e-yes

A few more observations/thoughts... I think there is another discussion thread on this, but it would be good to see the parking sensor readout in the central screen. The Eco mode... is panic inducing to an extent. The only time I used it and felt comfortable is when on DRCC and knew there won’t be a need for rapid change in speed. If in Eco mode then moving off from rest is frustrating. I had my mind blown when I had this petrol land yacht show me 66mpg, in traffic... !!!???? The best I saw was on my previous 2.0 Diesel Audi A6 was 65mpg on a very deliberate motorway run. However, I think on the motorway the hybrid will settle at about 50mpg. Hybrid drive train is optimal in stop-and-go type traffic. Which is OK for me.. as that’s almost 90% of my use case.

hi Andrew, I don't think it's possible to have the front parking sensors appear on the centre display. And it is a bit annoying tbh, now that I have experienced this more than a couple of times. The way my seat and steering are set, there are times I cannot see the parking sensor display for front. --E

Hi G, Only the front indicators are sequential with the Base + Premium Pack (and I think it is the same for even Takumi) As Colin said, the rear turn indicators are not long enough to have any meaningful sequential animation. Cheers, --E

The car in the picture appears to be the Base model as it doesn't have triple beam LEDs and it has 17" wheels. For the U.K. Spec, the next step-up is Premium Edition which is available for MY21. If the car you are looking at is older than that then the next step up is Premium Pack which gives you extras such as Memory Seats, 18" wheels, real leather, sun blinds (manual on rear side and electrical on rear), adaptive triple beam LED lights, heated and ventilated seats, rear cross traffic alert and blind spot monitors which are most notable. Almost forgot, the Premium Pack will get you configurable thigh cushion support and 4-way lumbar as well for the driver's seat. I think the choice will really be if more than one people will regularly use the car or not. If yes then Memory Seats are IMHO very important, if not then the base model comes with enough kit already. Not sure if Car Play was standard on 2019 base model, you can check by pluging in your phone. The other upgrade route is F Sport but as I was not interested in F Sport personally I never explored it in detail. Hope that helps... Cheers, --E

hi Ian, When I took the test drive for a few hours, I didn't notice any issue with breaks. They were just as I would have them on a non hybrid. I don't quite remember but the milage on the test car was just over 3000 miles. I have not even done 1000 miles yet so I am guessing/hoping that a few months down the line the breaks will start behaving like on a non hybrid. Cheers, --E

It is possible to change the intensity, it is linked to the brightness of the rest of the lighting in the cabin. It's not a very noticeable change between the brightest and dimmest. However, I personally like it the way it is. Everyone is different, but I find the E Class ambient lighting to be a bit to "restaurant" like. I got tired of it during the second test drive I requested in the later half of the day. Audi A6 lighting looks good (£2295 pack needed mind you), and I couldn't experience it in real life hence took to YouTube to see what it could look like. But the issue is that A6 interior is so spartan that anything will look good when lit up in that car. (I guess that's why the owners experience frequent Christmas lighting on the dashboard... just to keep the owners entertained and distract them from the boredom) Cheers, --E

Thanks John, yes I have seen that 🙂 I'd be over the moon if I get 50mpg consistently 🤩 Cheers, --E

hi John, This is my first time buying Lexus. I had been interested in Lexus previously, but ended up getting an Audi in 2018 as they offered a very good deal (effectively took the VAT off the RRP an A6 S-Line Diesel). I have to say it didn't age well. Also, in 2018 ES was not available immediately here in UK. On the A6, the door cards had developed a rattle in just about a month which the dealership could not locate and fix. The ride was a bit meh. Steering feel was anaesthetic and became wooly after I switched to all season tyres. Fuel economy was OK. I managed almost 64mpg in one instance on the motorway. All it did well was going fast in a straight line on the motorway. The worst part, the right hand drive version of the A6 has a very weird seating position and the seats in the S-Line are hard. I never was able to find a seating position which didn't give me a back ache or left lower leg aches. On the other hand, I have relatives in US who have had their Lexus GS for over ten years and almost 100k miles. I drove that car and that car felt nearly showroom fresh. No rattles, squeaks or other mechanical oddness. There was other wear and tear but on a blindfold, I couldn't have guessed the car was that old. That car was recently replaced with a newer GS. I don't think the same can be said about the Germans based on my personal experience. I am not surprised that your CT feels like new. That's the core value of Lexus. Cheers, --E

hi Vlad, I haven't reset the computer since delivery and have yet to do a full-to-full comparison. Having said that, the current consumption over approx 350 miles is just over 40mpg. The best I have seen recorded in Lexus Link is over 50mpg. Have been on the motorway maybe three or four times so far and I do notice the EV light coming on even on the motorway for short periods of time. Last evening on return from the grocery run, it was running on EV for about 46% of the time and 44% of the distance. I will try a full-to-full next time I refuel. I will be a happy bunny if this land yacht can show anything over 45mpg on petrol ! Cheers, --E

Here's my thoughts on the ES300h after almost a month of ownership. Two words sum it all up for me. It's special. And in case it helps someone who is shopping around, here's some pointers under different headings about the Lexus and other brands. I considered Audi A6, Merc E-Class... the usual suspects. Dodged that bullet - The Audi A6 I didn't end up buying. (Check audi-sport.net for reports of issues on the new A6s). Objectively speaking, NO ONE SHOULD EVEN GO NEAR THE A6. Not in the current generation. I paid the deposit as well but pulled out in time ! Audi offered a damn good deal tbh but I could not muster the courage to buy in to all the issues that were repeatedly reported. The E Class came pretty close too. But in the end the ES won me over. It is excellent value, lovely to drive and a beautiful looking car. - Topaz Brown interior: I was very keen on getting this but I saw one in real life and I think that interior colour combination will work in California but will be too drab here in U.K. due to the dark headliner. (This is subjective) - Takumi Spec : Too expensive for the drivetrain on offer. I wouldn't mind paying Takumi spec money for the V6 or at least the 250HP AWD Hybrid drivetrain (now available in UK in Toyota Highlander) Regrets - Not getting the Sandstone interior. The light interior does make it feel spacious. Now that I have the black on black I feel claustrophobic when I compare that to the spaciousness I felt in the test drive car which had Sandstone interior (but I guess it's less upkeep/maintenance) What could Lexus do better - Make the boot lid electric opening and closing. (Don't really care for the kick sensor, but give me a switch on the inside and the key to open/close the boot lid) - The semi-autonomous steering could be better. I find that it corrects the steering too many times at certain points. I have turned that off for now and only relying on lane departure steering correction. And the erratic (for me) behaviour is repeatable at exactly the same points on the same road. I think I should give Lexus the GPS coordinates of the locations and rest of the data Lexus can extract from my car's blackbox and see if they can fix it. - Too many lights and too many colours in the central display. The LCD display itself is very good. But lights around it are a bit "Christmassy" - Breaks. I didn't notice this on the test drive. But I have to be very deliberate with breaking or else it results very little breaking for the first 70% of break pedal travel and then a full on emergency breaking beyond that. The dealership has adjusted tyre pressures (I noted 2.9psi hot) and I am getting used to it. I guess it may be the pads bedding in. Thought I would regret but don't - The small screen. Not bad at all. It is a very good screen and has almost no glare and reflections. Get's very bright when needed and manages to remain vibrant enough and not appear washed out. - The standard audio system. IIRC is about 300W and 8-channel. I listen to MP3 mostly and for music I don't even bother pluging in for CarPlay. For me, it is totally perfectly OK. (Having tried various brands, I think it all boils down to having a balanced centre channel and a dedicated sub and a channel for the sub and the ES has it). Quite a lot of it will depend on the the MP3 compression but for MP3s I get from iTunes (actually AAC) I am happy. Pleasant Surprise - The ambient lighting in Premium Pack is pretty chill. It doesn't allow all the customizations the A6 would have but I have read that multi coloured lighting gets old pretty quickly. However for the sedate/soothing nature of the ES, the door card and footwell lighting is just ... soothing. - Drivetrain. Now, I did test drive for a few hours but I think something has changed for MY2021. The theoretical system torque is about 300Nm (221Nm just for the ICE) but my car doesn't feel all that weak when I compared to the 400Nm I remember from my previous diesel car. The test car felt more than adequate, but my car feels punchier than I remember the test car (or the engine is too "fresh" and not switching to Port Injectors yet) - The Howl. No, not the CVT howl. The electric howl under 20mph. I honestly don't remember that from the test drive and maybe it's a MY21 addition but I just love that sound. (Checkout savagegeese review of the ES300h on YouTube, the opening sound before the piano kicks in). It's out of this world. What the press got wrong. - CVT howl. Carwow, Carbuyer, WhatCar and Driving Electric all mention this. Total non-sense. Not in anyway as bad or annoying as the press report it. My friend's Range Rover Sport SDV6 makes a worse sound when pulling through in high gear. I remember my 318i to be much louder on kick down. Also, I test drove a Volvo V90 Petrol, that car makes a racket on kick down. Compared to my previous A6 diesel, I would say the ES is not any louder or "droney" than that. On the A6 in Economy mode, I could hear the very annoying valve chatter at low speeds on a quiet road. No quibbles what so ever on the ES. It's all good. - Lumpen drive. I don't understand the press' fascination with sporty/stiff suspension, disconnected steering, large wheels on a high-torque-at-low-rpm packages. It's great that Lexus made the ES the way it is. Works well on the emabarassment we have for roads here. The ES is such a departure from the staple and thankfully so. It's not a lumpen drive on the ES. It's comfortable, predictable, quiet, relaxing and safe. - The touch pad. It's not as annoying as the press make it sound. And many other brands are actually switching to touch pads. Mercedes and Acura(I don't we'll ever see one here in the U.K.) come to mind. Audi Haptic Touch MMI is a worse interface in my mind as it takes more attention and less likely to benefit from muscle memory.

Use the d-pad left/right to reach the Settings page (Cog/Gear icon) Then use the d-pad up/down to scroll down till you get to the RSA section. It's in there. (User manual Page 329 and then follow on to Page 570) Cheers, --E

Just an update. I was playing around with the settings and noticed this... It is possible to (in theory) get rid of the loud beep. I haven't yet driven the car with those settings but I think that should get rid of the beep. Also, I switched to the brown/copper theme from the default blue and have to say, it suits the overall look and feel of the car as I have black interior and grey Shimamoku.

I took delivery of my ES last week. As with the lockdown and what not, I have only driven it locally. I have this feature enabled, I don't mind the beep really, however as The Doctor mentioned in his description, I am noticing the car declaring a 30mph zone as 20mph one, i.e. not totally accurate. However, it is rather convenient tbh (if one can tolerate the bleeping beep) Cheers, --E

hi Bernard, Did you also get the paint protection applied to your ES ? --E

This is just unbelievable ! Very similar issues reported for Audi A6 (except for the water ingress issue). My opinion about VAG after having bought two brand new cars from them (one of which I got rid of in three months) is that along with the dealer network the VAG group is basically just a big finance company. It's just a coincidence that the physical asset that counterparts the backing finance paper happens to be a car. VAG and VFWS are fundamentally more interested in producing more and more finance agreements as that's what multiplies the monies in the end. It's sad that Audi brand are a part of this as I have a soft corner for the Audi Sport and Audi urQuattro for their dominance and innovations in rally sport in the past. I read previously that Audi are planning to revive the Horch brand as an ultra luxury branch of the main brand but things are going out of hands for Audi it seems. I hope Audi are able to come out of this VAG alliance and course correct. Same as Mazda did by severing their ties with Ford, and Mazda came out much better after that. That Mazda6 is such a cracker of a car for what it is.

Thanks Doctor, that is really helpful information. Cheers, --E

hi Zotto, It is very much possible and I know for sure that Audi semi-autonomous system will increase and decrease the speed using it's camera based speed limit recognition. And also will slow the car down when entering a bend/turn based on the sat-nav data. It will also produce a vibration on the accelerator pedal to suggest to the driver they may not be driving economically. However Audi has other issues which you will see if you visit Audi owners forum for A6 8th generation. I know as I was about to order an A6 but that car in the latest generation is beset with such issues which should never be faced by an owner at the price point that car is being offered. I currently have the 7th gen A6 and I could not believe that a newer iteration of the car is suffering from so many issues. Anyways, let's not digress... Cheers, --E

hi Ian, Yes you got the question perfectly 👍 And it is in the context where the camera picks the speed limit and shows an alert. The sat-nav linked speed limits are available in LSS A+ (which in UK is only available on LS I believe) in that the car will basically reduce/increase the speed on it's own without needing driver inputs. The standard LSS in ES (which I personally think is better implementation i.e. keep the driver involved when any driving parameters change) has this RSA linkage where a speed limit change is displayed to the driver and the driver can "allegedly" pass on that information to DRCC by long press. I was not able to test that feature. Hence the question as to how well it actually responds. And it is more relevant when speed limit goes down i.e. from 60 to 40 and the driver is indeed able to long press the "-" button, how "well behaved" the speed reduction is. Cheers, --E

hi Alaw and Luigi, Thanks for your responses. Have you also tried the operation detailed in the owners' manual screenshot I posted ? When RSA detects a speed limit and DRCC is turned on, it is possible to directly feed the new speed limit to DRCC. I wasn't able to test this feature on my test drive but would like to know from users who have been using this feature how is the response. Cheers, --E

Hi, During the test drive I was not able to successfully test DRCC with Road Sign Assist feature. As per the manual Has anyone tried this in their ES (or other LSS+ 2.0 equipped car) ? Is it responsive enough to be useful or break/accelerate to desired speed and -SET is a better reaction ? Thanks, --E

That's awesome. Thank you Sir. I am expecting to take the delivery in January next year. Opted for ES + Premium Pack with Black exterior and interior. Will be posting pics soon 🙂

My ES is at sea currently thus making do with the owners’ manual. Page 422 onwards has the instructions on how to turn it on.

Are you keeping the car stationary while waiting for the windscreen to clear up ? I think this has something to do with emissions regulations. As long as the car remains stationary the heating core (which makes the air being blown towards the windscreen or the cabin for that matter) doesn't get much heat. Once the car starts moving though it all starts working. On my current car (not a Lexus) the only thing which becomes visibly operational is the rear screen defroster. Windscreen clearing, door mirrors heating kicks in when I start moving. Windscreen clearing kicks in quite aggressively once the car is moving (and it also disabled engine auto start/stop). It doesn't take much long (or doesn't seem long enough to be dangerous) once the car is moving. But if I stay stationary it takes perceivably much longer for the windscreen to clear up. Also, not sure how your ES is spec'ed up but Premium Edition onwards have windscreen de-icer as mentioned in one of the posts above. Maybe try using that ?

Hi, Just joined the forum because I am considering the ES300h. The lovely dealers allowed an extended test drive and the ES is a revelation on how well a car can be made. (Previously owned an E91 BMW 3 Series, Audi A6 C7). I have a good understanding of why most all ES owners here love their cars :-) I have a question regarding the configurator on Lexus UK website. When I select ES300h and add the Premium Pack I notice that the graphic for the interior displays some kind of LED light strip on the dashboard and door panels. I checked the manual and that also lists "ornamental lighting" for dashboard and doors. Has anyone recently taken delivery of a MY21 ES + Premium pack ? Can they, if possible, please confirm that is indeed the case ? Cheers, --