My experience driving my ES300h premium pack since my recent purchase early September 2022…

[Nico72]

1 hour ago, cdmaskell said:

Thank you Nick, for such a comprehensive review. As a retired motor/ HGV engineer, Japanese vehicles, but built in Japan have always had the edge on reliability and build quality, albeit rust in early days.  German car reliability has sadly declined recently, other than badge snobbery. The 22 on ES Premier is even somewhat better. I feel that ES owners like something more unique and less common.  They can forgive the foibles. Enjoy.

I agree with your finding and I am glad you like my review. I find that Lexus (and like any Japanese cars) is really working hard to maintain the reliability that many truly treasure. The fact that I had this opportunity to try a new BMW car for 2 weeks made me feel I have made the best decision to stick with Lexus. The brand is superb and I love its vision to be bold and different.

[Nico72]

3 hours ago, Initial P said:

Digital wingmirrors look odd on any car, only the lorry ones look ok.

I agree and the inside screens look off to me...

[Initial P]

2 hours ago, Nico72 said:

Thanks. In the Mk 4 you have to select temperature to see it in the middle cluster. Usually I used to leave the images with Battery, wheel and engine so that I know what is happening with my driving so when you have this on display the temperature is not showing. It was a bit annoying but you get used to it. The ES has got it at the top of the cluster with the clock so whatever you want to check with the system or data, the clock and temperature remain constantly visible...

Must be a hybrid thing as in mine the outside temp is displayed below all the other display cycles range, mpg, average mpg, eco driving indicator ect.

I have a small after market digital clock in the middle of where you put on the heated/ventilated seats which also tells me the inside temp.

Btw thanks for posting the actual tank range something not often talked about in favour of inflated mpg figures.

[e-yes]

16 hours ago, Initial P said:

Must be a hybrid thing as in mine the outside temp is displayed below all the other display cycles range, mpg, average mpg, eco driving indicator ect.

I have a small after market digital clock in the middle of where you put on the heated/ventilated seats which also tells me the inside temp.

Btw thanks for posting the actual tank range something not often talked about in favour of inflated mpg figures.

Sorry I am being pedantic here but OP’s calculation of tank range seems a bit off although I still agree with the approximate 600 miles on a tank in the right conditions. 
 

They said on highway driving they observed 44mpg. The tank is 50 litres which is about 11 imperial gallons. That makes the tank good for about 484 miles and not 600 miles. 
 

My personal anecdotal estimate is just over 500 miles before needing to fill up (motorway summer miles, cold weather will affect that number and bring it down depending on how cold it gets) that would mean estimated fuel consumption of close to 50mpg ?

Between January 2021 and 2022 I estimated my average consumption to be 48mpg.

—E

[Nico72]

1 hour ago, e-yes said:

Sorry I am being pedantic here but OP’s calculation of tank range seems a bit off although I still agree with the approximate 600 miles on a tank in the right conditions. 
 

They said on highway driving they observed 44mpg. The tank is 50 litres which is about 11 imperial gallons. That makes the tank good for about 484 miles and not 600 miles. 
 

My personal anecdotal estimate is just over 500 miles before needing to fill up (motorway summer miles, cold weather will affect that number and bring it down depending on how cold it gets) that would mean estimated fuel consumption of close to 50mpg ?

Between January 2021 and 2022 I estimated my average consumption to be 48mpg.

—E

Interesting finding. I find this odd that the car does not have the same tank size as GS in my opinion. But it is clearly noticed since having the ES I visit petrol station a lot less than my predecessor GS...

[Initial P]

I saw a lovely looking ES F Sport in a dark metallic red earlier.

[Julncamp54]

Thank you Nick for your very comprehensive review of the ES300H 

I’ve had my ES 300 Takumi (my22) since March 2022 and have now completed some 15k miles. change in circumstances forced the car to be used most days rather than garaged, washed weekly and used on special occasions only.

however I would like to add a few personal points to Nicks original post which may help other owners 

For driving around town in built up,areas I tend to use the ECO mode as it limits the power uptake and is more efficient also I find it easier to stay within the 30 mph limit than in NORMAL mode where a slight accelerator press can sedately propel u above the legal limit. 
I found cold weather played havoc with  the overall MPG, I dropped to av 43mpg when normally I get well over 55 mpg on my usual journeys.

On a visit to the Lake District I  chose to use SPORT mode which I felt gave a better driving and handling experience when  motoring around the hills and lanes  then use the down shifts( flappy paddles-)  to get sufficient engine braking on steep descents.

I had the digital wing mirrors option and after this time I’m in  a position to give some feedback on them. Basically in good  light conditions they give clear images  and are easy to view on the displays attached to the front doors. However, for night time use glass mirrors are far superior.  The main problem is the camera and video software can’t cope with the high contrasts levels of dark  surroundings and bright headlights and the resulting display is very poor with flared images. with the cold and damp weather the camera lens mist up quickly and unless the mirror heaters are used the images are virtually opaque. The mirror heaters work in conjunction with the rear window heater and are on for 10 mins before auto shut off.  I always have to have kitchen roll and water sprayer in the car to keep the camera lenses on the whole car clear of water and grime. Never use dry cloth as could scratch the lenses.    Good job the internal mirror is okay.

however where I prefer the digital mirrors and find them invaluable is the parking alignment lines when parking using the rear view camera. The other plus point is i can glance at the displays where as before I had to move my head left and right to see the wing mirrors as they were not in my line of view

any niggles …..

the coin tray box on the rhs of driver needs a foam padding in it to stop coins or keys rattling. 

Front and rear cameras don’t half get dirty quickly in poor weather conditions 

needing to use a cable to connect apple car play.

other wise I will concur with other uses that the car is truly superb.

 

 

 

 

 

[Initial P]

Rain x works quite good on my reversing camera.

[Julncamp54]

Thanks for that hadn’t thought of using rain x for the cameras 

[b4u2]

What does rain x mean and do ?

[Huwge]

Here you go

https://rainx.co.uk/rain-x-products/rain-x-rain-repellent/

 

 

 

[Nico72]

On 12/28/2022 at 5:21 PM, Julncamp54 said:

Thank you Nick for your very comprehensive review of the ES300H 

I’ve had my ES 300 Takumi (my22) since March 2022 and have now completed some 15k miles. change in circumstances forced the car to be used most days rather than garaged, washed weekly and used on special occasions only.

however I would like to add a few personal points to Nicks original post which may help other owners 

For driving around town in built up,areas I tend to use the ECO mode as it limits the power uptake and is more efficient also I find it easier to stay within the 30 mph limit than in NORMAL mode where a slight accelerator press can sedately propel u above the legal limit. 
I found cold weather played havoc with  the overall MPG, I dropped to av 43mpg when normally I get well over 55 mpg on my usual journeys.

On a visit to the Lake District I  chose to use SPORT mode which I felt gave a better driving and handling experience when  motoring around the hills and lanes  then use the down shifts( flappy paddles-)  to get sufficient engine braking on steep descents.

I had the digital wing mirrors option and after this time I’m in  a position to give some feedback on them. Basically in good  light conditions they give clear images  and are easy to view on the displays attached to the front doors. However, for night time use glass mirrors are far superior.  The main problem is the camera and video software can’t cope with the high contrasts levels of dark  surroundings and bright headlights and the resulting display is very poor with flared images. with the cold and damp weather the camera lens mist up quickly and unless the mirror heaters are used the images are virtually opaque. The mirror heaters work in conjunction with the rear window heater and are on for 10 mins before auto shut off.  I always have to have kitchen roll and water sprayer in the car to keep the camera lenses on the whole car clear of water and grime. Never use dry cloth as could scratch the lenses.    Good job the internal mirror is okay.

however where I prefer the digital mirrors and find them invaluable is the parking alignment lines when parking using the rear view camera. The other plus point is i can glance at the displays where as before I had to move my head left and right to see the wing mirrors as they were not in my line of view

any niggles …..

the coin tray box on the rhs of driver needs a foam padding in it to stop coins or keys rattling. 

Front and rear cameras don’t half get dirty quickly in poor weather conditions 

needing to use a cable to connect apple car play.

other wise I will concur with other uses that the car is truly superb.

 

 

 

 

 

Amazing and thank you for sharing your experience with this very special car. I only recently started using the Eco mode and I can see it is better to drive in town with this mode too... 

[Mincey]

11 hours ago, Nico72 said:

Amazing and thank you for sharing your experience with this very special car. I only recently started using the Eco mode and I can see it is better to drive in town with this mode too... 

My only issue with Eco mode is that on a long drive having to press the accelerator harder makes my knee ache. 

[Las Palmas]

8 minutes ago, Mincey said:

My only issue with Eco mode is that on a long drive having to press the accelerator harder makes my knee ache. 

It is harder to get fit, than to stay fit.

Start walking up to 10th floor a couple of times a month and knees will get good again. Maybe not 10th floor in the beginning.

[george72]

Find eco really quite gutless around town prefer normal mode. I do use eco on the motorway though.. 

[Slucky]

Nice review Nick. I myself share the same views and have a white ES F Sport Takumi. 
I have got used to the the length now. And can not miss it in a parking lot due the long nose sticking out like a baby shark with that smiling grill. 
I have also learnt to play around the power bands to get the best torque and power the system has to offer. 

[Nico72]

20 hours ago, Slucky said:

Nice review Nick. I myself share the same views and have a white ES F Sport Takumi. 
I have got used to the the length now. And can not miss it in a parking lot due the long nose sticking out like a baby shark with that smiling grill. 
I have also learnt to play around the power bands to get the best torque and power the system has to offer. 

Amazing! Glad you love it! I discovered one new thing the other day. If you open the window when it is raining and the engine is on, you will get a warning on your odometer with a small window question pop up on the left side of your odometer: would you like to close your window? Yes or No. So you could close the window by pressing the button on the steering wheel rather than the window button when the questions pops up. Never knew that!