Digital mirrors on the ES 300h

[ThomasLexus94]

Hey everyone, I was at Lexus Glasgow last week and I noticed that they had an ES 300h Takumi with the digital mirrors. I have only seen this online previously, I thought I would share a photo to hear what you think about it?

 

[wivenhoe]

I don’t know about where Lexus put the ‘screens’ but I test drove an Audi with them and couldn’t get used to them - they put the screen far too low so you have to take your eyes completely away from the road to use them. Also when I asked the Audi salesman about them freezing - how are they cleared, he said good point ! Again, Lexus may have some heaters in theirs but Audi didn’t. 

[NemesisUK]

39 minutes ago, wivenhoe said:

I don’t know about where Lexus put the ‘screens’ but I test drove an Audi with them and couldn’t get used to them - they put the screen far too low so you have to take your eyes completely away from the road to use them. Also when I asked the Audi salesman about them freezing - how are they cleared, he said good point ! Again, Lexus may have some heaters in theirs but Audi didn’t. 

The cameras are heated and the screens are just inboard of the camera position, so basically one 'looks' at the normal area when checking the door mirrors

[wivenhoe]

Definitely a big improvement over the Audi ones I experienced 

[beyond the blue]

20 hours ago, wivenhoe said:

I don’t know about where Lexus put the ‘screens’ but I test drove an Audi with them and couldn’t get used to them - they put the screen far too low so you have to take your eyes completely away from the road to use them. Also when I asked the Audi salesman about them freezing - how are they cleared, he said good point ! Again, Lexus may have some heaters in theirs but Audi didn’t. 

 

[wivenhoe]

That is sensible placing them there not sure what the real advantage of them are though - they were £ 1,500 on the Audi and the amount of reduced drag would take decades to get back in reduced consumption ! 

[ColinBarber]

51 minutes ago, wivenhoe said:

That is sensible placing them there not sure what the real advantage of them are though - they were £ 1,500 on the Audi and the amount of reduced drag would take decades to get back in reduced consumption ! 

Agreed. £ 1,600 option for the Lexus and would still cause some drag. I think the main advantage would be wind noise reduction and blind spot removal rather than efficiency but in that case I'd like to see them go further and virtually eliminate any protrusion with cameras right against the door with special lenses to capture the full view and then use software to remove any distortion on the displayed image.

Hate to think what they would cost to replace if damaged - a piece of mirror glass from Lexus can be £ 400 so these.....

[J Henderson]

What's the advantages of having these?

Seems like another case of tech for tech's sake

[Julncamp54]

I have the Takumi ES with digital mirrors and after some 20k miles prefer them to the more conventional mirrors now I have got used to them.

However they are going to be like marmite … love them or hate them, especially as a £1600 up front cost option.

For me the advantages are the graticules inbedded in the image which make parking much easier along with the wide angle views when indicating turning left or right or reversing. With the screens mounted essentially on the  left  and right A pillars  it is easier to glance at the screen images rather than having to actually look for the mirrors especially if the drivers seat position is closer to the steering wheel ( for us drivers of shorter stature)

any downside ? Yes night time driving ….the video software just cannot cope with the intense light level from head lights from traffic coming up from the rear  contributing to the extreme hi  and lo contrast light levels. Lexus need to improve this along with the overall digital image quality.  

My camera lens do seem to mist up if the outside air  is cold or damp, but the internal heaters clear the image in less than 2 mins. Also if the ES is parked in the rain the camera lens housing needs to be wiped dry of water before driving, to get the rear and 360 views but this is no more than on glass mirrors. however driving in the rain the lens seems pretty clear of rain drop splatter.

The mirror housing does stick out from the car which is often quite a talking point from passers-by  looking at the car and asling are they your mirrors ??…… and yes they do look like handles to grab (a red rag to a bull for  errant youths looking for mischief) ……

heavens knows how much a replacement would be ……

 

 

 

[wivenhoe]

Do they protrude any more than conventional mirrors folded when parked. I would have a little concern in say a supermarket car Park somebody squeezing through between cars could push them back - showing my ignorance  I am assuming they don’t fold ! 

[VFR]

What is the logic of having the nearside camera screen over on the nearside ?

I would want it just mounted to the left of the dash binnacle area myself so you just need to move your eyes instead of your head. 

[J Henderson]

2 hours ago, Julncamp54 said:

the wide angle views when indicating turning left or right or reversing.

So, does the viewpoint switch to a wider angle one when indicating? If so, that's definitely an advantage.

[Julncamp54]

Hello guys 

to answer the questions raised..

The digital mirrors fold  when locking the car if auto lock is enabled. They are flatter to the car than the conventional mirrors…

The near side digital screens on  the A pillar  is in the eyeline of the driver  so not necessary to put next to binnacle in car centre.

perhaps my only comment would be for really tall drivers who have a drivers seat position well back. is the display screen big enough to see clearly….

[Julncamp54]

Some images to help explain🙂

[beyond the blue]

2 hours ago, Julncamp54 said:

Hello guys 

to answer the questions raised..

The digital mirrors fold  when locking the car if auto lock is enabled. They are flatter to the car than the conventional mirrors…

The near side digital screens on  the A pillar  is in the eyeline of the driver  so not necessary to put next to binnacle in car centre.

perhaps my only comment would be for really tall drivers who have a drivers seat position well back. is the display screen big enough to see clearly….

What are the screens fixed to, the door or the dash?

 

[Julncamp54]

Hello  the screens are attached to a non moveable mount attached to the A pillar. 

[b4u2]

Looks really cool 😎 but must admit not seen any around. 

[macdoir]

I am not keen on these as the lcd is not that good of a resolution on the demo and loan car I had. I thought that it looked like an after thought lacking sharpness in image quality. Nice lines on the outside of the car though with being smaller than mirrors, but on the inside needs a to be better integrated.