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But then don't the ES and Camry and Avalon look very different too ? That was my point, if the cars are from the same umbrella group of companies doesn't necessarily mean they are the same. There are tangible differences between higher and lower priced cars and especially with Lexus one is not "just paying for the badge". I know from first hand experience as I have driven Toyota Avalon and Lexus GS in the US and here in the UK I have the ES... and a Camry it is definitely not. Cheers, --E

🙂 if one values value ... definitely. With Lexus, I would get both value and impeccable quality (I hope that is still the case* ) If I have the money for a proper luxobarge... I am putting that money towards an LS500h (there is one very recent low mileage specimen available at the budget price of £58,000 at Lexus Approved Used) And about that *, noticed recently that Lexus ES Premium Pack is now pretty much the same money as an Audi A6 optioned out to very similar spec. When last I was shopping that spec was £52k for A6 but £39k for ES. The Audi dealer worked some finance magic and the final order value was around £43k but I didn't take it because I didn't want another rattle box. --E

Exactly the point I was trying to make and now you have said it 🙂 The RR Ghost when it as launched was platform shared with 7-series and had a some non-trivial number of parts sharing. Even to this day as BMW (a German company) owns Rolls Royce (almost a British heritage institution if I am not exaggerating 🙂 ) and engines and software are shared between the two. So, even if Lexus ES shared parts and platform with Toyota Camry and currently with the Toyota Avalon... it is an over simplification to state that a Lexus ES is "just a Camry". The devil is in the details 🙂 HTH, --E

Not sure whether @b4u2 is simply pranking us ES300h owners just because he knows how much love it gets from the owners or whether he's just trolling us 🙂 However, here is an excellent article on why the current generation ES300h is not a Camry - https://lexusenthusiast.com/2018/06/06/the-2019-lexus-es-350-es-300h-a-technical-review/ Also, the current generation ES300h is closer to the (now discontinued) latest generation Avalon hybrid. Older ESes were closer to North American Camry of the seem peerage. And it seems the next major upgrade to ES will be closer to the North American Crown... unless the BEV concept materialises to be the next ES (if Toyota decide they want to continue to compete in the BEV market and figure out how to keep the wheels bolted to the cars) And I think the similarities would be minimal. I am sure the engine and hybrid drive train is the same in Avalon Hybrid and ES300h. But there are all sorts of differences. Avalon has a folding rear seat. ES doesn't due to the reinforcing cross brace behind the rear seat. Avalon might be available with a panoramic roof. ES hybrid cannot be configured with a panoramic roof as the roof has additional bracing to maintain the rigidity. The dampers are on Avalon and ES are different. ES structure uses laser welding an body adhesives whereas Avalon still uses spot welds. ES has miles more NVH mitigation than Avalon. Interior wise I think ES is much better... the driver's seat especially with the lumbar support and extending thigh support is not available on the Avalon. Kind of like how the 2.0TDI DCT drive train on Audi uses wet clutches whereas the same setup on a VW Passat uses dry clutches... and many more such examples. However it is hard to unsee the BMW parts bin radar sensor on a Rolls Royce. --E

Isn’t Rolls Royce just a glorified BMW 7 series ?

I can assure you even better is very much possible…

I was able to humble a BMW 520d on the test drive... although that wasn't exactly the only thing which made me decide in favour of ES300h. I haven't tried timing it myself and really not interested in such meaningless stats but I have a suspicion that Lexus claimed 0-62mph in 8.9s is the worst time the car could do... and it may be possible to make better time. Otherwise in town, that number only means that another car will get to the next red light quicker and on the motorway that number is of zero significance really. --E

What are the odds ! Returned to UK and took the car out yesterday and then there were two of us on the M25... --E

Have been in Canada for a week now and have noticed five already ! Two of the very latest ones (with dark non-F sport grilles) And a very close relative I am spending time with here have a lovely ES350 5th Generation. --C

If you are looking for inoffensive front grilles... probably Toyota/Lexus are not skilled in that area. OR first go take a look at some of the BMW products and then these front grilles might appear less bad. The outgoing Avalon had a big gaping front grille as well. I think for the ES probably some changes should be expected but... it might still end up being from the Predator family of grilles. I personally love the garden rake style grille on the 2020 ES. Haven't warmed up to the bone-L structure on the 2023 ES grille though. --E

Alex on Autos video summarising the intro of new Toyota Crown stateside. Interestingly, Crown will replace the Avalon (which shares platform with our beloved boat) However, my guess is that the next gen ES will be pretty much based on this platform. The nice thing though, 340hp AWD drivetrain may be coming to the ES (if not a full electric dual motor setup) in a few years. --E

Turns out now there are two different Nextbase Apps on Apple Store ! Got the right version and now 1) Was able to connect to the Dashcam. 2) Enable the Parking Mode as well. Now the question is, how do I actually test the Parking Mode ? I tried to rock the car but didn't see any sign of life on the front or rear dash cam. --E

I got the Dashcam fitted today at Lexus Reading. The video quality looks pretty good and both the front and back units are pretty discrete. The camera box contains four very condescending stickers with W A R N I N G in shouty text. Is it required by law to have them displayed ? Couple of minor niggles as well... 1) Cannot get the NextBase App to connect to the camera. I am trying with an iPad. During the demo of the installed camera I was indeed told that it may be an exercise in futility and the connection resets every time the ignition is turned off. 2) The rear camera obstructs the blind. I don't use the blind all that much tbh but still something to be mindful of. I tried it and the blind manages to slip over the camera but I am guessing with repetitive use of the blind, the camera will come loose. (I guess there must be a dealer accessible setting to restrict the full opening of that blind) But the main thing is I have the camera. The reason behind getting the camera was a few weeks back on the way to work, exiting M4 on to M32 where the traffic is generally glacial. I went into the right lane accelerating at usual pace getting up to 60 and a white van came up behind probably doing in excess of 90mph, got irate and flashed their lights. I didn't go any faster than the limit as I knew M32 turns into 40mph pretty soon but yielded the fast lane as soon as I went past other cars who were not driving fast because they knew what I knew as well. Well... this fiesty tradesman decided to teach me by trying to straddle both lanes now and to pretend to make contact. Must have been a half hearted attempt on their part as nothing really came of it 😄 Anyways... better to have evidence then getting into a "he said, she said" in case anything bad happens. --E

That’s odd. Maybe it is an iOS vs Android thing. Have you logged in to your Lexus Online account and checked there ? The same info is available there as well. If it is missing there too then probably best thing is to check with the dealer ? Maybe some setup step is missing. HTH —E

IS 300h Engine Code : 2AR-FXE ES 300h Engine Code : A25A-FXS The engines in IS and ES are surely different but both are Atkinson Cycle and the FXS engine is newer and evidently appears to be better optimised towards fuel economy. A car this size and weight should show much worse fuel consumption on Petrol but it doesn't. The IS is a RWD platform so that may be a reason as well ? I have been doing regular 200 mile round trips and somehow not been able to beat the Lexus quoted figures by much (although I did post that screenshot of 100mpg as well) As mentioned by other members, it is possible to achieve better figures over longer miles. In summers, a trip to the beach on a lovely day is surely 60+ mpg as that invariably involves some heavy traffic which means using break regen and spending higher percentage in EV mode. A regular early morning smooth flow 100 mile one side trip borders 55mpg overall as there is less breaking, less break regen. I break that trip into two parts where the first 80 miles are mostly motorway. That trip in the Lexus App shows about 53mpg. That 53mpg is likely the true mpg of that Atkinson Cycle petrol engine I think as the part of getting from driveway to motorway doesn't see much EV action (cold engine, cold cabin, battery state etc) The next 20 miles after a break at the services is mostly town and a lot of stop and go. That part of the trip in the Lexus App invariably reads 60+ mpg. All said and done, in the one year of ownership from January 2021 till January 2022, the Lexus App showed 48.5mpg over approximately 7500 miles. I guess when I check in January 2023, the readout should be better as during this year there are more miles done over longer trips. Food for thought... I had a 2016 Mazda6 2.0l Petrol Manual 165PS from brand new for a short period and that engine had the super-capacitor based iE-loop system. On that car, I could manage close to 49mpg with three adults and two kids on a longish trip... what gives 😕 ? Especially in UK, Mazda is the best kept secret ever. They make some fine cars. (The only Japanese brand to have won a LeMan only to have their rotary engine banned for LeMan by the powers that be 😞 ) --E

When the app opens, you would see the screen with map which has that Hard Breaking and Acceleration icons. Below that Map you should see something like this... Here, tap on the part of the view which shows EV NON-EV. This will load the details of that trip, a map will load again with the same details as earlier but you should also see the following near the bottom of the map. Again, this looks very similar to the previous screen but note that faint grey line below EV NON-EV as highlighted by the red rectangle. You need to tap and drag that faint grey line upwards. That should reveal all the details. I am on iPhone with iOS 15.5. --E

Ehm... 😐 That specific 3.1 mi to Sainsbury's regularly shows 80+ mpg (EDIT: in warm months only) and this one was exceptional !

That is a brilliant idea ! Thanks --E

Is it possible to do this without having to remove the card from the camera ? --E

So, I contacted three dealerships and Lexus Reading have quoted £375 fitted for both front and rear mounted units. Sounds about right based on what else is available (some of them are about £900 excluding fitting !!!) --E

That's terrible workmanship, but at least they are decent enough to admit their fault. I hope they are able to sort it out for you. I remember Lexus used to have a Nextbase Dashcam available on the configurator when I bought my ES (ordered 2020, delivered 2021) . I went looking for the same one again as IIRC that cam unit appeared to be matched to the shape of ES windscreen. (I believe @Mincey had that unit fitted) Somehow that unit is no longer available on the website. I have reached out to a couple of dealerships in the vicinity and see what comes up. I would prefer a dealership to fit a dash cam and also confirm that warranty is not affected before fitting. --E

Gentlemen, I am also now considering getting a dash cam. I think I will probably get it done at a dealership. The closest ones to me are Twickenham, Reading and Ealing. Anyone used them before for dash cam install ? Any recommendations ? Thanks, --E

That's kinda OK too... because Black is any day my preferred colour. Now (if I buy a new ES at all any time soon) I can have a body coloured logo instead of logo coloured body 🙂 --E

Great choice of colour. If I were to buy again, it will be Deep Blue and one of the beige/sand interior. The reason for favouring Deep Blue is that it matches up with the blue Lexus logo on the grille 🙂 and makes it look very consistent. Are there any drive train upgrades coming for 2023 ? I was expecting a more powerful hybrid engine by 2023. --E

Thanks for all the inputs folks. Had to get a new tyre as many of you suspected it would not be possible to get it repaired. Luckily found the exact same brand/spec as the current set (Dunlop Sport Maxx) at a local outfit. Regards, --E