SE-L Premier 5dr Hatchback

Poor ride,sluggish, but excellent spec

I inherited this from another user so not my choice. It's low company car tax threshold because of its green credentials mean that you get a lot of kit for a lower tax charge.

The kit is very good once you are used to it and have tailored it by removing some of the annoying default settings. The sat nav does work reasonably well even if loading a UK post code takes more clicks than it should. I was hoping to get a DAB element to the stereo but that is not the case with my model. I tend to use a mix of radio and ipod via bluetooth which is fine though I find the sound can be variable with the ipod. I have not used the cd at all nor tried to store my CD collection in it ( which apparently you can do). Auto headlights and wipers do the job well and I particularly like the clarity of the xeon headlights.

The hands free phone and ability to download your phone contacts is also very good.

The foot operated parking brake caused me some embarrassment when I accidentally engaged it on the second day of having the car. Not knowing about it meant I tried driving the car and couldn't. After half hour waiting for Lexus Assist to come to my aid, detailed review of the enormous handbook revealed the problem! I sheepishly cancelled Lexus Assist before they turned up.

In town it is a good car, it parks easily with its reversing camera option and with the standard CVT box and defaulting to near silence when in battery mode it is an excellent choice. However my job does not take me into London I travel between towns outside the M25 in the South and East. Which means I use motorways and A roads a lot. Which means I hate this car! To get a reasonable mpg of 50+ you should not stray from eco or normal drive modes. Both of these mean it is near impossible to overtake confidently/safely unless you have about a mile gap. I have learnt that you have to switch to the sport mode to do this. Only then does the car feel as though it has any acceleration but just watch the fuel disappear when you have it in this mode!

The other issue is the ride quality - anything more than an hour behind the wheel becomes an increasingly tiring experience. I thought this would be the last issue I would encounter with a Lexus. I have 17 inch low profile tyres which magnify every dip let alone pothole.

The boot space is lamentable - I have a wife and two teenage daughters. We barely have enough space to pack for a long weekend so a longer holiday would be out of the question. I struggle with a full load of shopping for a week.

Overall I urge any one who is not doing the majority of their driving at sub 30 mph around town to avoid this car particularly at the price. Despite nearly a year of driving it the best I have managed in terms of mpg over any reasonable distance is high 50s mpgs ( I have averaged about 55 over the year I have had it and the 20,000 plus miles I have driven) and that has meant I rarely do more than 70 and drive like my 80 year old dad the rest of the time. Doing my driving mix a modern diesel makes more sense and I am confident I could achieve similar economy with a far more enjoyable driving experience happily sacrificing some of that kit and thereby saving substantial money on the cost price at the same time. Roll on my change of car!

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