Having wrung huge value from my Honda diesel tourer over 5 years and 182k miles, it was time to change. I only considered Japanese cars and wanted a petrol hybrid for comparable economy to an efficient diesel engine, and lower emissions to access ultra-low-emission zones, such as inner London.
I searched for almost nine months to find the car I was looking for privately – all to no avail. I eventually bought a 2023 Premium Plus in Black privately as an interim solution, which confirmed that the UX250H was a great fit for me. Eventually the car I’d been waiting for turned up at Lexus Cardiff. I was delighted to deal with Gabriel at the dealership. Sadly, the dealer policy is to not negotiate on price, but I’m still happy to have come out with a great car at a good price.
Buying from a dealer gives certain advantages, such as pre-sale prep, access to return-to-invoice GAP insurance (which I bought from Sura) and a full year’s warranty, which you get in any case every time you have a Lexus of up to 10 years old serviced at a dealership. Not that one would necessarily need the warranty, as these cars are amongst the most reliable that money can buy.
Colour is always really important to me on the car I drive daily. I wanted Azure Blue – a £1k option when the cars were new – and it was worth waiting for. It makes me smile every time I come out to it. It also has F-Sport Leather in White which I was initially not a huge fan of but I am coming around to it. I would like to find chestnut leather trim for it.
F Sport comes with a great equipment package, including comfortable seats, active cruise control, heated steering wheel, and more. My car has the larger 12-inch centre media screen, which is brilliant, and a customisable driver dashboard, which is also brilliant. It has less interior space than the Honda, but in every other way, it is superior.