Used to have a Lexus or two. Now moved on to other things.
Email today from Lexus offering a 24 hour test drive, no strings attached. I expect you pay fuel/insurance waiver is all.
Part of me says I fancy a whizz about in an RX or a GS or something (both on offer) just to see how they've moved on too.
Part of me knows I have ABSOLUTELY no intention of purchasing one, so it would be a bit naughty to waste their time and cost them money, even if it is a giant corporation and it just comes out of marketing anyway and gets written off and all that. It's still money.
So, what would you do?
|
I would.
And my conscience would be clear since I would make a point of telling people if I thought the car was good.
Which is most, although not all, of what they hope for.
|
I too got the email. Have been on their contact list for years, ever since I advised my ex ex to buy an IS SportCross several years ago. She still has it, and loves it to bits.
I'm too busy to take up the offer, and the dealer is at least 45 miles away, so too much hassle. But if the dealer was closer and I could borrow one for the weekend, count me in.
|
I would, too. You're not wasting anybody's anything. The marketing department will have been set a target of putting n thousand suitable potential customers in their cars in the expectation that a useful minority of them will pursue their new acquaintance further. You might even be one.
But, as NoFM says, you'll also talk about it. It's a sign of Lexus's confidence in its product that it thinks you're more likely to give a positive report than a negative one. That's up to you, if course, but you'll be doing no-one any harm merely by accepting the offer.
|
>> So, what would you do?
I would. Every time. Used to do it a lot when I was a co car driver. Went away for the W/E once in some huge barge that was a teaser test drive. Never had any intention of getting one.
|
>>Now moved on to other things.
Don't let that cloud your judgement. Lexus may have moved on as well and could change your mind.
I speak as someone who heard a new car buyer saying they'd never consider a smokey, oily old diesel and then went on and bought one after trying one.
Not me, I pulled out of the smokey, oily old stuff a decade ago.
|
>> I pulled out of the smokey, oily old stuff a decade ago.
Family complete I guess.
|
Whether it made any difference (I doubt it) but earlier last year I had a Mazda6 as a test drive. There were things I didn't like. I wrote a long email hoping the dealer would forward it on..... Most of my negatives were addressed and probably would have been anyway for the 2015 model year.
Basically the car felt cheap inside, sat nav/radio poor, no DAB.... etc.
|
Thanks guys. Well, floated it past Mrs C last night and she wouldn't, as they say in Australia, have a bar of it. I'm not 100% sure why but it was "one of those conversations best not pursued", of which of course, there are many.
So never mind.
If anyone ELSE wants to do it, I don't think it's invitation specific, so here's the link to register. If you do, let us know how you get on!
www.lexus.co.uk/lexus-today/discover-amazing/index.tmex
|
I took up the offer, having seen your post. Picked up a brand new, white GS 300h CVT Luxury I think it's called, this lunchtime for 24 hours. Dealer was 15 mins away so I thought why not.
50 free miles 15p per mile thereafter, £250 excess should I spoil the white bodywork.
Impressions are - it doesn't feel particulary sure footed compared to my car, a 2002 BMW 535, not as smooth and enjoyable to drive, which says alot compared to a 13 year old car!
Also, the multimedia display is so big it feels like I'm driving round with a laptop open on the dashboard. I'm not enjoying the way the CVT revs when I've tested the right pedal....
No hardsell so far, I'm expecting that when I drop it off tomorrow but will do my best to leave the showroom swiftly. Excuses will be - first car I've test driven, nowhere near ready to talk figures etc.
I'm not currently looking for a new car but I'm sure part of the promotion for the test drive is having their models out on the road being seen driven by someone cool like me ;-)
|
|
Nice to hear from you Smiley.
|
>> No hardsell so far, I'm expecting that when I drop it off tomorrow but will
>> do my best to leave the showroom swiftly. Excuses will be - first car I've
>> test driven, nowhere near ready to talk figures etc.
be honest, tell them you are surprised its not as good as your 13 year old BMW and no way would you consider buying one.
|
Three points there - (other than it's not actually a CVT), lots of people don't get on with the different feel of a hybrid at first pass. Some of them then grow to love it, and some don't, so not surprising it feels different.
Secondly - they make you PAY for miles over 50? Miserable cheapskates. Certainly didn't do that to me when I had a 24 test drive a decade ago of their ultimate range topper (my head at that point was deep into utterly ludicrous man maths so didn't worry about taking it). And yes it was lovely, and yes, the same model year of the LS460 is STILL at the top of what I'd want to pay even today.
Finally, I've not driven the GS since about 2001 and had fondly imagined it to be by now something rather pleasant, so it's interesting to hear that it wasn't love at first drive for you. Thanks for posting.
|
|
And is the 15p in addition to whatever fuel you need for the drive?
|
I particularly disliked the foot operated parking brake when I tried the Lexus last year for a quick test drive. Has that been changed?
And the joystick thing for controlling the media display was rubbish... Maybe they changed that too?
Other things I didn't like was the higher spec trim levels had bigger wheels therefore higher emissions. And to get a folding rear seat you couldn't go for the cheaper SE. Also the deal for the sat nav upgrade (was free) was withdrawn.
I never did fully try out how it felt accelerating as I was on an accompanied test drive.
|
>> Secondly - they make you PAY for miles over 50? Miserable cheapskates. Certainly didn't do
>> that to me when I had a 24 test drive a decade ago of their
>> ultimate range topper
Seems entirely reasonable although I have never been charged for an of the multiple weekend tests I have had on prospective company cars over the years.
Offers like this must have a fair number of chancers who have no conceivable possibility of ever purchasing a car and are taking one just to do a long drive to somewhere in a nice car. I have been told of test cars covering several hundred miles in a 2 day test
|
Is that unreasonable? Most test drives are pathetically short, and tell you next to nothing about how the car really is. The Volvo that I kept for 13 years, as I've mentioned before, sold itself during a 250-mile day in a dealer's demo car. I tested it as I intended to use it and I was convinced.
Not viable in the used market, of course, but it ought to be good business for Lexus to give its products the opportunity to sell themselves - although not to Smiley, apparently.
|
|
According to the Lexus website my nearest dealer would seem to be 47km away, which by my reckoning means I can't even get home and back in the demo without paying!!
|
|
And for me a sensible test drive from Lexus Southampton would be A3/A34/M4/M25/A3/A283 and home, giving a mix of roads and traffic conditions, and long enough to see how comfortable it is. That'd probably be around 130miles, with a 30 mile trip the following day to take it back. And perhaps a trip to Chichester im the evening to try it in the dark... A minimum acceptable test drive of 175 odds miles, for which they want to charge me? No thanks :)
|
|
Sorry, not Lexus dealer. They appear to be Lexus centres ;)
|
I had 48 hours in a Vauxhall Ampera a while ago. I could never buy one (only 4 seats) but was interested in how it drove. If they had made a 5-seat I would have been interested.
Of course since then GM have stopped selling the Ampera/Chevy Volt over here while the rest have moved their game on - a friend picked up their entirely normal Golf GTE at the weekend.
|
Thanks Duncan, I'm a frequent visitor/reader and should comment/post more I know.
Just dropped the Lexus back. Told them honestly what I thought Zero, Didn't feel as enjoyable to drive as my BMW 535, felt a little more 'twitchy' on the road. Told them I wasn't looking to buy at this moment in time.
It wasn't a hard sell, the salesman and general manager said they appreciate people giving Lexus their time! Although I'm not looking for a new car, if I was truly blown away by a car I was test driving it would put the 'wheels in motion' to purchase a new one.
Pretty sure it's a CVT gearbox or E-CVT as they call it. Of course my car and the Lexus are worlds apart in terms of technology and fuel consumption but enjoyed the drive back from the dealer in my car so much more.
The 'mouse' and multi-media system are very fiddly, too much so whilst driving and trying to use it. I'm guessing these systems should only be used when stopped in traffic or having pulled over.
The car had to be given back with the fuel used replaced. A full tank at the beggining so no guessing, just fill up again.
|
Sounds like it was all nothing very exciting then. Shame.
Whilst I have my pedantic hat on, what they call e-cvt isn't really a cvt...well, kind of. I think.
I'm no techy person, but here's an article, ancient as it is, that describes the Toyota e-cvt in the first Prius (it's still the same tech in the Lexus, although refined somewhat I guess), and sets out why it isn't a cvt. Of course, it also sets out why it is as well, just for techy fun for those of greater comprehension skills in this area than I care to learn.
prius.ecrostech.com/original/Understanding/ContinuouslyVariableTransmission.htm
|
A would you-wouldn't you - No FM2R
