JSG

After my first weekend with the car these are the only bad things I can find to say:

Dead pedal - only for toes due to the "bulge". Will only be a problem for RHD cars. I was expecting a full footrest - maybe it's ok with smaller feet (I'm size UK10).

Navi - I got lost with it! I work in IT but I think the key fact is it's all in Japanese. :p It'll take a lot of working out.

Access - when you park make sure there is a space free on either side of you! Getting in and out of the back is tricky in a narrow space. Also, if you get in the back and don't have a helper there is no way to get the front door shut again!

Door shutting - the bounce of both doors when shutting is irritating.

Seats - by far the worst point at the moment. Both my wife and I suffered from lower back pain after 4-6 hours in the car. Limiting ourselves to around 3 hours with longer breaks is fine. There is plenty of adjustment on the seats in every direction but I just couldn't get comfortable yet.

In the power seat you have:
front control has three purposes:
forward/back - seat forward/back.
front up/down - thigh support up/down.
back up/down - bum height up/down (for want of better phrase).

Then you have tilt on the second switch and lumbar support on the switch furthest back which blows a cushion up and down behind your lower back.

Of these only the seat issue is one that is likely to bother me long term. But with so much adjustment available I think I should be able to find a comfortable position after a while.

RotorGeek

Well if the seat bugged you after 3 to 4 of driving I am not concerned.

What does concern me is the Door closing issue. How bad is it? Can you elaborate?

M-ster

Yeap, the door seems to be a little bit of concern here. Wonder after sometime, will the door be rattling due to wear and tear.

JSG, could you try this, try closing the door with the window down a little on one side then both side. This is a little exercise to see if by reducing the air compression in the cabin when closing the doors will reduce the bouncing as per you have described.

Cheers

JSG

Ok. I'll try it with the sunroof open so air pressure won't be an issue. It could be that air pressue is the issue as the bounce doesn't look mechanical. It's only bouncing within the leeway of the rubber surrounds - not actually bouncing perceptively off the latches. It doesn't affect the mechanism of shutting the doors. Just looks a little odd + if you don't slam the drivers door hard enough it stays open half-latched. Luckily there is a warning light on the dash for this. I'm not sure it'll show up if I take a video either as you have to be pretty close.

gord boyd

'vibration thru' gear shift at idle' was not listed here as Bad Points. But this might be irritating or might be just more
vibration vs. the s. Could you clarify if there is a vibration noise as a result? How quiet is the cabin?
Tks, gord boyd

JSG

There is hardly any noise at idle. The vibration through the gear stick seems to be going as I put more km on the car, and seems less when the car is warm.

I think the noise in the cabin will depend on where you've come from. For me it's really quiet and I like to open the sunroof and windows to hear the engine and exhaust more. But if you come from an LS430 it's probably noisy!

For me the noise is pitched just right. Quiet most of the time but you can hear the engine well under acceleration with the stereo off, even with the windows shut.

Lock & Load

JSG as i am getting the rhd version here in australia could you please elaborate on the bulge in the rhd models thanks.

JSG

The "bulge" is low and wide. It runs along by the transmission tunnel. It's at it's widest by your seat and tapers towards the pedals. However not totally. It's out of the way of the clutch so during spirited driving you'd never notice it. But when cruising, when you want to put your foot on the dead pedal you can't put your heel underneath it as the bulge is there. So you have to twist your foot with your toes pointing left to leave your toes on it and your heel on the floor of the footwell. The mats are cut around, not over the bulge.