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I thought the review was quite balanced. As has been pointed out, good though the ES may be (I've looked but not driven) it doesn't strike me as a GS replacement, and a GS would have been a more natural competitor in this test imho if it were still available. As I've said before on the forum, I get a chance to drive and be a passenger in quite a wide range of cars. From my perspective; - Audi make the nicest interiors, but their diesel engines are quite noisy even in the A6. Family experience of A6 reliability is dreadful too, even within the first three years. Audi have an image problem from where I'm sat, and the current range is ugly to my eyes. Fine if you like that sort of thing, but I don't! As an aside, the new VAG TFSi engines seem very impressive being quiet, refined and powerful (in an A3 context). - Personally I like the way the Mercedes looks and I prefer the interior to the Audi. C-Classes that I've been in are lovely, very impressive, and I much prefer them to both the A4 and 3-Series. - Experience of recent BMWs makes me surprised about the comments re: interior quality, as I find it quite disappointing - although I haven't seen the very latest 5-Series. Both 320 and 330d (automatics) I've been in have a good turn of pace but are noisy under acceleration and the 330d especially sent a lot of vibration through the pedals and steering wheel. X3 was better in this regard. The iDrive system is hateful, even among colleagues who are owners they are mystified by press praise for how simple and intuitive it is. I can't get on with it at all. - The Lexus infotainment is miles behind the competition, I think we all know that. Top Gear sum up the ES as a car for 'drivers that don't like driving' and I'd say my experience of the Lexus range backs that up - they are quiet and refined cars for cruising around in. They certainly aren't 'sports cars' (couple of F models excepted) and I'd be surprised if an 'enthusiastic' driver would buy one after a decent test drive if they were after greater performance. Given the levels of discount available on German diesels at the moment, cost of ownership for three years ought to be lower than the Lexus I'd have thought. Private buyers looking for long term ownership should look at the Lexus because of the reliability and general quality. Top Gear note that the ES is a car you appreciate more the more miles you do in it. My NX has been just like that. If I were a company or lease buyer, I'd probably go for one of the Germans in this test rather than the ES, although actually I'd probably go for a Volvo... ...but as a private buyer I'd definitely buy Japanese or Korean.

Seat covers in a Lexus?????? Let its natural beauty shine through and don't cover it up.

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Yeah, would of failed this time had i not got s spare wiper blade in the boot 😁

It`s a Vadermobile ?

On the question of performance, I think you got to be honest and says straight away, all these cars are going to be rubbish. Large, heavy cars, powered by circa 200 bhp diesel or petrol electric engines are never going to set the world alight. There is no joy in pinning the loud pedal on any of these cars. To say one is better than another is like saying it’s better to be poisoned rather than jumping off a cliff. The same can be said of handling, S line, M sport, Amg line and F Sport are all totally marketing BS. Put any of these in an actual environment where their performance and handling is laid bare ie a race track and see just how awful these cars actually are. But that’s fine, we understand that a 520d msport is not designed to be the greatest performance car BMW has ever made (and as I’ve spent a lot of time over the years driving an E46 M3 CSL in every environment I.e road, track, autobahn, Austrian pass etc. That car is arguably the greatest performance car BMW has ever made, so ive got a reference point here). these cars will be used on the congested highways and byways, usually at times when the highways and byways are at their most congested. The hybrid powertrain really shines in this environment. It is at its quietest and most efficient in traffic. That’s what it is designed for. Fun fact, in stop start traffic you can actually drive the ES in total silence just from the steering wheel using radar cruise. The hybrid It’s a massively relaxing place to be and it needs to be as your going to be in it for 8-10 hours and 300-400 miles per day. In the real world, hybrid beats stop/start diesel power. It’s a compromise sure (and soon to be outdated itself), but it’s better. To reference back to the review, let’s think about each choice. The Audi is no doubt a superb car, but having owned an A6 from the emissions scandal period, I’m done with VAG cars. In the same way UK customers can whistle for their compensation my £40k every 3-4 years walks straight out of their showroom. The E class, again, a superb car. 2 big issues. The interior. You might as well walk into the showroom and ask to ‘bling me’. And I’m sorry to say but the other issue is the whole taxi thing. So the BMW. Let’s put it out there, it won this test as overall it’s the best car. It just is and in pretty much every metric the ES will fall short in comparison. the carwow review did hint to the ES’s appeal when it mentioned the black tie analogy. The BMW is the sharpest cut, best fitting tuxedo. You will look a million dollars. Problem is, so will everybody else as they are all wearing the same thing. It’s it nice to turn up at the ball in a white tux and a massive smile on your face. But to pull off the ‘being different trick’ the ES has to be close enough to the competition. It cannot be a total disaster as then you are just cutting off your nose to spite your face. The ES manages to be close enough, while maintaining its quirky appeal (and to my eyes, looking the best of the bunch).

Thanks Matt, unfortunately it didn’t make the reserve. If anyone here is interested, I’m willing to take £20k, but needs to be a quick sale. If you can spread the word, or send anyone my way, I’d really appreciate it. Thanks guys.

Having got back yesterday from our Austrian trip I discovered, as expected, that my Celsior is limited to 112mph. That's fine, but I also discovered my cruise control is limited to 65mph! So if anyone knows how/if cruise can be changed it would be very helpful. That aside the car performed perfectly with silence and supreme comfort and amazing MPG. I also discovered the importance of having ALL documents with me after being stopped by the German police in an unmarked car. They seemed sooo disappointed!

Not sure but it was fitted to the 2017/18 facelifted one

With the caveat that I haven't driven an ES so can't vouch for ultimate accuracy, I thought both reviews were trying to be balanced. Neither says the ES is a bad car, in fact they both say it has strengths and in the CarWow review Matt says he likes it. What they point out is that the ES will appeal to some drivers but not others, specifically that it won't suit enthusiastic drivers. For somebody looking for a long term proposition and a nice interior and ride it will tick a lot of boxes, and the reviews point that out. Lexus isn't planning to sell that many in any case, and sales seem to be going well so far. For those looking for something different as a relaxing and well made option with great customer service the ES - much like other cars in the Lexus range - will find a lot of very satisfied owners, myself included. I want driving to be as simple and relaxed as possible. If somebody else offers to drive, I would always rather they did to save me from having to drive. Lexus suits me perfectly!

"A saloon car for people who don’t really care about/enjoy driving, but quite like big mpg and a nice stereo. A big front-drive premium car is never going to stir the soul, but by offering it as a tax-swerving hybrid and focusing on making it a nice, serene place to be, Lexus may have found a gap in the market. Just not one that’s ever going to interest the enthusiast." Say whatever you like, but 6/10 and above summary is not "biased journalism", it is very balanced opinion. Maybe in the past TG and other outlets were unfair to Lexus, but this time around I feel they are almost propping it up from ... I don't known maybe ~sympathy of how disadvantaged they are with ES. I underlined the word enthusiast, because I think it explains why I dislike 300h and ES so much.

but we do have them here too, but just UK police I was often stopped in France, Spain, Portugal and Italy in times past on my travels ........ mainly coz they had never seen such a rare car like my Ls400 ........... even rarer than on UK roads Malc

Here is the Top Gear review. Some interesting points made. Top Gear ES review

W11NDY can't believe the number of Fails on your recent MOTs you must have been horrified at the time but she does look an absolute ' beauty ' and you must be so proud of her ..... how could you bear to part company ever ! Malc

Ok, thanks for all the information. It looks as though I am hoping to have to put it back in the hands of my friendly mechanic.

You could find (as I did!) that a front brake caliper is either stuck in position due to seized sliding pins (fairly easy to sort) or the main piston is sticking (brake fluid bloody everywhere). This will cause the brakes to behave differently on each side. Generally if there's no indication of irregular wear on the old discs and pads a mechanic wouldn't dig into it too much. They should have checked the rubber boots for rips and tears though, and noted how easily the pistons and sliders moved when wound back into the calipers. Toyota/Lexus calipers have always been a weak spot for me TBF. I've done three of four on my RX350. And both fronts on my mum's Rav4. And two rears on my track starlet. And two fronts on my RX300. And one front on my grans starlet. And two on my last MR2. Oh and the starlet before that I needed three. The list goes on!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?reload=9&v=vZw35VUBdzo This isn't a solution, but may raise a smile 😉

If you lot think the 2012-15 RX is ugly then you don't know the meaning of the word - this LX570 thing fell out of the ugly tree and hit every branch on the way down!

I have put the Michelin cross climate on my NX. What a difference. I let the salesperson at Lexus have a drive after they were fitted. He could not believe the difference. He even asked the sales manager why Lexus did not fit them as standard.

Had an oil service done today, also brake fluid was changed! So far everything cost me £173 and this is oil and oil filter, air and pollen filter with brake fluid! Couldn't be happier!

The thread is going nowhere other than ending in a full-blown row.

You're misinterpreting what I'm saying. It's not what you are saying, it's the way you're saying it... And if you want to see what the results are PM me, and if not too much bother we can meet over a.drink and you can test drive the car for yourself. No threats here... the way see it, it's a fair warning. You've been talking to me "in a manner" and I've tolerated it long enough. I'm not pushing anything... sharing my observations is what I am doing. That's all.

What Mr Lovebucket wants, Mr Lovebucket gets

Hi - I have a 2008 RX400h, owned for just over a year. Best decision I ever made! I thought 10 years or 100,000 miles was the warranty on the battery but tbh the battery is rock solid. It's scare mongering. If there is a hybrid health check from Lexus, then you are fine. You can also use a specialist to repair individual cells should a problem occur, at a fraction of the price of a replacement battery. At 67k it is barely run in. Mine was 120k when I bought it and I've done 11k since without the car missing a beat. I paid £6,500, a couple of dings but good service history. Plugs change at 60k intervals so got that done (big job!) as it needed a service, the wheels are usually rubbish, mine was no different so got them refurbed properly (not painted) at £65 each, and had the bonnet front and two corners with deep scratches painted. Cam belt and water pump changed at 100k. So I got a £46k beast of a car for about £7200 and I have no regrets. I don't use Lexus as they are way too expensive for an older car, my local garage service a couple of others. Only issues I had were oxygen sensors with an electrical specialist sorted. I replaced the mass air plow sensor which probably didn't need doing as it turned out but I have the original still as a spare. The self levelling headlights don't work and is a common problem, my lights are a bit low but pass an MOT. Again, costly to replace but YouTube have videos on cleaning and replacing the springs which is usually the issue. The sensor site on the top of the rear axle on the drivers side and get full of cr*p. If your lucky they can be cleaned up. Dead easy to remove with the wheel off. I just have the front fogs on as well which is plenty for me I have had one of the four O2 sensors fail and the garage said don't get an OEM one (£60 or so) as they won't turn off the engine warning light so I had to bite the bullet and paid £193 for the Lexus one. If was smooth before it is even better now so worth the spend! So back to the battery. Toyota state the hybrid batteries in their cars are zero maintenance and are expected to last the life of the car, which is 18 years (I think). Search here for battery issues, very few. Everyone seems to worry about hybrid batteries. As a rule they are way more reliably than the engines they support! The pulling power and acceleration is breathtaking. On a journey I will sometimes turn off the music and sit in silence. Literally. No bumps, no creaks and squeaks, tiny bit of wind noise. It's surreal, feels more like flying than driving. I love it. Put 15 bags of gravel in the other day, say 30kg a bag, that's 450kg. Barely noticed it was there!! Buy it if the history is good, walk if no history. I went 200 miles to get mine. I had the car surveyed by Click Mechanic which I would highly recommend because as you say, these are very complex cars and can be expensive if they go wrong. The have a 3.3L V6 engine, it eats miles. Drive with a feather light right foot, lift of whenever you can, keep 70 and under on journeys, that way I get 34mpg in summer, 29/30mpg in winter cos the engine works the heater. Trick I do is use the heated seat instead of the heater as much as I can. Good luck!

Do let us all know when you have taken her out------the wife, not the car !!

How sad is that Mike. Love and Use are mutually exclusive. If you love her you must keep her or at the very least ensure that she goes into the best home possible. She looks a beauty.

You have absolutely no shame...

I had Lexus discs, pads and handbrake shoes fitted within the last 12 months on my 1997 car, and like Pete’s no squeaks or clunks on it now. It passed its MOT in February at 227,000 with no advisories - happy days.

Had the same with brakes, driving me mad, then went the whole hog and had Lexus discs and pads fitted including new shims, and had handbrake overhauled, so no squeaks of clunks.

I've come to the conclusion the noise thing is a bit like living near an airport or a railway line - some people get really really bugged by it, others (like me - I live near a railway line) just aren't bothered at all. I had a four-hour round trip on Saturday (which is mammoth by NI standards!) and just don't notice it at all - motorways, expressways, major roads, minor roads, just not at all. I have Bridgestones, which are not ideal. I would agree that the noise is ever so slightly more noticeable than in an IS, but barely. Just one of those things, I guess.

Just had the latest NX300 on 24hr test drive. The road noise was truly terrible. Really started to wear you out. When I took it back the dealer said the previous model was even worse!