malcolmw

All the BMW X5s and Range Rovers I have driven for the last 15 years have had the fuel burning heater as an accessory. It is most annoying that you can't get this on the RX as it is the best accessory that I have ever had. Get up in the morning and click the remote control. Have a shower and by the time you go out the car is defrosted and ready to go. Makes seat heaters and steering wheel heaters uneccessary.

@Neil300h If you really are thinking of getting rid of your winter wheels for the IS then please let me know. My RX is going to be gone in January (LC coming ) and I won't have a 4WD after that.

I thought that a thread to bring together any issues encountered with the LC500 by the owners on here might be useful. From memory, we have the alarm triggering issue and the satnav miles/km issue. Any others? They don't need to be very serious issues, just of interest to other owners.

I had a Tracker fitted as standard on my Aston DB9. It cost £150+ per year to monitor and was only required by my insurers when the car was new. I eventually dropped the monitoring. It also caused a parasitic load on the car electrics meaning that the battery would be flat in about 20 days parked up. I would not bother unless you have insurance problems. BTW, let us know how you get on with your new toy.

Ok, so I have asked Lexus for their recommended winter tyre program fitment. For the IS300h there are no steel wheel options available. You have to have the OEM alloys. You can fit the 16inch wheels with 205/55 x 16 Yokohama winter tyres but these need to have TPMS sensors fitted. The total cost for a set fitted, balanced etc. with Lexus storing the summer set is £1742 inc VAT. The cost of 4 x 225/45 x 17 Yokohama Winters is £413 inc VAT, fitting to your existing wheels and storing the summer tyres. Any comments? What do people think?

So, just to clarify things, what is the Lexus recommended fitment for winter wheels and tyres on the IS300h?

Yes, Structural Blue outside looks good. God knows how you would repair it if got scratched. Shame about the orange/white interior which is the only option with this colour. Lexus are silly not allowing customer choice of interior trim. IMO a light grey leather interior would look good.

Anyone would think the target customer demographic for these cars was a 16 year old boy. What are Lexus thinking of?

We have been discussing above about “rationalising” our decisions to order/buy the LC500. Although, as has been pointed out, we don’t need to really justify our purchasing choices, I did look at the possible alternative cars at this point in the market. It is difficult to get an exact comparison because of standard/optional equipment levels but, for pricing purposes, I roughly considered costs to equate to the LC500 base model features. So, what is competitive in the 2 door coupe market? AMG GT – Very similar to the LC but £105K BMW 650 Msport – 450bhp and about £80K but there are a lot about. BMW i8 – Is this really a LC500 hybrid competitor? Porsche 911 Carerra – About £88K but only 370bhp and everybody’s got one. Jaguar F-Type – 550bhp at about £93K with JLR build “quality”. Aston Martin V8V – 470bhp but indifferent build quality at about £105K (new model coming) I have probably left out a few choices but I am sure you understand the issues. What other cars have people looked at?

Merry Christmas.

Very interesting. I have just sold my DB9 and have had a CL500 so I seem to be on a similar page to you. I had the Aston for 12 years and, although great to drive, it always felt "fragile". The CL 500 was spectacularly fast and comfy but I eventually changed it for a Range Rover and then the RR for a RX450h. On alternatives to the LC, I have test driven the AMG Coupe which I think is the nearest to the LC V8 in terms of feel and robustness (it's ugly, though). Also, there is the AM Vantage but both of these are £30K more than the LC. So that is really my rationalisation for my order. BTW, I assume that you have ordered the V8 and not the hybrid. I have gone for the "base" model really for the reasons in your post. I don't want to race around either so 4WS, carbon roof and LSD are unnecessary while the glass roof and leather seats look good to me. What delivery time were you quoted?

I'm in the south near Salisbury. I'm not expecting to see many LCs!

Great colour on a great car. Also, what a great car park! Walkway spaces between the cars so you can open your doors. Where is it?

I have used the following people for repairs to my Aston and Range Rover. They did a very good job on both vehicles. They are basically like a Chipsaway outfit but not in their marketing group. Ask to speak to Angus. Scratched Cars Unit 1a, Manor Nursery, Stockbridge Rd, Timsbury, Romsey,SO51 0NB Tel01794 367303

Try the Navigation Manual Page 56. You can set the units of measurement via the Remote Touch.

Much to my surprise, a parcel arrived yesterday from Lexus. It was a pair of excellent headphones and a link to a personalised website having a soundscape presentation of the V8 at full chat. Did anyone else who ordered a LC get the parcel or is it just for those who have to wait?

Our test drive was about 100 miles round trip and consisted of a mixture of 1/3rd motorway, 1/3rd A roads and 1/3rd B roads with a bit of waiting in traffic for about 10 minutes. I gave it a bit of a boot in a few places to feel the performance but on the motorway cruise the revs were sitting at about 1500. I reset the system when I started our trip and the indicated mpg was 23.6 overall. When I test drove the hybrid on a similar pattern trip it showed 33.2 mpg. The daytime temperature was about 15degC. I live in a rural area and we don't get much heavy traffic so I think you have chosen the correct model if you have a high traffic commute. I was pretty impressed with the hybrid when I drove it and I would probably have gone for it if I had traffic as you describe.

We took out an LC500 V8 yesterday for an extended test drive. This certainly confirmed my decision to go with the V8 rather than the Hybrid version. I felt much more at home on the second drive and I was amused by the exhaust crackle when you change gear to supplement the engine note. We drove it home and tried it in the garage where it fits no problem. It was interesting to see the car in a familiar environment and this showed up just how wide it is as this is not apparent in the dealer's car park. I have to wait until January now!

I have the Premier model and it is not an available option.

Funnily enough, I was driving my other half's IS300h yesterday and noticed a small amount of wind noise from the driver's window. I opened and closed it, a lot of water was dispersed by this action and the noise disappeared. My conclusion is that the water droplets changed the aerodynamics temporarily and caused the noise. Are you getting this in the dry?

As far as I know, air suspension is not offered on the 4RX.

I have simply given up with the map updates. When I purchased my 4RX in Sept 2106 the maps were 15 months old. I asked if there was an update but there wasn't at the time. As the SatNav is not really very good, I have just left it. Regarding warranty issues, the answer is no. I have just had one recall to fix an issue with the rear tailgate ECU.

I can get my 4RX into most car park spaces but occasionally it can be a bit tight getting out of the car. If we take the longer doors into account then it might be a bit tighter still in the LC. Here are the dimensions: 4RX W = 1895 W over mirrors = 2180 LC W = 1920 W over mirrors = 2168 DB9 W = 1880 W over mirrors = 2061 IS300h W = 1810 W over mirrors = 2027 As mirrors can be folded then this should not be an issue. I am used to the DB9 (with the long doors) so an extra 40mm width is unlikely to be a problem for me. At 25mm wider than the RX, I should be able to cope. For LinasP - I went into a multi-storey in my BMW X5 a few years back where the wheels touched both sides of the entry lane as you describe. Just stupid.

I had the Pirelli Scorpion Verde M&S on my Range Rover for getting on for 3 years and they seemed very good overall.

Yes, the surround cameras are very useful on my 4RX and I agree that this option should have been available on the LC. I would have gone for this for sure. Actually, thinking about it, at this price point I would have expected it to be standard.