 6. It takes a while to learn to appreciate the strengths of the car and you never feel in a hurry to get anywhere. I have found myself driving more cautiously, a little more slowly and a lot more smoothly and that is relaxing. Let other drivers do what they want and get worked up as they rush about, because truth is you probably will arrive at your destination as quickly as before but a lot less stressed! That's what this car does well. It rewards that driving style whilst still having plenty in reserve if you want a bit of fun or when overtaking is called for. I'll report back when I have anything more to add but my strong advice to those considering an RX, is to do so only if you need the extra space or would value a more relaxed and cosseting drive, especially if you commute longer distances. It's not a car to consider for the person wanting performance. Look to the LC-F or the GS-F for that. Dare I say it, it's not a car for a large family with young children either as the interior could soon become trashed, so a cheaper chuckle-bus might be order of the day as the school run weapon which you don't mid getting smothered in chocolate, dirty feet and crayons! However, for older kids, it's just about perfect. Beware that the extra height means elderly people sometimes will struggle to get in and out without assistance. For those, like myself, with hobbies demanding loads of load space, and who put up a fair few miles, and want the performance, but also the comfort and good handling, then it's a no-brainer.

double post...

A slightly lazy hydraulic tappet is nothing to worry about shorter term, especially if it's not failed completely, which is rare (most noisy hydraulic tappets have failing internal valve seals so that they won't prime properly and cannot retain priming pressure). The net result is that the valve clearances rise above tolerance and you hear a knocking noise which is not damaging as such for the engine health at least short term, unlike the other way round where using more traditional valve clearance adjustment, should the valve not close completely, the valve and valve seat can be destroyed over time. In your case, your mechanic is right....nothing to overly worry about in the short term as long as nothing fails but it will affect engine efficiency. It's not a cheap job unfortunately unless you can find a friendly spanner who is willing to do the job for beer money.

You have a point John. I haven't seen where he's said this, but the point being made is that it's not something that can or should be open to interpretation. Tyre pressures, in relation to an axle loading, speed and tyre geometry, are a known quantity in engineering terms and tyre manufacturers are very careful to specify correct application and use. IF HJ has advised that tyres are under inflated, then at best, that can be viewed as irresponsible advice, or ill-advised. However, your point stands and until someone can point to where he's said that, then obviously, my comments above are out of order, albeit technically valid (my engineer's hat on ). I have edited the comments accordingly.

He's wrong *EDIT.....If he's actually said that and could be encouraging people to inadvertently break the law, and possibly invalidate their insurance. As has already been stated, the manufacturer's recommended pressures are based on axle loading and always stated as cold pressures. The recommended tyres will have a specified load rating, and there is a margin on inflation at which this will be optimal for a specific axle weight. Under inflation can mean that the tyre won't make it's recommended load rating, it will overheat, especially at speed and sidewall deformation will affect both cornering stability and braking stability. Any accident could see your insurance company refusing to pay out and as far as the police are concerned, you could also be committing a traffic offence by not ensuring that you were running your tyres at correct (safe) pressures. Slight over inflation will reduce rolling resistance because the tyres wont be deforming as much and wasting energy transferred to them as heat, as happens with under inflated tyres but there are no grip advantages nor really much in the way of mpg advantage over the correct inflation. lexus publishes what it calls "Eco" inflation pressures. These tend to be at the upper end of the recommended settings for your vehicle for the reasons above. eg with the RX450h, "Eco" inflation setting is 36psi with 19 inch tyres, front and rear, and minimum recommended pressures are 33/35 rear/front split. Under inflating by just 5psi can have marked effects on fuel economy as well as handling. when I picked up my RX recently, all tyres were 5 to 6 psi under inflated (despite the fact that this was an "approved used vehicle and ought to have been checked). Now that the tyres are at correct pressures, I am expecting a few mpg more as well as improved stability. Edit *Long story short: If HJ has recommended under inflation, then his advice is best ignored, and could be viewed as dangerous advice.

If it is a hydraulic tappet, it's an engine out, or at least, the head stripped type of job I'm afraid, depending on where the failed tappet is. I had one fail on the GS and required the engine to be lifted out to replace it. It's not a DIY job unless you're a competent mechanic with all the right tools and settings for rebuilding. The other thing that can cause a tapping or ticking noise (at least on the older 3 litre V6) was the fuel pump at the rear of the engine which operates off a cam drive, and this, until warm, can "tick" a little until tolerances close up with heat. If the "wrong" oil has been put in (ie too viscous), I'd have though that tappets may take longer to prime, but any knocking should then disappear as the engine warms. If it doesn't, then it could well point towards a tappet seal failure.

It'll be very tyre dependant. With summer tyres, you won't get the grip in snow as the tread pattern will clog very quickly, and with big wide tyres and 2.2 tonnes, I can't imagine it'd do as well as a "proper" 4x4 like a Landy. With winter tyres fitted, I've heard from owners that they do ok but are limited by ground clearance so you have to be careful not to go into deep snow. We have tried ours on very slippery muddy tracks and it copes with those, but is not what I'd call an off-roader and best kept on the tarmac! The "Snow" setting just alters throttle response and transmission settings to reduce wheel spin and in all vehicles I have owned with similar functions, I've found it better to switch all of the aids off...except on these, there will always be layers of electronic interference built in.

Many thanks, I'll give that a go. Still reading the manual but have 500 pages to go!

How do you adjust the sensitivity Rayaans...didn't know that was possible? Well the dipped beams are very good indeed, so I take back what I said. If they're LED, they're better than the HID ones I had on the GS.

Please DON'T do a review of the 2016 RX450h, or I might have to trade up our current model for one, and then I'd have to CHIDE you very severely. Great review, keep it up, tell it how it is and may the force be with your chiding skills...

I checked the servicing costs for our newer hybrid with our local Indy, and tbh, it was only fractionally cheaper than Lexus for the minor and about £50 cheaper for the major. Front brake pads were £30 cheaper (incl vat) fitted from the Indy as was a battery change (£80 cheaper!). There may be other savings. On the flip side, Lexus customer care has been exemplary, at least with our local one in Cheltenham, who include a courtesy car to use when ours is in for service plus have always valeted our car inside and out as part of the service. Add to the general servicing the £56 annual hybrid check and this also offers a full 12 month warranty on the entire hybrid system, extendable by 12 months with every healthcheck taken each year. That has to be worth it for a vehicle over 5 years old just for peace of mind I'd have thought.

I have a 2014 model with DRL and adaptive front lamps but think this feature on mine is more the lamps turning with the steering wheel. One thing I don't like is the LED full beam. While the dips are better than my older HID Xenons, the full beam isn't. It's pretty ineffective by comparison and I much preferred the power of the HIDs. The issue raised in the OP seems to be pretty common across most car makers who use that system though as I've read similar stories from owners of other marques.