Lexus Oxford Centre Manager Kirk Gill was so confident of the performance and quality of the new Lexus RX300 4x4 vehicle, that he invited 50 customers to road test the vehicle against its competition.

His guests arrived for breakfast at the Weston Manor Hotel, at Weston-on-the-Green, before embarking on a series of road tests including vehicles from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover and Jeep, all borrowed from colleagues at other dealerships within the 45 dealer-strong Sytner Group, of which Lexus Oxford is a part.

Mr Gill said: "Many of our customers were a bit apologetic that they liked many of the aspects of our competitive cars, but we expected to hear those comments, as there are some fine vehicles around.

"However, we had an overwhelming majority of people vote for the RX300 as the ideal car for the school run, and as a family leisure vehicle. It's certainly not designed as a mud plugger, but the 4x4 characteristics provide exceptional road holding and a very smooth ride.