Lexus Owners (To share driving experience and advise)

[Docomospur]

Thanks for the inputs. Yeah, the 2.5 V6 is old and it would be nice if they put in the 2.0 turbo that's going in the NX. My driving is 70/30, in favour of highways, so I'm not sure if hybrid is a good fit.

 

The ES is a nice overall package but I just can't get over the fact that it looks too much like a Camry, especially with the new model just launched in the US.

[Tevinter-Snow]

IS250C - super pretty car but severely under appreciated i feel :\ any one knows why? very few on the road and they even discontinued the model in 2014 :(((

 

Driving experience is comfortable, engine is smooth. However, at 2.5L the acceleration is quite disappointing. a 2006 bmw 320 feels more powerful! Handling is pretty good, steering not too heavy. Fuel economy is decent for a 2.5l, averaging 9.7 per tank.

 

Does anyone even bother to ecu a lexus to fully realize the 2.5L engine??

[Earthboy]

I remember reading from somewhere, Lexus ECU is encrypted. Not sure if that is true.

IS250C - super pretty car but severely under appreciated i feel :\ any one knows why? very few on the road and they even discontinued the model in 2014 :(((

 

Driving experience is comfortable, engine is smooth. However, at 2.5L the acceleration is quite disappointing. a 2006 bmw 320 feels more powerful! Handling is pretty good, steering not too heavy. Fuel economy is decent for a 2.5l, averaging 9.7 per tank.

 

Does anyone even bother to ecu a lexus to fully realize the 2.5L engine??

 

[Strongmints]

I drive a IS300h. I am extremely happy with the car in fact I drive it around SG just for fun:

- Fast even at normal mode. Sport mode got me 12pts so I stop using

- FC around 17km/l 50/50

- Great looking car, not many around

- Inside looks and feels good

- Stereo system is great

- Car is very quiet when traveling which is important to me after a hard days work

- Very stable at high speeds ...170(not in SG ok)

- RWD so it has a transmission hump in the middle which affects rear seats comfort

- Borneo has great service quality

- Could do with a touchscreen monitor would be great. I saw my friend's new Altis and it has touchscreen I felt WTH!

 

I bought the IS300h after looking at Merc, BMW, Jaguar etc comparables and I felt the Lexus gave me the best combo of price and performance. The BMW320,328, 520 was tempting but somehow I felt the interior is a bit monotonous and the inside was more important to me since its the interior that I experience most.

[Prozac51]

The convertible mechanism adds a lot more weight to the car. Thus the poor acceleration.

 

IS250C - super pretty car but severely under appreciated i feel :\ any one knows why? very few on the road and they even discontinued the model in 2014 :(((

 

Driving experience is comfortable, engine is smooth. However, at 2.5L the acceleration is quite disappointing. a 2006 bmw 320 feels more powerful! Handling is pretty good, steering not too heavy. Fuel economy is decent for a 2.5l, averaging 9.7 per tank.

 

Does anyone even bother to ecu a lexus to fully realize the 2.5L engine?

 

[Earthboy]

<snip>- Borneo has great service quality

- Could do with a touchscreen monitor would be great. I saw my friend's new Altis and it has touchscreen I felt WTH!

<snip>

i prefer the remote touch screen in the GS.

 

as for Borneo, all those free breakfast, coffee, drop off service etc are nothing to me. most importantly is when there is a problem, they are able to resolved it but i think they are not much different from any other AD who will always want to explain to you why it is not a problem to begin with.

[Docomospur]

I drive a IS300h. I am extremely happy with the car in fact I drive it around SG just for fun:

- Fast even at normal mode. Sport mode got me 12pts so I stop using

- FC around 17km/l 50/50

- Great looking car, not many around

- Inside looks and feels good

- Stereo system is great

- Car is very quiet when traveling which is important to me after a hard days work

- Very stable at high speeds ...170(not in SG ok)

- RWD so it has a transmission hump in the middle which affects rear seats comfort

- Borneo has great service quality

- Could do with a touchscreen monitor would be great. I saw my friend's new Altis and it has touchscreen I felt WTH!

 

I bought the IS300h after looking at Merc, BMW, Jaguar etc comparables and I felt the Lexus gave me the best combo of price and performance. The BMW320,328, 520 was tempting but somehow I felt the interior is a bit monotonous and the inside was more important to me since its the interior that I experience most.

Thanks for sharing. Did you get the base model or the Luxury option? $20k seems quite a bit, but the main draw for me would be the Mark Levinson sound system as I really enjoy my road tunes.

[Strongmints]

Oh mine is the base model "Executive". I think the Mark Levinson stereo would be great. The Luxury version comes with a host of other features including a different steering wheel I think. I know there is a blind spot alert, satnav? and a different mousepad. Mine is a rotary dial.

[Strongmints]

Thanks for sharing. Did you get the base model or the Luxury option? $20k seems quite a bit, but the main draw for me would be the Mark Levinson sound system as I really enjoy my road tunes.

 

Oh I should add, if you are seriously looking, please consider the blue or the red. I saw a blue IS250 on the road and it was fantastic. Its same as the RCF color in the Motorshow 2015. Brilliant blue hue, cool factor very high in my opinion.

 

[Hybrids]

I drive a IS300h. I am extremely happy with the car in fact I drive it around SG just for fun:

- Fast even at normal mode. Sport mode got me 12pts so I stop using

- FC around 17km/l 50/50

- Great looking car, not many around

- Inside looks and feels good

- Stereo system is great

- Car is very quiet when traveling which is important to me after a hard days work

- Very stable at high speeds ...170(not in SG ok)

- RWD so it has a transmission hump in the middle which affects rear seats comfort

- Borneo has great service quality

- Could do with a touchscreen monitor would be great. I saw my friend's new Altis and it has touchscreen I felt WTH!

 

I bought the IS300h after looking at Merc, BMW, Jaguar etc comparables and I felt the Lexus gave me the best combo of price and performance. The BMW320,328, 520 was tempting but somehow I felt the interior is a bit monotonous and the inside was more important to me since its the interior that I experience most.

Thanks Strongmints. You experience mirrors mine. My IS300h just became a year old.

Average tank range 950-1050kms per tank around 58ltre refilled. Refinement as in Noise Vibration and Harshness is amazing and definitely front runner in its class. Seats, interior quality, rear legroom all good.

 

In 2008, when my IS250 was 2 years old, I was invited to participate in a Lexus survey. It was conducted by some research house on behalf of the manufacturer, not the agent. They asked what qualities I would like to see in the next IS model for me to buy another one. My wish list was:

 

Hybrid power train for FC but keep same performance

More rear legroom

Folding rear seats

Better body rigidity

Much better road noise suppression

More comfortable front seats

Better handling,

Better steering feel

Best longevity in class.

 

Last year they launched the car. I saw that they addressed my wish list. Still happy a year later. Took it up north and she was terrific. And it has the same oomph at low speeds like a diesel, without the noise and vibration, particularly on stop/start activation. And I regularly drive state of the art diesels in Europe so I am up to speed with developments.

 

Google recent UK channel four documentary 'The great car con' for latest thinking on diesels.

[Strongmints]

Thanks Strongmints. You experience mirrors mine. My IS300h just became a year old.

Average tank range 950-1050kms per tank around 58ltre refilled. Refinement as in Noise Vibration and Harshness is amazing and definitely front runner in its class. Seats, interior quality, rear legroom all good.

 

In 2008, when my IS250 was 2 years old, I was invited to participate in a Lexus survey. It was conducted by some research house on behalf of the manufacturer, not the agent. They asked what qualities I would like to see in the next IS model for me to buy another one. My wish list was:

 

Hybrid power train for FC but keep same performance

More rear legroom

Folding rear seats

Better body rigidity

Much better road noise suppression

More comfortable front seats

Better handling,

Better steering feel

Best longevity in class.

 

Last year they launched the car. I saw that they addressed my wish list. Still happy a year later. Took it up north and she was terrific. And it has the same oomph at low speeds like a diesel, without the noise and vibration, particularly on stop/start activation. And I regularly drive state of the art diesels in Europe so I am up to speed with developments.

 

Google recent UK channel four documentary 'The great car con' for latest thinking on diesels.

 

Nice! Mine is 8 months old. My max FC is 17.8km/l but only possible on Eco mode full tank. Its not bad since the stated FC is 20km/l.

 

For those considering, I should add the following info:

 

- when driving at low speeds, its really noiseless except for the electric hum, very fun.

- the 2.5L engine kicks in and out seamlessly or rather i should say the electric motor

- i read some reviews that say the CVT gearbox is the letdown because its not 6/7/8 speed gearbox, "whining noise" and disconnect between gear and engine rev. Actually I don't find it an issue at all probably bc I am not a race car driver. I don't use the sound simulator thing.

- acceleration is immediate esp on Sport mode. I dont think Eco, Normal and Sport mode changes anything except the throttle response but it can really reach 120+ without you realising it esp when listening to music

- it seats 4 very comfortable but the 5th in the middle is a bit uncomfortable due to the transmission tunnel

- boot space I find could be larger but sufficient for my purposes

- it actually has 2 exhaust pipes but Lexus hides it which I thought was a waste, they should display it as it will make it sporty/fierce

- i like the steering wheel size and heft

- when delivered new, it will come with safety belt alert buzzer which can be irritating as its quite loud and applies to front and rear seat passengers, it can be disabled by just signing a waiver form. Now its just a red light at the dashboard when seat belt is not fastened

- have parked alongside current E200 and 520, the length of the IS is almost the same except width is smaller

- the sensors range is quite far so sometimes at red lights, a motorcyclist might stop quite close and the buzzer will sound non-stop, no choice have to turn off the sensor temporarily but minor inconvenience

- the reverse camera is very clear and high resol

- overall the car feels robust so i feel very comfortable driving it fast into corners if I wish. the question is only whether I can dare to.

 

 

 

 

 

[Hybrids]

Agree with Strongmints points. I have achieved 23km/h on drives to Chnagi airport. Eco mode best for FC, SPORT mode very responsive, but it all changes again in manual paddle shift mode. No I don't use the sound generator either, but sometimes fun to show off...but I do like the seamless cvt box. For spirited driving paddle shifters work great above a certain speed, the simulated gear changes are quite effective. But mostly leave in auto and enjoy the electric motor torque.

[Docomospur]

Thanks for all the sharing. Saw a new IS250 on the road tonight and it's very nice, though the boot does look a bit small.

 

Time to monitor COE movements closely!

[Sdexxxxd]

Any bros care to share their New car collecting experience from Lexus Borneo motors? Thanks.

[t0y0ta]

Any bros care to share their New car collecting experience from Lexus Borneo motors? Thanks.

 

I wasn't there, but according to my sister who collected her ES250 recently.

 

1) The car is put in some big nice room

2) The room is somewhere upstairs in the Borneo office in Leng Kee

3) The room still got some drinks refreshments

4) The SE will spend hour to explain slowly everything about the car until she cannot absorb

5) One end of the room got doors can open to drive the car out

6) SE accompany her while driving out to guide her to the exit

[Strongmints]

Thanks for all the sharing. Saw a new IS250 on the road tonight and it's very nice, though the boot does look a bit small.

 

Time to monitor COE movements closely!

 

Great. Yes the boot I wont compare to a Camry.

 

Good for a test drive and then get the SE to update you on the COE and special prices or offers.

 

Anyway my SE is quite good so if you need one can PM me.

[Strongmints]

 

I wasn't there, but according to my sister who collected her ES250 recently.

 

1) The car is put in some big nice room

2) The room is somewhere upstairs in the Borneo office in Leng Kee

3) The room still got some drinks refreshments

4) The SE will spend hour to explain slowly everything about the car until she cannot absorb

5) One end of the room got doors can open to drive the car out

6) SE accompany her while driving out to guide her to the exit

 

Yes something like that. Mine was a room at the ground floor. Basically explain to you how to operate the car. You can take as long as you like and enjoy the experience but I suggest the following:

- Know where the emergency tools are e.g. phones, spare tyre (if any), jacks etc

- Battery locations

- Lost keys how etc

- They will remind you about no carmats. Lexus had a big incident in US about using external car mats (a family died apparently because carmat cause the accelerator to be stuck) so you will be told not to use any carmats etc and sign a waiver form if you do.

 

Additional items you might like to do is:

- Disable safety belt buzzer as it can be quite irritating. It will beep if you remove it even while driving slowly in a carpark or during parking

- Switch the turn lights to 5 blinks instead of 3. The car has a "light touch" turn light indicator that automatically blinks 3 times before it turns off but I feel its too short to notify motorists behind. Safer to have 5 blinks.

- Install car camera. My SE helped me install it. Cost me $400, works great.

 

But different models might have different features though

 

Which model did you buy?

 

My colleague bought a E250 months before mine, he is very happy with it except FC ard 10-11k/l.

 

Enjoy

[Docomospur]

 

Great. Yes the boot I wont compare to a Camry.

 

Good for a test drive and then get the SE to update you on the COE and special prices or offers.

 

Anyway my SE is quite good so if you need one can PM me.

Thanks, Strongmints. I may well do that.