Auf Wiedersehen Mercedes, Kon'nichiwa replacement car

sigma said:
Surely such a thing doesn't exist?

Needing to be plugged in makes a hybrid pointless.
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It is a very good idea. A small battery (compared to electric, otherwise bigger then a normal hybrid) for driving around town. And a nice engine for longer trips on the motorway. When you get to your destination town, your back on battery.



I like the Lexus too.
 
sigma said:
Surely such a thing doesn't exist?

Needing to be plugged in makes a hybrid pointless.
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No it doesn't? A plugin hybrid can complete entire journeys on battery power, a conventional hybrid uses the batteries as a boost and for electric running only for short periods.

A plugin hybrid gives many of the benefits of a pure electric cars but without many of the disadvantages.
 
I thought the engine charges the motor in a hybrid? Negating the need to plug in, which was my point.

In fairness, I've not really read much about hybrids (it shows :p).
 
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sigma said:
I thought the engine charges the motor in a hybrid? Negating the need to plug in, which was my point.

In fairness, I've not really read much about hybrids (it shows :p).
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Yes, they do, but some you can plug in thus not needing to burn petrol to charge the battery.
A good example of this is the Mitsubishi Outlander PHEV. Goes about 25 miles on a charge but also has a petrol engine.
 
lemonade said:
Three replies. Sums up the interest and motoring views on Lexus, they will never sell in big numbers despite making some cracking cars because they don't have a German badge.
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Lexus only sell about 600 GS's a year. That is one of the things I like. Overall, Lexus only have about 0.5% market share in the UK and sold under 13k cars in the UK last year. It is nice to be on a large client with work and not see another GS.
 
P.B said:
wow and he gets 46mpg ? im sure it wouldnt if i was driving but that kinda misses the point lol
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Drove into Manchester last night at the end of the rush hour and including the return journey (about 20 miles in total mostly down the A56), I managed to average 38mpg.

I have no doubt if I'm heavy with my right foot the mpg will drop but I tend to sit at 70 on a motorway.
 
People need to experience their dealerships.

Nottingham cocked up a booking for my LS430, I turned up and they were expecting me next week. The delay was 20 mins and they balanced my front alloys for free and gave a 1L bottle of oil cause of the mix up even though it didn't even affect me that much.
 
Yeah, the dealers are amazing. I'd still shocked by how good they are and that the other marques haven't tried to be similar.
When I picked up my GS430 there was 2 bottles of champagne and a bunch of flowers on the passenger seat. Nice touch.
The service pricing is very reasonable too.

I'd have another Lexus in a heartbeat, an RX450h or RX400h if I could convince the mrs to drive an automatic.
 
I really like Lexii. I would happily consider a GS - they look like excellent cars and I'm not one to moan about the odd bit of cheap-feeling switchgear. Their dealers sound fantastic too.

White wouldn't be anywhere near my first choice of colour though I'm afraid!
 
I wouldn't mind a Lexus but the ones in my budget are all going to be slow. Plus I get the impression that the Lexus wouldn't meet my handling requirements. I say that without having ever driven one.
 
I had the previous gen 450h - a brilliant car, like a magic carpet and so quiet it was quite eerie. The previous gen had an Otto cycle engine instead of an Atkinson one and was a bit less economical than yours, they're a bargain. As someone else stated, Lexus customer service is an example to most other manufacturers as to how it should be done.

I traded up to an ISF after about 3 years, fun in a bit of a different way!
 
sigma said:
I wouldn't mind a Lexus but the ones in my budget are all going to be slow. Plus I get the impression that the Lexus wouldn't meet my handling requirements. I say that without having ever driven one.
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Handling for the size of car is adequate. I think when you buy something this big (or an E-class, 5 Series, XF etc) you are not buying something to blast down narrow country lanes. Neither are you buying a car to take on a track. Theses days, my priority is a car which I can drive from Manchester to Dijon non-stop (except for the tunnel and maybe fuel) and not need a chiropractor.
 
Pyscho_Si said:
Handling for the size of car is adequate. I think when you buy something this big (or an E-class, 5 Series, XF etc) you are not buying something to blast down narrow country lanes. Neither are you buying a car to take on a track. Theses days, my priority is a car which I can drive from Manchester to Dijon non-stop (except for the tunnel and maybe fuel) and not need a chiropractor.
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I'd be looking at the IS to be honest (although I have just been looking at the LS 600h on AT) the GS is just going to be too wafty for me. Other than the IS-F they're all dog slow, which is fine because they're not really aimed at someone like me.
 
I looked at the new shape GS when I changed my car. I just couldn't quite get along with the interior and multimedia system, its a shame as the hybrid would have worked perfectly for my commute.
 
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