S80 d5

[Philthy]

I've had my car a few months now and there's little to fault it. The engine might not be as quick or economical as the offerings from BMW and Audi, but it is at least reliable and returns reasonable performance and economy. The comfort though is excellent and the cabin ergonomics also excel. I came from a Lexus IS220d, which I won't bore you with the details of, but suffice to say I had it eight months and couldn't wait to get rid of it!

Before the LExus I'd had an old shape 2.4 S80, which I ran for seven years. Never missed a beat but was a bit a thirsty. An average of 18mpg wasn't good. The D5 is returning around 30mpg around town compared to around 34mpg from the Lexus, which was a smaller and lighter car. Torque is similar but the S80 being a bigger car, gives me the space we missed more than anything by buying a Lexus. My track activities mean I carry a lot of spares around and the S80 takes them comfortably.

The only thing this will get changed for is the XC60 D5.

[oilburner]

Cool. My neighbour has a Lexus IS220d too, the RAC have been called out several times since they bought it 18mths ago. I daren't ask too many details! Needless to say, I expect they're not delighted with it...

[Philthy]

For me the dealership weren't interested once they had my money. The car was an approved used as I never buy new. I simply refuse to take the taxmans hit. Lexus will claim that you can't tell an approved used car from a new one other than the reg plate. The car hadn't been valeted, had chewing gum stuck in the front ashtray, rubbish in the rear, a nail in one of the tyres, a hole in the door trim, loose trim in and out and a spare wheel well full of damp card! We also negotiated 12 months tax as part of the deal but only got 6. I took it back the next day with the promise of a free supaguard treatment in and out. It never happened and when I got the car back I found a credit card in the glove box a DVD remote control on the back seat.

They then waited an age before issuing a recall notice for a world wide fueling issue caused by the 5th injector. I even enquired if it had had it done already and was told I'd be contacted if there was a problem. The IS is low with large A pillars causing blind spots and plenty of head banging getting in and out. The diesel engine is torquey but in a narrow rev range. It isn't much better on fuel than a D5 and I'd estimate the S40 diesel would romp away from it on mpg. The 1st gear is dangerous with an enormous flat spot. If you're pulling out in traffic it's heart in mouth time. 6th gear is a waste of time below 75mph otherwise the vibration is so bad the car would rattle itself to bits. I kid you not when I say the rear view vibrates so much you can't see anything from it.

It's a nice driving car as it's rear wheel drive. Easy to drift if the mood takes you and well planted due to it being low down. It is though dissapointing and hardly what you'd expect of a luxury car. It doesn't even have split fold rear seats and you really do miss them when you've had them on your other cars. It's a top range Toyota but it isn't a Lexus. I'll never buy another one and that's a shame because I fancied an RX. Now the XC60 is here I'll take one of them instead.

[oilburner]

That's a pretty poor experience of a Lexus dealership, so much for thier reptuation! That is more like the experience I've had with Ford and Vauxhall dealers...

I'm surprised the IS was really so bad, I expected much better from a Lexus. I wonder how many repeat customers they'll get?

[Philthy]

The petrol IS250 with auto box is a different car but then you lose economy. As a compaq exec there's better out there although arguably not as good looking from the outside. I reckon it will be the last oil burner Lexus make it's had such bad reports and complaint issues.