Vince Donald

Crikey, seemed to have kicked off a diplomatic incident 😜 Usual German biased crowd don't interest me - which is why I used to drive a Lexus (and previously 3 Saabs) rather than a BMW or Audi, the only BMW I ever considered was a 5 series. The German cars that the Stinger "competes with" are about £6-10k more expensive BEFORE speccing up, probably in the region of £25-30k more by the time you've added the same kit. I only mentioned the toys as stepping out of the IS into this and it is quite striking, it did take me about a week to get to know how all the toys work there are that many. And the quality feels good too, many of the German biased reviews talk about "better quality plastic" - but the plastics in here are a match for anything I've seen in a Lexus (I have driven IS, CT & NX and sat in a UX). But never mind plastic, the centre console here is clad in brushed aluminium - actual metal, it does feel a better cabin than the Lexus I've had and as good as any I've been in. Never had so many people talk to me about my car before, and heads turning, even had a group of Mums walking their kids to school this morning craning round as they crossed over the zebra crossing 😁 Vince

I've seen criticism of the fake vents, mainly those on the bonnet, doesn't detract the looks IMHO if anything it breaks up the huge bonnet. The other obvious vents around the front wheels are there to do some work. Obviously the smoothness of the auto box can never match the Lexus due to how the Lexus works but it is a good 8 speed box. 0-60 is supposed to be 4.7s and the few times I've planted my foot, I can very well believe it, its quite staggering how fast it pulls. 365bhp & 376lb-ft (about 510Nm) so it pulls just the same to overtake something as well, really gonna have to take it steady to keep a points free license. But it is set up as a Grand Tourer, only after lockdown end will I find out how good it is at munching the miles, something the Lexus was extremely good at. Vince

Well 4 years with my Mesa Red IS300h and I've now move on to this.. Er, its a Kia.... Stinger 3.3 Twin turbo. Must say that the amount of toys this thing has makes the Lexus look a little poor by comparison. Quality wise. I'm impressed, and this thing is seriously fast. Vince

I've noticed that the rear window takes a long time to clear in the colder winter months. I had the AC setting where it disables the rear vents, but have found the system runs better in winter if this is set so the rear vents are active. Vince

I think its just the base model of IS which doesn't have folding rear seats, I know mine does. Vince

I had water ingress issue in my Skoda Superb Mk1, even back then this was described as the typical VAG car water ingress issue, which was good in 1 respect - sorted in a matter of hours - except for the drying process. Vince

Isn't the top speed on an NX 112mph? Questioning the consumption at the top speed is erm questionable. Vince

No it was a petrol, 1.4 I think, at the time we couldn't afford to do anything about it, eventually it got scrapped as cost more to fix than it was worth and her parents bought her a car to replace it, this was tell help her as she needed a car to start a new job. Now several years later she's driving a Toyota Yaris, its a great car. Vince

Quite a few miles on the clock so could be something worn but don't discount the people who say it could be the tyres. Low profile tyres when cold especially often cause this, had it on several cars, noticed it more in the cold when I used to set off for work at 6.30 in a morning in past years. Must say that it is quite noticeable on the IS, and as for only on the passenger side, on full lock, the inside and outside wheels will be doing completely different things, ie try it full lock one way then the other, you may find the sound moves to the other side. Vince

My wife had a Nissan Micra with a stretched chain at less than 40,000 miles, when looking into it seems not that uncommon unfortunately. Vince

I know where you mean I think, just behind the rotary knob for the Infotainment system is a small "tray" which is about right for your keys. My phone doesn't fit there, I have placed it there but its kinda resting in one one edge, it comes out when driving, its not wide enough. My phone sits in front of the Infotainment system screen as it angles downwards, but in strong sunshine it goes under the armrest which is handy for charging and it keeps cool with the air con as the rear vents are fed underneath this. Vince

I've put one in my IS300h and to be honest its a bit of a pain, as you can see in the photos above of an NX, it impedes the gearstick, on an IS it also impedes your view of some of the audio and climate controls. I'm going to remove it and only put it in when I really need it. Vince

You've done what I did many years ago,I went to my local Saab dealer to test drive a 9-3 having previously had a 900, the car was out on a test drive, but as I was looking at a 9-5 they offered me a drive in one of those "while I was waiting", which I did, then I drove the 9-3. Both cars had the same engine spec so the 9-3 was definitely faster, I bought a 9-5, not the one I drove, I wanted a blue one but the same spec, and a few years later I got a 9-5 Aero (the faster one). I currently have an IS300h, cracking car, but I bet the GS will be even quieter and smoother as was the 9-5 vs 9-3, also the extra space inside would fell more luxurious too. When I bought my IS, I too considered a GS, though my choice of spec and colour was out of my financial reach, I would say that if you prefer the GS go for it. Vince

I use a bit of software called MP3Tag to modify the metadata, you can edit say the Album name or Artist for the entire Album at once, you just need a bit of patience I'm afraid if you have a lot of files, I've got a 32Gb thumb drive and its physically tiny, when plugged in theres only a few of mm visible. Vince

That sticker is a good idea, I had no idea you could disable it in the car settings, been doing the 2 press thing on the remote myself. Vince