EvilRacer329

Stunning!

I'd heard that; my car came with the Bridgestone Turanazas, which also understeer quite badly when pressing on. I'd happily sacrifice a few miles per gallon for better grip in wet and dry conditions, and certainly for less tyre roar on motorways... Nick

I find Google Maps has some neat features Waze doesn't, such as visually showing potential turn-offs and the impact they would have on ETA should I take them in real-time. Means if I fancy taking a different route I can easily see what the time penalty would be. @First_Lexus - even after the upgrade, even if you plug in your phone, you can just ignore/exit out of Android Auto and use the standard Lexus interface. Hell, you have to in order to adjust any of your car's settings. My biggest complaint with the Lexus navigation is the eternity it takes to enter any addresses in using the touch-pad. The navigation itself seems fine to me, and I particularly liked the way you could program in frequent trips and set them to time slots, so my car would automatically offer to navigate me to work when I got in at 7am each day. Lately I've been trying out Apple's own Maps solution on my iPhone via CarPlay. It was garbage when it launched - famously so - but they've clearly been working hard and it's got a few neat features of its own. That being said, when it comes to finding the cheapest fuel, Waze has everyone beat. Nick

My UX250h has the 18" run-flats. The space under the boot is filled with a big piece of foam but with all the kit that you'd get with the the regular tyres missing. So you don't really get any more space - I'd love to pull that entire piece of foam out and buy/make some sort of liner so that I can use the extra storage. The ride on the 18's with standard sport suspension is really very good - but the road noise is pretty bad. I'm probably going to try regular tyres when they wear out and hope that the noise improves. Nick

Not sure I follow the logic here...and you may not have a choice. It's a software upgrade for the infotainment system that adds additional functionality - it doesn't remove any existing functionality, and doesn't get in the way. I would argue that it's better to have it and not need it, than to one day find you need it and don't have it. I've also got to believe that it's something future owners will expect to find installed, should you ever sell the car. Seriously - get it, try it, ignore it if you like. Nick

I actually did that the other night on my scooter. I know the reserve on the T-Max is 3 litres, and I know that at 45mpg you get about 10 miles per litre. Given that I usually manage 50-55 I can say with some confidence how far I could go...but in the interests of not cooking the fuel pump I tend to bottle early and refill as soon as I can! I believe the reserve on the UX250h is 6.4 litres, so 60 miles worth of reserve, at least with my 45-50mpg! Nick

Japanese engineering let down by the crappy British charging network... Nick

This is very interesting. Assuming your dealer is correct and your anecdotal results aren't being affected by some other aspect, this suggests that perhaps there is more to these modes than meets the eye. Perhaps the hybrid strategies change depending on the modes - in other words, the computer makes different decisions around when to use the battery vs when to charge the battery. Driving in Normal mode on steady 70mph dual carriageways, it seems like the system will use the battery to take the strain off the petrol engine until it gets down to 3 bars of charge. From there, it cycles back and forth between charging the battery and discharging the battery as I drive along. Next time I'm doing a longer run, I shall try Sport mode and keep an eye on the battery charge behaviour, see if I can determine what's happening. Nick

Yup; if you throw it into Android Auto/Apple CarPlay mode then it takes over the main infotainment screen, but you can always exit out of that and all the standard functions are still there. You're simply adding an additional option! Nick

Thanks Las Palmas, I'm thinking that sort of thing would be good. That way I can also legally and safely drive to Germany etc. in winter without worrying about a little bit of snow! That being said, the alternative would be a second set of wheels and swapping something more wintery on during the colder months while leaving me free to put on some sticker, sportier rubber for the summer months... Nick

That's...a very good point! Perhaps that's one more reason I should bite the extremely expensive bullet and get the tow hitch fitted... Nick

Excellent, I'm looking forward to hearing about it! I'm very happy with my UX250h, but I have to admit the idea of an all-electric version is very appealing... I'm sure I won't be the only person who is curious to know what the real-world performance, range, charging time/experience etc. is like! Nick

I've got the roof rails, not fitted yet as I haven't decided whether to go with Lexus' own bike racks or hit Thule or something...anyone have any recommendations? I'd like to get an e-bike at some point, but as far as I can tell no roof-mounted rack supports that much weight... Nick

The road noise is the most annoying thing. I'm hoping it'll improve when I change tyres, and will probably switch away from runflats to that end. If anyone has any suggestions on good, grippy all-weather tyres, I'd appreciate it! The standard Bridgestone Turanza T005A's understeer quite easily... Nick

Hmm...I mean, maybe? I have that feature disabled because I don't want Apple or anyone else listening in on my conversations, but it might work that way for others when in the car. It all depends on whether the system keeps the car's microphones live and listening the way it does the phone's own microphone... Nick

Nice! I've been slowly exploring the rest of the functionality. On my UX with my iPhone i can hold down the voice command button on the steering wheel to trigger Apple's own virtual assistant and use it to make phone calls etc. So much better than the built-in Lexus version! Worth exploring on the Android side too, I'd wager! Nick

Case in point, I guess. Lexus aren't interested in doing the necessary work to offer a hardware/software upgrade for older cars. Fortunately, the after-market does seem to have stepped up here - a quick google search shows stuff like this: https://www.applecarplay.net/product-page/wireless-apple-carplay-lexus-nx-2014-2020 I'd investigated this back when I was looking into an IS300h, but fortunately for me I ended up with a 2019 UX instead which was upgraded by Lexus last month. And yes - having a navigator control everything from the phone is very handy! Nick

I'd say it's more than that...car manufacturers (Lexus included) have been making miserable user interfaces for their infotainment systems for years and years, and they're still nowhere near as easy-to-use as those on modern smartphones. It's simply a case of core competencies - Lexus builds cars, Apple & Google write software. Who do you think is going to be better at the software part? So Apple CarPlay/Android Auto basically put your phone's interface and a number of its apps right there on your car's computer screen, rather than whatever mess of outdated apps and functions the car's engineers thought were important. But honestly, a really key advantage of this integration is that built-in infotainment systems age really, really quickly. Software moves on really quickly, and a 5-year-old car may seem pretty new, but a 5-year-old infotainment system will look 20 years old. It also might not work anymore - map updates stop coming, Lexus won't provide software updates forever, and any integrated features cannot be counted on to continue working in a fast-evolving world. If you're happy listening to music off CDs, more power to you. I stream podcasts off the internet, listen to audiobooks, and sync music from my media server to my phone - all of which I can put on the car's screen via Apple CarPlay. Before that, all I could do was stream it via bluetooth or an aux-in jack, because the car's built-in systems couldn't understand any of those services. And because all they 'see' via bluetooth is an audio stream, changing podcasts, books, albums, or anything else would require me to pull over and fish out my phone. Being able to make those changes safely from my car's controls while at a stop light or something is fantastic. Finally, Google Maps/Apple Maps/Waze/Almost Anything On Your Phone is better than any built-in car sat-nav. What's more, you get traffic info and map updates for free via your phone's internet connection. Lexus and their ilk will surely charge you for updating your maps, and only up to a certain point. TLDR; CarPlay/Android Auto is better than the built-in system in (almost) every way. 🙂 Nick

The touch pad is...frustrating. But I will say this: unlike touch screens, you don't need to keep wiping finger prints off the screen, and you don't find yourself turning the wheel every time you lean forward to touch a button. You do get used to it, but it's not great. CarPlay/Android Auto integration has solved many issues, as you can program the route/choose your music before you leave using your phone. As for the boot, well - everything is relative. There's a surprising amount of space underneath as well; my partner and I went on vacation for a week and easily fit all our luggage under the parcel shelf and were able to smuggle back a great deal of gin and mixers in the under-boot storage compartment. And you can always put the seats down... Nick

I quite enjoy the CarWow videos, but then I also very much enjoy Top Gear and would love to move to an electric car when the performance/range/price improve. So maybe I'm the target audience? I'll admit that I didn't notice him looking away from the road overmuch, but I also wasn't looking for it. I know I can't do that safely, but it's probably something that most video-based reviewers do. I actually think it's important consumer information to find out exactly how far these cars can go, especially when some of them can go a lot further than even the on-board computers believe is possible. Without this sort of independent research we'd be stuck trusting the official figures. I think it would actually be great if similar tests were done with ICE-based vehicles - it would discourage manufacturers from continuing to game the system and providing unrealistic fuel economy figures. Still, sounds like his stuff isn't your cup of tea, which is totally fine, and completely understandable. Nick

I think Volvo and Tesla are two of the few manufacturers doing that kind of direct integration. It basically requires the entire Infotainment system to be running a full OS that can in turn run apps like Spotify. It'll be interesting to see how many manufacturers bother with that approach, given that Apple CarPlay/Android Auto can do it all without having to ask users to sign in to their car separately. But yes, if that's a feature you really like, then I'm afraid you won't find it in any Lexus I'm aware of! Nick

I don't think the criticism of CarWow is entirely warranted. The fact is that a lot of people don't like CVTs, and they have a terrible reputation caused by years of sub-standard performance. I've found that they become less irritating and noisy to use the more powerful the drivetrain behind them is, and the 180bhp in the 4th-gen system is sufficiently meaty that you don't spend very long sitting at a single engine speed, regardless of how hard you stamp the accelerator pedal. Would I turn my nose up at 250bhp? Certainly not - but my priority for my daily-driver was smooth, efficient progress at real-world speeds mated to quality, luxury, and reliability. A grumbly diesel engine with a crude start/stop system wouldn't have worked for me here. If you're someone who regularly drives with their foot buried, then a UX250h or any CVT-based car is unlikely to suit. A journalists' job is to highlight the weaknesses of any car, so that prospective buyers can decide whether or not those weaknesses are ones that would affect them personally. Those of us who gave our money to Lexus clearly don't mind - or in my case even prefer - the current eCVT solution when compared to a traditional automatic, but we also have to accept that not everybody will have the same priorities as us. Nick

Mine has the bridgestones and there's definitely a lot of tyre noise on rough surfaces. I wouldn't say that the wet grip is anything to write home about either, but then my previous cars have all had much softer/grippier tyres. Nick

Alright, playing the 1812 overture didn't help, although it did remind me how fantastic that piece of music is. 😄 I've found a stretch of road nearby that I can replicate the issue on, and confirmed that you need at least 20 minutes of driving to get the interior up to a warm enough temperature that it begins to rattle. With instructions like that they cannot fail to replicate the problem, so fingers crossed this is the last time I need to leave it with them! Nick

I think the version I drove was the base-spec model, so my F-Sport has slightly firmer shocks. I believe the Takumi has electronically-adjustable suspension, but given that my F-Sport is actually really good over bumps, I don't miss them. I'm sure there are some members of the forum near your location who could give you a demo once we're allowed to share space with others again! 🙂 Nick