Scoops

Ah rattles... I have had 5 Lexus including the ES which I have now (and is my second) and every single one has rattled or made some kind of buzz noise. Take the current one, somewhat intermittent buzzing from headlining, seatbelt adjuster, somewhere towards the front of the dash (who knows where), somewhere over the passenger side (might be seatbelt related) and somewhere in the driver's door... Over a smooth road the car is silent but as soon as the road surface gets rough, and most are, then at least one of them appears... or doesn't. It seems a bit fruitless trying to get to the dealer and not be able to replicate it consistently so I haven't bothered so far...

Just for the laughs, I put a quote though Lexus Insurance and the quote came out as.... £4277.57!!

My renewal quote has come through and has risen from £839.62 to £1197.41 which is through flow (LV) - you lot don't know you are born!

Sorry, I have had the Coolwalk update running for a few weeks now and haven't seen any behaviour like that apart from the usual janky handling of voice commands sometimes.

From quite a bit of experience... if you fill the car to full you will get around 100 miles before the needle starts to drop - probably a bit less unless you have brimmed it. The range drops quicker on the countdown once the warning comes on so if it says you have 30 miles, you don't get 30 miles before refuel appears. Once you are 'empty' you have around a gallon left, probably around 5 litres as I have never filled over 46 litres to full even after doing 20 miles on empty...

Insurance is a nightmare... I was paying 600 odd but when I changed my ES for another, the quotes I was getting for a year were around the 1000 mark with just about everyone... No change to any details apart from the car.... Currently with Flow which is LV until June...

I had a follow up call from the manager of the dealership but got the usual call from Lexus UK which was mainly about the dealer performance but did also ask about the car and any changes or comments I had about it... I have had this call for at least my last 3 Lexus...

Yeah it is an odd limitation but overall the infotainment is a step forward. As for the looks of it, apart from 'dark mode' there isn't much you can do about it apart from making using of the energy display in the drivers information display which is the same as it has been since forever...

What I would like them to do is stop the display from blinding me at night when I turn the car off and it momentarily goes from a dark display to a brilliant white display...

Well I managed to do 430 miles over the weekend so here are a few hot takes:

• The car feels a bit more stable and smooth than the previous one. Hard to pinpoint exactly what it is but there seems to be a better degree of suspension control.
• New infotainment is better although I have had a few issues in getting the Bluetooth to connect automatically and I couldn't figure out how to get out of Android Auto once in it as there is no longer a physical control to go to menu.
• I don't have to worry about the light coloured seats any more!!
• The wireless charging pad is more temperamental than the last one although I believe the power delivery has gone up.
• They could have included a cleaning cloth for the screen!!
• The gear selector throw is shorter.
• Too soon to tell on the fuel economy as the first tank is always rubbish on the readings.
• Not sure if there is a significant difference on the braking feel although I know they made changes to make it better.
• Looks great still!

Just thought I would pop a quick picture of the new ES (MY2023) which replaces... the previous ES (but MY2018)! This is now the 5th Lexus I have had...

It might also be one of the quickest after changing my original order on the 18th Nov, it went through build shipping and transport to get to the dealer in just over a month! Picked up this morning and drove the whole mile home so not sure on the extent of the improvement yet apart from the infotainment.. Will be putting about three hundred miles on it this weekend though so we shall see! 

The ECO mode will limit the throttle response so make it easier to get less revs but won't allow you to select the gear ratio. To be honest, I was surprised the snow mode selector was missing from the ES when it was included on the IS, and the RX as well I think. In the end, tyre selection is going to be more important that the driving mode - perhaps cars should come with mixed tyres as a no-cost option depending on where you live, assuming Lexus sell cars with summer tyres in all territories.

The original order was 7/9/22 and they processed the variation to it on Friday.

I had ordered a new ES to replace the old one as part of the Lexus, 'we want you to swap your car after 12 months' routine. Anyway, I had ordered metallic black (to keep it under the 40k) with the hazel brown interior and was given an ETA or March '23. After a change of mind, I have gone for a black interior instead and after initially being told that it would push it back to July '23, I received a notification the same day that my car has been built and it is heading to the docks - dealer is estimating the end of Jan now. Clearly the standard black/black has some spare capacity in their build slots!

Voice commands and the like sound cool and are fun for exactly 5 minutes before you realise they are unnecessary and often unreliable. I have used a BMW 5 series with voice and gesture control and, to be honest, it just isn't worth it. Telling your car, you are cold (5 times because it couldn't understand you on the motorway) rather than just adjusting the temperature, gets old pretty quick..

Although other makes such as Volvo offer this feature on their UK cars.

I would second the use of Dodo Juice Supernatural - use with a brush and it works wonders (keeps your steering wheel nice and matt as well). You probably don't need the sealant as well to be honest but you don't need to use it that much. Have used in the ES with the cream leather and the CT before that with the white leather...

I did 80 odd thousand miles in 3 years and the only real issue I had with it was a failed wheel speed sensor which meant I couldn't use the cruise control and it showed an error. Replaced under warranty..

17 hours ago, LenT said:

 But is it really a matter of, say, no ML then no Lexus?

Personally, given that the Pioneer system is, in my opinion, good enough, I would say that it isn't a big enough difference even though the ML system is noticeably better. You also get those lovely front door speakers and grills! You are quite right that a car isn't the best place to enjoy high fidelity audio though - even though as you start to move to the quieter cars it starts to make more of a difference.

Lexus have always put the ML behind some kind of 'need a higher level of trim model' wall anyway so the cost of entry has probably, for more people anyway, meant that it wasn't worth worrying about too much.

No, you might have had a chance to get a good ex-demo version maybe? Anyway, the standard system is still good enough, in my opinion although it took a while to come to appreciate it. I wouldn't be too worried about it but we all like different things when it comes to audio so it is difficult to be too general about it.

On 10/30/2021 at 11:10 AM, diarmaid said:

I’m thinking of changing from my 5 Series to a new ES300h in January. I have a couple of questions I’d really appreciate help with:

1. Is the Pioneer stereo any good? I’ve read about problems with no sound coming from the rear. 

Well audio is pretty subjective! The presentation is very very forward. It isn't a surround in the normal ML way for example. The rear speakers consist of one (or two, I haven't seen a breakdown for the speaker placement) in each rear door and the sub at the back of the car on the rear shelf. It does a decent job at giving audio a wide soundstage, I wouldn't call it 'surround' to be honest although it is a bit like listening to normal hifi speakers that sit in front of you but offer you a good soundstage. I have discovered that you don't need it to be half as loud as the MK system in the CT I had previously though it does sound significantly better at higher volumes (then doesn't everything?). The tone settings need messing around for me so I have the treble and mid dialled up with the bass somewhat behind to stop it getting too muddy. Overall though, my ears are beginning to like what they are hearing.

2. Is there adequate overtaking power?

Yes. If you have driven a Lexus with a hybrid drivetrain before, the feeling is the same. A bit of forward planning is needed to deal with the slight rubber banding but it is better than other 'normal' cars out there where you have turbo lag to deal with etc. I would add that this isn't a 'fast' car by any stretch but I have found it to be plenty fast enough.

3. How economical is it? I had a GS450h years ago which was good fun but not economical. Does it immediately go over to petrol as soon as you go above 10mph?

After about 3000 miles I am doing around 57mpg to give you an idea...

4. How is the multimedia system to use - usb and Spotify in particular? I assume you can split the screen and have a map and music info showing at the same time and that music artwork is displayed?

If you have a phone that supports CarPlay or Android Auto then just use that. It is a better solution that using Spotify over bluetooth or USB since you get the artwork, interface and you can have the maps in a smaller window etc.. If you use another method you will find your mileage will vary on how useful it is. For example, my old iPhone works fine on bluetooth and transmits the album cover etc over bluetooth, but not 100% of the time while my Pixel 4xl didn't even manage to pass on the track information without a battle in the CT. I haven't tried in the ES yet. If you are using the normal infotainment though, you can pick what display you want and where you want it, so it is quite flexible.

 

On top of that though, I have had a couple of hours in the ES with an ML system and it was fantastic. Amazing sound separation and proper surround (although ML surround still is more forward than some I have heard with the 'stage' very much at the dashboard. If there had been the option, I would have gone for that but I still feel the standard system is really good after some tweaking..

I have to say that I haven't noticed the ANC making much of a difference to the sound but I have heard other forum members saying they do...

Great car though - very different to the BMW (have driven a 520d and 530e) in just about every respect. The worst thing about the 530e was the Battery range was terrible, I managed 24 miles REALLY trying but normally it didn't make 20 and according to Lexus Link, I am doing nearly that on electric only on some trips. Ride and comfort is great although I have the 18 inch wheels which might contribute to that.

3 hours ago, SH20 said:

Back in Feb 2019 I traded my 2012 GS450h in against the ES and handed over the car then to achieve the £16,000 trade in fig rather than in August when the car finally arrived.  Same thing for me was to wait and use the wife's car when I needed it.

I agree Tony that new 12 inch touch screen will be a nice to have although the control pad became easy to master over time.   

The luxury fitments on the 2019 car that are not Premium Edition fitments are,  rear screen and rear door blinds, driver's seat extension, air cooled front seats, wood/leather steering wheel, wood trim and driver seat memory.  I think that was all so no real hardship.  Given I had a rear screen dash cam I never once pressed the rear screen blind as it would have hit the camera and never used the rear door blinds as no one ever travelled in the back. Never used the air cooled seats either.  If I'm honest the only thing I would want in the new ES is the auto seat positioning when you get in and out of the car, that was useful.    Had we not had a second car then I would have no option but to hand the car in next year but loose some money on the final value.    The 18 inch wheels on the 2019 model were a nicer design I think.  Keeping everything under the magic  £40K  saved that ridiculous extra £335 a year after the first year on top of the £170 which the new car will cost in road tax.  A Takumi ES  in the dealers showroom was very nice though and probably worth all the money or not.

In terms of spec, the Premium Edition is probably a good place to be. Sure it doesn't auto fold the mirrors which would be nice but it does move the steering wheel away (both height and reach if you go into the settings) so if you are taller, it is just as effective and doesn't bug the person behind you when the seat moves back without warning. The screen is very nice, especially when using Google/Apple Auto/Carplay and not being a fan of touchscreens in cars, I am quite happy with my version (although the new one comes with the touchpad anyway). 

The Takumi seats feel just like the leather equivalent in use to me and the cream seats I have seem much more resilient to staining than the leather I have had previously although that might be just because it is still new.

Just in terms of reference, I chopped in a CT one year into a two year PCP for the aforementioned ES over four years (although the way Lexus work, it will be unlikely to reach that as they try and get you to swap more often in my experience) for £1000 deposit and £14 more a month over the same mileage.. I thought that was a pretty good deal although I didn't have a choice of colour since the group only had two ES at the time and one was the F-Sport so out of budget.

You would think that the Lexus service bods would do a bit of investigation. There is a Battery cooling vent under the rear seat on the offside (from memory) so you could make sure that isn't blocked and there should be a fan as part of that system that they can test. I would expect a bit more than 'computer says no'...

Are we suggesting that the blind is linked to the ANC or that, you know, the blind does enough to physically restrict the noise. I have to say - it is a really quiet car. You really can have a quiet conversation without raising your voice... How much of that is down to the ANC though...

24 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

It is a standard feature on F Sport and Takumi only.

Not that I doubt you at all but the Lexus specification sheet, it is standard across the range.