Wheels Australia — August 2016

@wheelsaustralia 131

WEEK 9

URBAN COUNTRY SPORTS FAMILY MOTORWAY

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Back seat blues
TwicenowI’vehadcalltousetherearseatforcarryingpeople
asopposedtostuff.Thefirsttime,Ishovedmystep-daughter
andherlankyfiancethroughthetinyopening,wherehein
particularriskedpermanentneckdamagefrombeingjammed

underthatslopingroofline.Thenextopportunitywaswhen

wetookthepoorboy’sparentstodinner,butthought

betterofitandleftthe$75KLexusparkedforlornlyat

homewhileweschleppeditintheirhomelyKoreanSUV.

BODYOFWORK

However much

Lexus spent developing

those seats was money

well spent

Date acquired:April 2016

Price as tested:$76,500

This month: 1539km @ 10.9L/100km

Overall: 2889km @ 11.0L/100km

D

P

T

O

Weekend getaway turns into a

staunch test for car and driver alike

I REALLY should have known better. Having

decided it was time to give the Lexus a gallop

out into the country, my timing couldn’t

have been worse. Friday evening before a

long weekend is hardly the best time to be

escaping the rat-race, especially when the

weather has been ordered by Noah.

We’re going to the opening of an art show

• I’m supporting an artist friend and trying to
  appear more sophisticated than I really am –
  but the traffic betrays my uncouth side. Why
  the hell are people heading for beaches in
  the middle of winter? Too late, my daughter
  advises that the traffic is so bad she’s bailed
  on a cross-town commitment. Smart girl.
  Almost two hours inching along a so-
  called ‘freeway’ – for which we pay a
  princely sum, begrudgingly – is a test too
  far for my notorious lack of commuting
  patience. They’ve blocked a lane to ease
  the congestion, which simply extends the
  mayhem further back towards the office.
  I invent a few new cusses.
  Still, I’m determined to keep calm. We’ve
  allowed three hours to complete a one-hour

drive, so the better

half and I kick back

to discuss the meaning

of life over a packet of

snakes in the vain hope I will

calmly sit in just one lane. Of course I

don’t, but each time I change lane the

one I’ve just vacated suddenly gains

pace and I’m left steaming inside

while trying to maintain some level

of dignity in front of the missus. How

do people put up with this every day?

But it proves two things: firstly that the

Lexus seats are wonderfully comfortable (and

the heating function is greatly appreciated

in weather like this, as would the cooling in

summer); and secondly that you wouldn’t be

without a modern automatic transmission.

Manual gearboxes are for dopes. Yes, I’m

talking to you Alex, and now that you’ll be

travelling daily over the Westgate Bridge,

only your Gen Y pride will stop you from

agreeing within six months.

Once we clear the Geelong Rd and its salt-

water junkies, we point towards Bacchus

Marsh and clear the plugs. It’s clear sailing

at last and we cover four times the distance

in a quarter of the time. The RC200t is in its

element now, cruising quietly, squat on the

road, lapping up the miles. We step out after

two and a half gruelling hours (at the end of

a working week) feeling delightfully fresh

and ache-free.

We park conspicuously outside the gallery

and those sharp lines and front-end bling

turn plenty of heads, but there will be no

blue ribbons tonight. The Lexus is certainly

eye-catching, but it’s no work of art.

DAVID HASSALL

Ark for art’s sake

LL