Improved Lexus hybrid shines
The Lexus ES models stand out from the brand’s normal profile of overt luxury and sporting performance, being instead based on sensible family motoring – the Lexus way. John Oxley reports.
You can tell the new ES300H Ltd is a Lexus. It’s got the spindle grille, it’s got clean and modern lines, and inside, it’s lathered in real leather and genuine wood trim. However, unlike the rest of the Lexus range, there’s no drive through the rear wheels. Instead, the space normally taken up by the propshaft and rear diff. are given over to passenger and boot room, making this the most spacious of Lexus’ mid-sized cars. There are four models in the ES range – the 350, a V6 producing 204kw, and available in two trim levels, and a hybrid model, the 300h, as tested here, with a 2.4-litre inline four-cylinder engine plus the Lexus hybrid drive, and also with two trim levels. In terms of the drive train, you need look no further than the Toyota line-up; the ES 300h is closely related to the Camry hybrid, albeit a lot more refined and much better executed. It’s obvious when you drive it; there’s the same lazy front-wheel drive handling, the easy-to-wash-away front end if you push it. But you can choose between three driving modes, Eco, Normal and Sport (most of the time we left it in Sport), and at least the chassis has been stiffened up compared to the previous model (and the Camry) to give better turn-in, and the shock absorbers have been recalibrated for better response. At the same time the latest ES models have just undergone an upgrade to bring them more into line with the styling of the RC coupe and NX SUV, with a wider spindle grille and projector LED headlights. There are also changes to the rear, including L-shaped tail lights, and new 17-inch alloy wheels with a 20-spoke design on the Ltd. A really cool element is the self-restoring paint, which allows the car’s clear coat to heal itself from minor damage! More to the point, though, is the introduction of the Lexus Safety System +, which can automatically brake the car in an emergency situation when it detects a hazard ahead, has lane departure alert which warns when the car strays across lane markings or the centre line, automatic high beam headlights, and radar-controlled cruise control. In terms of ride quality, well that’s where the ES excels. It’s not designed to be a car in which you’ll head for the nearest set of tight corners to test the handling; instead it’s a quality cruiser, quiet and refined, and very comfortable. Inside the car the feeling of quality comes through in large handfuls, with a new sportier steering wheel now fitted, plus an improved multi-information display. It’s all about features, too, and not just on the safety front. The ES gets an excellent high resolution reversing camera with guidelines, blind spot monitoring with cross traffic alert – the latter great when you’re reversing out of a parking spot in a busy shopping centre – as well as driver seat memory, satnav, auto headlamp levelling, and rain sensing wipers. The Ltd takes the fight right to the European premium carmakers with a Mark Levinson premium audio system, threezone aircon, heated rear seats (as well as the front), a power boot lid, and a memory function for the front passenger seat, too. As far as the hybrid system is concerned, you can either pay attention to it and watch a schematic show where the power is coming from, or you can do as we did, forget about it and just enjoy the ride. The extra power from the hybrid system certainly gives the 300h a lot of extra getup-and-go, while at the same time returning excellent fuel economy figures. We didn’t get close to the claimed figures, but were perfectly happy with our averages in the 6.5L/100km mark Excellent for such a spacious car in this segment. As for its pricing, well if you forgo the Ltd’s genuine wood trim, and opt for ordinary leather instead of the perforated variety, plus a couple of other quite minor items, well the standard 300h just falls within our Executive price barrier of $75,000.