Wide-view Front Monitor: Very Cool

winsalem · 10-26-09, 05:05 PM

I drove my second HS today; I had driven a non-nav edition last week, but the one today had nav and the Wide-view Front Monitor . Of all the gadgets on this car, THIS is the most interesting...watchin' that nav screen slowly rise from the dash, and then as you shift into D, the area in front of the car displayed as you pull forward (and depending on the settings, that view remains visible until you reach a certain MPH); it was just a bit like 'Blade Runner'. OK, I'm stretchin' it I know, but sheesh that's a cool feature. (We guys need our toys.)

- Overall, I was very pleased with the comfort and quietness of the HS. I've owned both a Camry Hybrid and a Prius, and neither were quiet or comfortable (and I sold them both within a month). Hey, I'm spoiled, I like the seats in a Lexus, along with the luxury of copious soundproofing. NVH can be very stressful, and I will gladly pay for quiet; if I want noise, that's why Kline Kreisel made the subwoofer (and maybe it was Dr. Bose or Mark Levinson who perfected it).

- The cockpit is small, but I'm 6'1", "stocky", and I still had plenty of headroom/legroom. The seat is not quite as wide as my current RX or previous Lexi, but it's just as comfy.

- Power? Ha, no worries. The salesman keeps punchin' the "Power" button to demo the car's thrust, but even in the default normal mode, if you need to gun this sucka it moves.

- Nav: The voice control is miles ahead of all the nav systems I've had. Amazing. The "joystick" is great, but actually redundant since almost anything you need can be spoken for or found on the dash via buttons. Major example: While you're driving, you can click the voice command button on the steering wheel, speak your way thru locating an exact street address, set it as your destination, and have the system start giving you directions; in other words, you don't hafta pull over and stop to enter a destination. That is huge.

- Terrific slideshow of a Matador Red HS at http://bit.ly/39aLmv

CurryPot · 10-26-09, 05:21 PM

Wait until you try eDestination. We needed to go fridge shopping, so we sat on the couch and located the local shops, entered them into lexusdrivers.com and sent it to the car. Got in the car, downloaded them and off we went. Feeling pretty good about the decision so far, hope that continues. More HSs sold in September than Fusion.

Argelius · 10-27-09, 04:34 AM

Did you happen to check out the iPod integration? I've heard it's less-than-elegant...

winsalem · 10-27-09, 06:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Argelius

Did you happen to check out the iPod integration? I've heard it's less-than-elegant...

I did flip open the USB/aux jack just to take a look, but that's it.

Although I'm an Apple disciple, i don't listen to music on an iPod. XM Radio is my deejay all day long.

CurryPot · 10-27-09, 10:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Argelius

Did you happen to check out the iPod integration? I've heard it's less-than-elegant...

OK, let's be honest. It sucks more than the hookers on Highway 99 in North Seattle. If you have 300 albums, there is no quick way to scroll to the 278th album. I knew this going in and so far this is the only thing I do not like about the car. Everything else is awesome. The salesman had indicated that many of the Lexus Dealers had sent e-mails of discontent about this feature.

But as the other person indicated, now that I have XM, I am using that more than the IPOD. And since the car takes a USB Memory Stick, I am using that more. I simply pick what music I want to listen to at work and copy it to the memory stick. I think my IPOD is going to go back to what it was when I first bought it, a portable player and not something that is left in the car all the time.

My expectation is that Lexus will fix this. I am sure there is a Kaizen going on as I type.

jniemann42 · 10-27-09, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CurryPot

OK, let's be honest. It sucks more than the hookers on Highway 99 in North Seattle. If you have 300 albums, there is no quick way to scroll to the 278th album. I knew this going in and so far this is the only thing I do not like about the car. Everything else is awesome. The salesman had indicated that many of the Lexus Dealers had sent e-mails of discontent about this feature.

But as the other person indicated, now that I have XM, I am using that more than the IPOD. And since the car takes a USB Memory Stick, I am using that more. I simply pick what music I want to listen to at work and copy it to the memory stick. I think my IPOD is going to go back to what it was when I first bought it, a portable player and not something that is left in the car all the time.

My expectation is that Lexus will fix this. I am sure there is a Kaizen going on as I type.

I seriously hope they do fix this. It just sticks out like a sore thumb and is the only real thing that I can point to as a failure on this car. I've started just using the Bluetooth instead, although I need to use a charger while I do since BT is a battery hog.

encore888 · 10-28-09, 04:53 PM

Hehe, I like the Blade Runner comparo myself! I'd love to have a Lexus city spinner.

Quote:

Originally Posted by winsalem

- Nav: The voice control is miles ahead of all the nav systems I've had. Amazing. The "joystick" is great, but actually redundant since almost anything you need can be spoken for or found on the dash via buttons. Major example: While you're driving, you can click the voice command button on the steering wheel, speak your way thru locating an exact street address, set it as your destination, and have the system start giving you directions; in other words, you don't hafta pull over and stop to enter a destination. That is huge.

That's good to hear!!!