Lexus ES 300h 2019 review - is hybrid the answer?

[@doobedi]

Lexus= The best luxury brand EVER!!

[@chasingcars]

High praise!

[@bobfrombrisbane1831]

Great to have you back Tom. 🚗👍 Nice looking Lexus,

[@chasingcars]

Thanks, Bob! I’m still on holiday (but here in the background). More content to come from Ponch and Iain Curry but interspersed with myself. A good team!

[@tredfxman]

Excellent to the point & informative! Exactly what the doctor ordered! Thank You! 👍 👌

[@chasingcars]

No problem. Thanks for watching.

[@vinceliu1397]

If the info system could be better, there will be no obvious shortage. Overall it's a great value car I think.

[@chasingcars]

Come November it’ll at least have Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, which will improve the situation

[@brendannixon8284]

Lexus Australia, please import the V6 version.

[@nchia]

Love the wheelie bin in the background.

[@chasingcars]

Oops!

[@italia4323]

Surprisingly it was a nice drive. But the extra power is always nice to have. Have you done a review of the gs350 or gs f?

[@phillipmarnik]

I like the looks but would prefer a V6, a 4 with batteries is not on my radar.

[@chasingcars]

Yeah, I think that offering the V6 ES 350 would be a good idea, but Lexus Australia are going after the hybrid thing very aggressively now.

[@doriangray2347]

V6 lexus or nothing. I will never buy a hybrid. The point of a lexus is you pay for initial cost, but then you can keep it for 20+ years. Lithium ion batteries are prehistoric and science has no answer for long lasting, sustainable, safe energy storage.

[@rajkirannatarajan9276]

The batteries on this thing are cheap to replace. Similar battery to the one used in the avalon hybrid sold in the US

[@AKA001]

A comparo with the top of the range Camry would interesting. Is it worth the extra $20 to 30k?

[@chasingcars]

Good idea.

[@michaelgreen7941]

Great review, thank you.

[@chasingcars]

No problem, Michael. Thanks for watching.

[@philtruong4320]

Nice looking car and good review Tom, btw what did that guy in the blue jacket want? He was beaming towards you when you were detailing the front cabin hahah

[@chasingcars]

Who knows... you’d be shocked at the propensity of the general public to walk straight through our shoots!

[@rsii83]

Love your Williams boots

[@chasingcars]

Everyone should have a pair 👍🏽

[@rsii83]

@@chasingcars will get one soon and is gonna be my first pair

[@robman2095]

How was the CVT? How did it compare to a standard torque converter transmission?

[@chasingcars]

The CVT is a good match for the hybrid. If you drive sensibly, you just don't notice it. If you drive aggressively, and like to wind the engine out to redline, you will absolutely notice (and dislike) the CVT, as it just holds high revs and drones while up there.

[@tensixty6]

Thanks Tom for a great review. I've always been a big fan of the Lexus. That said, l think I'd rather go for the Skoda Superb 162TSI. Arguably a more practical car.

[@chasingcars]

The Superb’s a good buy too...

[@zooks3894]

Skoda?? Appalling resale value, quality issues, shrinking dealer network and its built by VW! No thanks!

[@gene978]

Hmm It reminds me of the Avalon Hybrid for 1/2 the money at $32,000 average selling price even the full loaded Avalon LIMITED for $40,000 selling price.

[@chasingcars]

The Avalon was only sold in Australia in the late 1990s - we don’t get the current US market shape, but the grille on it looks positively enormous!

[@Andy-eq5fu]

@@gregsullivan7408 Totally agreed with you, the Avalon is essentially a ES with a Toyota badge.

[@lukelawrence6007]

What's the petrol only liken

[@chasingcars]

Haven’t driven the ES 350 which is a US-market product, but that engine is used in the Camry V6 (which is sold in Australia). It’s strong and sounds good, but it doesn’t seem any faster than the hybrid and it uses about 12L/100km in the real world. Not worth it!

[@rajkirannatarajan9276]

It’s like driving the Avalon idk if they have that in your market

[@aw4610]

Oh wow. I just realize that you dress for the type of car that you review.

[@chasingcars]

Sometimes!

[@tsengmichael9910]

Nice dress agreed!

[@OFFICIAL_VIDEO_AWARDS]

Meh not enough to get an extra $15k over a top spec Camry

[@chasingcars]

You’d have to carefully consider both, I reckon. The $45k-ish Camry SL hybrid is a very good offer, I think.

[@OFFICIAL_VIDEO_AWARDS]

@@chasingcars me too. I think it looks smart and has 85% of a luxury cars features whilst still being a Camry that you won't cry yourself to sleep with thinking about your daughter slamming the door into a wall.

[@douglasyong6939]

Enough street credentials against the Germans namely Mercs & BMW, or Audi & VW?

[@chasingcars]

Probably not, but it sits at a very different price point. You’d have to spend another 30k in Australia to buy this size BMW - like a 520d sedan.

[@brookesworldloveanimals425]

douglas yong trust me when you get a Lexus you pity and pray for all German car owners, they are destined for the service dept where the Lexus IS just there to get you to where you want to go time after time

[@thtupid]

Does it matter?

[@Mr2pint]

Front-wheel drive why do they still do this in 2020?

[@chasingcars]

Efficiency

[@brendannixon8284]

I have a 2016 ES350 (FWD) and you cannot notice any issue driving it normally and certainly when driving it in 'waft mode' which the car much, much prefers.

[@classicrecordings]

Hybrid is never the answer

[@RennieAsh]

The hybrids are great for the majority of buyers. If you feel the need to burn twice as much fuel for little gain, then you could try importing the V6.

[@josephj6521]

Meh. This won’t sell very well. I think it’s ugly. Luxury? Not in my view. As for hybrids. Toyota needs to get into EVs now. Why have a petrol plus electric motor? Unnecessary complexity.

[@chasingcars]

I think hybrids can make a lot of sense in countries where EV infrastructure is very underdeveloped, like in Australia. It’s an easy way to significantly lower your CO2 emissions and fuel use. We got 5.1L/100km without trying hard! Sure, it’s not zero-emission, but it’s about half the CO2 production/petrol use of a car this size with a gasoline-only engine.

[@josephj6521]

True re emissions. I just think in 5+ years from now, all petrol car’s resale may be hit hard as more EVs are established and the infrastructure is there. We are getting 350kwh charging stations being built soon and the majority of us anyway will be recharging at home. Very good review and good comment about the boot’s opening/closing issue. Something I wouldn’t have picked up immediately. 👍 Btw, $75k for the top of the line version for this? I don’t think that’s good value.

[@kevinW826]

Joseph J only if you own the home. If you rent, the owner will more than likely not be willing to install a charge station just for you. If you live in a building good luck with that, especially if its an open parking lot with no assigned parking spots. In my city the nearest charge station to me is 2 kms away and I’m not leaving my car in a mall parking lot to charge up overnight. The next one is 7 kms away. My city is not concerned about building the infrastructure. Same with my province. They have no detailed plans to make it happen, nor are they serious about it.

[@brendannixon8284]

It's this or a Genesis (kind of the same) or a base (and boring) BMW 320. You know in your heart of hearts that the 320 will be cactus in 7 years time and off the road in 10. The Genesis is a bit 'meh' and doesn't even have a digital radio. The Lexus will largely look and feel the same in 10 years and 150,000 kms time. And it looks beautiful.

[@RennieAsh]

The hybrid system isn't really that complex imo. They've been doing it for years and they're pretty reliable.