2011 Lexus LF Reviews

Luxury for Lexus starts at $40,000. That's the Japanese brand's global view and one endorsed by its Australian chief executive Sean Hanley.

Craig Duff road tests and reviews the Lexus IS200t with specs, fuel consumption and verdict at its Australian launch.

Craig Duff road tests and reviews the Lexus RX SUV with specs, fuel consumption and verdict at its international launch.

Lexus Australia is on the verge of deciding whether to plunge headfirst into motorsport or to withdraw from racing entirely.

Half-time is typically a time for reflection. With six months of 2015 gone — and the official sales results arriving last week — it's time to look at what was hot and what was not in showrooms this year. At a glance, small cars are out and tiny SUVs are in. Diesels and hybrids are out, and turbocharged petrol cars are in. Luxury brands are in demand, local cars are not. Honda and Isuzu sales are surging, Ford and Holden have hit new lows. Sales of baby SUVs are up by 23 per cent in the first half of the year, thanks to the arrival of new offerings from Mazda and Honda. The surprise last month was that Honda's HR-V outsold Mazda's CX-3, despite a get-in price that is $5000 more than the baby Mazda. Buyers are no doubt attracted by the roominess of the Honda's cabin, which shares the clever design of its donor vehicle, the Jazz. Mitsubishi has also benefited from the increased showroom interest in this type of vehicle, with sales of its ASX surging by more than 45 per cent. They share their underpinnings with the new breed of SUVs, but they haven't been hurt by their arrival. Honda again leads the charge, with sales of its City sedan and Jazz hatch surging. Sales of the all-new Mazda2 are also strong and it remains best-selling car in the class. Other models that have captured the imagination of buyers are the evergreen Suzuki Swift and Toyota Yaris, as well as the Volkswagen Polo, which is up by more than 50 per cent thanks to sharp pricing. Low interest rates mean that a luxury badge is now within reach of more car buyers. As a result Audi, BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Lexus are all enjoying double-digit growth. Understandably, most of the action is at the lower end of the market, with models high on the shopping list including BMW's Mini (up 59 per cent) and Audi's A3 (up 23 per cent). BMW's new 2 Series coupe and Lexus's NX small SUV have also launched with a bang, but the biggest success story is CarsGuide's 2014 Car of the Year, the Mercedes-Benz C-Class, which has doubled its sales in the first half of the year. Somebody is cashing in on Australia's property boom, with sales of sports cars costing more than $200,000 rising more than 20 per cent, albeit off a low base. Ferrari and Lamborghini dealerships are busy this year, with Ferrari logging 95 local sales compared with 52 in the same period last year and Lamborghini jumping from just seven sales to 60. The segment's most popular car, the Porsche 911, also enjoyed solid growth. At the other end of the spectrum, sales of affordable sports cars slumped as the initial shine predictably wore off the Toyota 86, Subaru BRZ and Hyundai Veloster. That will change, though, when Mazda's all-new MX-5 arrives in the second half of the year. They're big news in Japan and Europe, but micro cars haven't captured the Australian car buying public's imagination. Despite the arrival of an all-new model in the Suzuki Celerio and a midlife update for the Nissan Micra, sales are down by almost a third. They're still the nation's car of choice, but the arrival of baby SUVs has put a dent in the popularity of the small-car brigade led by the Toyota Corolla and Mazda3. This time last year, the Mazda3 was the top-selling vehicle in Australia, but sales this year are down by almost 10 per cent, cannibalised by the newer and funkier CX-3. Toyota, which has no mini-SUV in its range, fared better with the Corolla, which almost held its own in a market segment that shrank by 10,000 cars. When locally made cars began to slide in popularity, most pundits said it was because they were too big and thirsty, but the figures show otherwise. Large cars are down by 14 per cent this year, but medium and large SUVs have enjoyed solid growth. Toyota's Camry, which has a hybrid version, has fared better than the rest of the locals, but the Holden Cruze small car has experienced a bigger sales slide than Ford's Falcon and Territory. Overall, the prognosis remains bleak. Australians bought almost as many German-made cars as locally-made ones in the first six months. The Europeans are mad for it — and most 4WD utes use it too — but Australians, it seems, don't like getting their hands dirty. After an initial spike in interest in diesel passenger cars and SUVs among private buyers and fleets between 2005 and 2010, the interest continues to wane. Sales of diesel passenger cars grew sixfold from 2005 to 2010, while diesel SUV sales more than doubled. But in the first six months of this year — and on the back of a decline last year — sales of diesel cars fell by more than a quarter. Diesel SUV sales were stagnant despite big growth in overall SUV sales. Honda - up 33.4 per cent Isuzu - up 30.3 per cent Skoda - up 30.2 per cent Renault - up 30.1 per cent Lexus - up 24.9 per cent Ford - down 17.6 per cent Volvo - down 16.6 per cent Fiat - down 16.4 per cent Holden - down 8.9 per cent Nissan - down 0.6 per cent Toyota - 101,714 - up 0.6 per cent Mazda - 56,591 - up 9 per cent Holden - 51,737 - down 8.9 per cent Hyundai - 50,099 - up 1 per cent Mitsubishi - 35,866 - up 9.8 per cent Ford - 34,810 - down 17.6 per cent Nissan - 32,950 - down 0.6 per cent Volkswagen - 32,020 - up 12.1 per cent Subaru - 21,659 - up 8.1 per cent Honda 20,602 - up 33.4 per cent Toyota Corolla - 21,750 Mazda3 - 20,427 Toyota HiLux - 18,781 Hyundai i30 - 15,801 Ford Ranger - 14,144 Holden Commodore - 13,769 Mitsubishi Triton - 13,709 Mazda CX-5 - 12,489 Volkswagen Golf - 11,829 Toyota Camry - 10,426

Owners of luxury European models and are up to four times as likely to be caught breaking the law compared to Japanese or Korean makes. Analysis of SAPOL and Transport Department figures shows Mercedes drivers are by far the worst in the state, recording 0.824 fines per vehicle in 2014/15. This compares to the least-fined of the large manufacturers, Isuzu with only 0.186 fines per car. Experts at a loss to explain the bias against luxury cars, and police have denied they give the drivers special treatment. Some of the more expensive vehicles are capable of extremely rapid acceleration It is the first time the figures have become available because of a Weatherill Government reform called "open data", in which government departments are forced to release large amounts of information on their websites. RAA Senior Manager Road Safety, Charles Mountain said the nature of luxury cars, rather than driver behaviour may be to blame. "Modern vehicles, particularly some of the more expensive vehicles are capable of extremely rapid acceleration and insulate the driver to such an extent that it may mask a driver's perception of speed," he said. "Irrespective of the vehicle being driven, whether it be a luxury import or a reasonably priced runabout, it is important for their safety and that of other road users that they drive to the conditions and abide by the prevailing speed limits on the roads on which they are travelling." The type of vehicle doesn't determine if police take action, it is based on the nature of the offending When asked a series of questions about the issue, SAPOL issued a one line response: "The type of vehicle doesn't determine if police take action, it is based on the nature of the offending". While Holden drivers amassed the most fines in 2014/15 with 72,847 there are 239,804 Holdens on the road. In comparison, Mercedes drivers were hit 13,157 times for only 15,959 registered vehicles. Only two non-luxury brands were in the top ten and six in the top 20 fined-per-registered-car for 2014/15. Other than Holden, which was the eighth most fined vehicle on the road, none of the large-volume, inexpensive makes is in the top 25 of most fined vehicles. There are some exceptions however, with the low-volume Dodge and Proton makes ranking second and third, Ferrari ranking thirty fourth and Jaguar thirty eighth. One of the cheapest vehicles on the road, the Chinese Great Wall is ranked highly at sixteenth. (Make - fines per car - total fines) 1 Mercedes - 0.824 - 13,157  2 Dodge - 0.377 - 318 3 Proton - 0.356 - 268 4 Renault - 0.350 - 1149 5 Saab - 0.346 - 388 6 Range Rover - 0.345 - 351 7 Audi - 0.326 - 2074 8 Holden - 0.316 - 72,847 9 Mini - 0.313 - 331 10 Fiat - 0.309 - 310 11 Daewoo - 0.305 - 1475 12 Jeep - 0.313 - 2270 13 Lexus - 0.293 - 951 14 SsangYong - 0.289 - 214 15 BMW - 0.284 - 5032 16 Great Wall - 0.284 - 290

Paul Gover road tests and reviews the Lexus RC F with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.

Korean brands, once scoffed at for their poor quality and reliability, have ranked near the top of the class in a respected US quality survey.

The number of vehicles caught up in the world's biggest recall over potentially deadly airbags has ballooned to more than 660,000 in Australia, after more cars were added to the list overnight. Despite the increase in numbers, car safety experts have warned motorists of affected vehicles not to disable the airbags in their cars, even if they are worried they may explode shrapnel when deployed in a crash -- because it may make the cars less safe and unroadworthy. Honda is recalling 18,210 Accords made from 2001 to 2006 and added 3030 MDX family SUVs made from 2003 to 2006 to the list of more than 20 popular makes and models. Meanwhile Chrysler has also increased the number of 300C sedans to be recalled locally, from 4500 to 5500. The executive director of the Victorian Automobile Chamber of Commerce, Geoff Gwilym, told News Corp Australia motorists should not "attempt to disable, deactivate or remove airbags". Mr Gwilym said disabling an airbag is "more likely to contribute to the damage caused by an accident, in the same way that you are at greater risk if you do not wear a seatbelt". "Airbags should never be tampered with by motorists or unqualified people," said Mr Gwilym. Follow the advice of their relevant car company and return the vehicle to the dealer when the replacement part becomes available "Airbags are not a discretionary item of equipment and cannot be simply turned off and on again. The mechanism is technically sophisticated and forms an important part of the vehicle's engineering." If the airbags in a car were deliberately tampered with, the car would be deemed unroadworthy, he said, and any mechanic who carried out the work could be liable. "In addition to the legal implications, a professional vehicle technician will not deactivate airbags as they are aware of the risks to the vehicle occupants," said Mr Gwilym. "While the recent global airbag recall is a concern, we advise affected vehicle owners to follow the advice of their relevant car company and return the vehicle to the dealer when the replacement part becomes available." The VACC also warned that buyers considering the purchase of a used car should check to see if it subject to a vehicle recall notice by visiting recalls.gov.au. The majority of motorists have no option other to wait up to a year before the airbags are replaced — because the supplier at the centre of the crisis can't build them fast enough. It became the biggest recall in the world after Japanese manufacturer Takata — which supplies 20 per cent of the car industry's airbags — admitted in a US hearing this week the problem was more widespread than it had claimed for years. The faulty airbags, which can explode shrapnel if deployed in a crash, have so far claimed six lives overseas. No deaths or injuries have been reported in Australia. Authorities in the US and Australia have not ordered the recalled cars off the road Legal experts say motorists have little choice but to endure the painstaking wait for the replacements, and they can't sue the car companies unless someone dies or is seriously injured from the defective airbags. The crisis has left drivers with the unenviable task of taking the risk and driving their cars or — if they can afford it — park their recalled car until new airbags become available. So far, authorities in the US and Australia have not ordered the recalled cars off the road. The odds of being killed are difficult to calculate. Not all of the airbags in the 53 million cars are defective. But internal testing by Takata over the past six months found 265 of 30,000 recalled airbags had ruptured — or less than 1 per cent. That may sound like good odds, until you realise it still leaves 530,000 cars around the world — and at least 6000 in Australia — with airbags that can kill. Chrysler 300C sedan 2005 to 2007 BMW 3 Series 1997 to 2006 Honda Jazz 2004 to 2009 Honda Accord 2001 to 2006 Honda Accord Euro 2004 to 2007 Honda CR-V 2002 to 2008 Honda Civic 2004 to 2005 Honda MDX 2003 to 2006 Lexus SC430 2001 to 2003 Mercedes-Benz SL and SLK 2014 Nissan N16 Pulsar 2000 to 2006 Nissan D22 Navara 1997 to 2004 Nissan Y61 Patrol 1997 to 2010 Nissan T30 X-TRAIL 2001 to 2007 Nissan A33 Maxima 1999 to 2003 Subaru Impreza 2004 to 2007 Toyota Echo 2003 to 2005 Toyota RAV4 2003 to 2005 Toyota Corolla 2003 to 2007 Toyota Yaris 2005 to 2007 Toyota Avensis 2003 to 2007

Peter Barnwell road tests and reviews the Lexus RC 350 Sport Luxury with specs, fuel consumption and verdict.