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Will they say the same for the electric Porsches or Audis ? This madness about Toyota/Lexus hybrid "CVT gearbox" is getting hilarious every time it is repeated. The stepped ratios of conventional gears are actually a limitation not an advantage. The eCVT of the hybrid actually gets the advantage of a CVT without the belt/vane of a traditional CVT. --E

Not sure how you deduced that. Comparing with the cars which had similar quoted output numbers, it does translate into accelerations which are not far off from each other. Well... within about 1.5s of each other, Lexus quote the slowest 0-62 but we already know that. (Although, one reviewer has clocked 0-60mph of 7.4s FWIW). When I compared the driving experience I remember from the 2.0 TDI A6 (190ps/400Nm), it is not all that different and comes with less drama (aka Turbo Lag) when there is a need for setting off rapidly. Also, kick downs while moving are much pleasant no less powerful than the A6. I prefer the way ES delivers (ie without valve rattle) if you want to blast thought scenic road, there would be no more electric assistance left after few miles when tiny battery would get depleted Again, that is incorrect. That is not how it works. How do you blast through on scenic road ? Flat out, never easing off the throttle, power sliding into curves, never breaking, never carrying the momentum ? On the hybrid system Battery gets charged when I ease off the throttle. Battery gets charged when I use the breaks. I think you are just carrying this argument for the sake of argument and is getting pointless to engage anymore ! The point (at least for me) was that reviewers in U.K. exaggerate to a dramatic extent the negatives of the ES where as very similar negatives on the German brands are presented in a different light.

Yes but that's exactly where the problem is. That is not what was said or concluded. It ended on a rather sarcastic note. Let's just try this. How about pointing out the glaring mistakes in that review and using those to make a sarcastic conclusion about that review itself ? Will that work ? Which Clarkson describes as a “Prius in a businessman suit”. Toyota Prius is not even on the same platform (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_New_Global_Architecture#GA-K) A perfect car for a time in which speed, handling and performance seem to be quite out of fashion. Based on what is being argued speed, handling and performance are indeed very much in fashion. Why was such broad sweeping statement used ? It is derogatory and people will get protective of their purchase decision. Powering the hybrid ES is a 2.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder petrol engine mated to an electric motor What a load of horse dung that above statement was ? NA Engine, TWO Electric motors. Torque-Limited Coupling eCVT is what that setup actually is and not what the reviewer "informed" the audience to be. It’s an engine designed to be efficient, not powerful, and that … is seemingly what the world wants. Especially if it’s allied to an electric motor to create a ‘hybrid’. In what universe is 215ps and 300+ Nm of Torque not powerful ? Reviewers sing praises of the VAG Group 2l Diesel which puts out 190ps and 400Nm of Torque ? The ES300h is a Petrol engine, capable of hauling along a near 2 tonne land yacht and still manage 50mpg easily.. on PETROL ! You put your foot down and there’s nothing more than a faint buzz as the car starts to pick up speed. And some time later you’ll notice, if you’re paying attention, that the speedometer readout has changed. You were doing 50 and now you’re doing 51. Note the sarcasm and the inaccuracy in that statement ? That nowhere near is close to how my ES behaves. Was he driving the same car OR Lexus provided him with a deliberately crippled engine ? So based on all of the above, I will forego any objective conclusions to be made from that "review" and will actually feel offended because all that is a careless, sarcastic, subjective opinion piece. That's what is causing all the defensive behaviour from the ES owners. Had the review intended to be objective, I am sure people who chose a car such as the ES would welcome that review. What do think 🙂 ? --E

Fraction of a standard deviation below average. And that is the issue I have U.K. reviewers of ES. They make the "bad" sound worse than it is on the ES but make the "good" sound better than it is on the Germans. That is unfair. Given the choice (comparing all parameters) to daily drive a BMW, Mazda 6 or ES, I will prefer to be in the ES.

FWIW -- Skip to 13:05. I am not a race car driver however I know how a BMW drives (had one), how a Mazda 6 and MX-5 drive, how an A6 (C7 gen) drives. Have taken a Mustang (and a Toyota Sienna) down (and back up) the Pacific Coastal and have also driven the Hwy 33 (although in a Jetta 😞 ) and then a Ford Fusion (Mondeo) along the Silverado Trail (If all that experience means anything at all 🙂 ) Anything else I did was in the low speed limits back country roads or highways between Page and Sedona in Arizona in an SUV so I will rule that out. I don't think ES is a below average handling car. Try pushing it. I was pleasantly surprised. The variable velocity valve damper setup even in the base ES works surprisingly well (I think Honda have something very similar as well). I am pretty sure the C7 A6 I had will give up the grip (if breaks are not applied in time) where ES will manage to keep everything under control. ES body is to me definitely tighter (in terms of handling/body roll) than the A6 I had. A6 had stiffer/number suspension (S-Line) and steering. Again, not a race driver but I think it's better to have softer damping and tight body rather than wonky body + stiff suspension. The ES has soft suspension (but the variable velocity valve setup helps as it reacts to sudden planar changes and stiffens up and this is even on the base ES, you don't need the F-Sport setup for that) but very tight body and that's what makes it very pleasant and confident to drive. (As in, my experience matches what Ryan is saying above in that video) However, the Mazda 6 was a sweeter ride. Hard to imagine they have been able to tune the ride and chases the way it is at that price point on a FWD car. BMW I had was better, but not by a lot and for a while I was on RFTs , so.... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ A BMW (standard shock/damper arrangement) will be maybe somewhat better (ie less understeer) but ... to each his own 🙂 Just my $0.02 Cheers, --E

To be fair I do agree that this specific review was neutral and balanced. Thanks for pointing it out. However, if you can find the original Top Gear Lexus LFA review and how Richard Hammond ended that review... LFA is an extreme example so... let us focus on the current generation ES ? How many popular YouTube reviewers from U.K. (can get into naming names but lets leave that out) have given a fair review to the ES ? Most reviewers compare it against 5-series, A6, E-Class segment. While it really has no matching segment. It is one price class below those... size wise it is big and roomy (if not roomier) as all those. The complaint against CVT making the noise it makes is just blown way beyond proportion in one of the reviews.. and I am not saying this with any cognitive bias of being an ES owner and thus blinded against hearing anything negative about it. It has been said in the reviews that the ride is "lumpen". Is it really ? After putting 37k miles on BMW 3 series I had at one point.. that ride quality degradation is what I would call lumpen. We could go into more details but... On the A6 particularly, for the current generation, just see how many negative reviews are available (I would guess ZERO). And then go and check on owners' forums the kind of issues owners are facing with brand new A6s. I am focussing on A6 as due to some foolishness I ended up paying deposit on yet another A6 even though I wasn't happy with the A6 I had originally, but pulled out in time after I noticed what was going on and then experienced the same on the test drive as well. It's all in the presentation and media/press has the ability to mould opinions in peoples' minds. That is unfair if some brands are constantly being put in good light and others aren't even if those are no worse or even better. I fell for it once but being careful for the next times. (Oh and BTW.. I am getting some pop-corn ready 🙂 ) Cheers, --E

Not sure why the U.K. motoring press don't like Lexus ? (But have great love for the German brands) In North America (and I think including Canada) people and press love Lexus. One of the reviewers even went as far as to say that the ES is the best product Lexus have produced in the last few years because it delivers beyond it's asking price. I have close relatives in US who had a GS for ten years which they sold and bought another GS a couple years ago. (There also happens to be a Toyota Tacoma which is clocking 300k+ miles, it is so old that it actually has a Carburettor ! ... but that is another story) One thing is for sure that in US people use their cars a lot more than we do here. They cover a lot of miles on a daily basis and I think that makes a difference. That is exactly the kind of use case where Lexus will shine and make people happy. My personal experience was that on a rental Toyota Seinna I put about 500 miles in the span of two days. Didn't notice any drama. Then due to rental changes, I got a Dodge Journey. That also had a 3.5l V6 on it. On that I drove from the west coast to Page, Arizona (about 500 miles) in a day. I am pretty sure I started to notice a distinct whine from the the transmission ! I did complete the trip back to west coast in total racking up about 1800 miles on that Dodge but all the time I was worried that it might break down as it had definitely started to feel "rough". I asked the rental company to change the car but in rental locations in Arizona didn't have a seven seater available ! Got back and got into the Sienna and put another 500 miles on it and that car didn't skip a beat. Over here, the Audi A6 I had developed a dash rattle in about two weeks of ownership 😕 Audi tried to fix it under warranty by stuffing some felt tape between some vent gaps but that didn't fix it. The same experience with a brand new VW Golf as well previously. So much for German engineering ! I don't have the time to deal with warranty claims for issue which should not be there to begin with (certainly not on a Audi A6 and that sort of price segment) but I also don't want to be constantly reminded of being fooled into buying something I was told is of top notch quality but really isn't. My ES so far in one year of ownership has no rattles. I do notice a couple of "squeaks" or crunches and I know exactly where they are from and I know they are temperature related and they settle down. Which is fine. And does it matter that it is 8.9s to 62mph ? In real life driving, not at all. I do care that in heavy "lovely day" summer motorway traffic it returns 60mpg. Pretty sure the other cars which do 0-62mph in 5s are still lined up next to me burning fuel but not making any more progress than me in my ES 🙂 Last year in September there was a mentally disabled person who started attacking cars on a red light. My wife was driving our ES and she was in the front of the queue to take his attack. The guy kicked really hard at the side windows and the body several times but nothing broke and nothing came bent. He then went on to attack cars behind ours and managed to smash the glasses on two of them and then wreaked havoc on another car by climbing on top of it. Based on my experiences and anecdotal evidence, I am not even dreaming of looking into another brand ... ever ! Motoring journalists can continue to pander to the German manufacturers as much as they want. It is their livelihood after all and bills need get paid. --E

Outright explicit ?

There is a structural brace behind the rear bench, and also for the hybrid there is additional reinforcement in the roof hence ES hybrid cannot be equipped with panoramic glass roof. But yes, all of that I think is to counter the effect of additional weight/stress at that location. Even if the seats were folded, the brace would come in the way. --E

That and fit the Toyota Highlander (or Sienna) AWD hybrid drive train. I would be interested in that for sure.

Mine is ES + Premium Pack (which adds some "Ornamental" lighting) I find the courtesy lights sufficient. Not particularly bright but just ample. Comparing with the A6 I had, I don't find much difference. The A6 had dark headliner and privacy glass. If anything, my ES has very good footwell lighting front and back and light headliner so that helps as well. The BMW I had I remember it was brighter but that might have been down to the light coloured interior and headlining, and no privacy glass. The F Sport model doesn't add any additional "Ornamental" lights even if Takumi Pack is added and it has dark headliner. Couple that with the privacy glass and you have the experience you are having. If I optioned out F-Sport in the future I would err on the side of light coloured interior otherwise with all the grey weather we have... I will need a lot of coffee to feel brighter 🙂 --E

It is quite interesting looking at how Lexus designs have evolved keeping in mind that the premise behind Lexus was to take on Mercedes. The very first LS models do have a stark resemblance to Mercedes S class of the same era. That's what Lexus was targeting at that time. However the latest designs are such a departure from Mercedes and in fact anything else out there. One cannot mistake the current LS for a current S Class. It is a thing on its own. No one will mistake an LS500 for an S-Class today. Not sure where the Germans are going with their designs really. I can only think of Porsche as good looking cars. Both BMW and Audi are producing horrible looking cars. For nightmares, try the BMW XM ! And personally I think Genesis and Jaguar are producing cars which I personally attribute the words attractive and beautiful with very easily. The new G70 is just plain beautiful. So are the XE and also XF, although there is slight bit of wonkiness in the XF but overall it is beautiful. Lexus designs are very complex, maybe even polarising. But the current gen ES is indeed complex and beautiful. I mean, how many cars out there have floating creases over large surface areas but also manage to look good. I find the huge garden-rake style grille on the ES to be very elegant (although a bit in-your-face when I first saw it) but much better executed than what Audi did with the C8 A6 (went from handsome in C7 to botoxed-pouty in C8 !) --E

One of the somewhat more sensible/detailed reviewers on YouTube. Although, Camry Inside ? I find it a bit weird that several reviewers don't acknowledge the existence of Toyota Avalon 🙂 Also, Toyota are not selling new Camry in the UK anymore 😞

I would recommend to keep this turned on and get used to this. For me, this felt annoying in the beginning but once I got used to it I drive with the assurance that the car will prevent me from possibly taking a wrong decision. False negatives are harmless really. I can still force the car to do what I think is right but I'd rather have that "safety net" in place at all times. --E

This is indeed different on 2022 models then. Mine is 2020 built and it works as per the 2020 manual. However I have not noticed the bouncing between lanes even at 70mph. It remains dead centre of the lane.And that is the issue really (for me) 🙂 . I tend to drive closer to the right edge of the lane but the car wants me to remain in the centre. Also, the way I have setup my seat, I end up driving with hands in the 3-9 or 4-8 position due to which the car thinks I am not holding the wheel ! But if I just for the sake of very short testing turn that feature on, let the steering wheel go it is able to negotiate motorway curves at motorway speeds. --E

Try doing it without the long press ? --E

That is from the manual I have. It is very much possible that it is an update to the newer model as these regulations keep changing. I will test it out to confirm though as soon as I can. --E

I will have to confirm that as I have never turned off LKA so far. (LCA was turned off after the novelty worn out) But IIRC it should revert to the last setting. There is a button on the steering which you can use to toggle it. --E

Hi Neil, Have you been able to get around the nag where the car beeps at you and wants to hold the steering every 20 seconds or so ? How needy ! The Lane Keeping Assist is fine, it makes a serious attempt to throw me back into my lane if I cross the lane without indicating, or even if I am indicating and car is approaching fast enough from behind. But the Lane Centring is a bit too parametric. It would be totally fine if I don't have to keep my hands on the wheel and the car does it's thing. It won't do the wrong thing as it is designed to find the lane markings and keep the car dead centre, but that's not how I am used to driving. The continuous disagreement with the steering wheel is a bit frustrating. But yes, it is quite capable of driving on its own as long as the lane markings are resolved by the camera, or on a small road the edges of the road itself are resolved by the camera and failing both if at least there is a car it can follow (and assuming the driver of the car in the front is driving sensibly) --E

Wow those are very nice gifts indeed. Making a bit jealous TBH 🙂 I didn’t get any Although I did get a set of winter floor mats (front only) courtesy of the dealership… so there’s that 🙂 Cheers, —E

On my ES (weather permitting) I have seen sustained readouts between 80 and 100 mpg. Here is an example.

Now look… big cars are cars too. Just accept them for what they are.

So, conservatively there are at least 8 washes per bottle. And lets say the microfibre on the towels are good for four washes. Still much better than Option 1 and the guilt that comes with it (I mean… the paintwork is getting damaged 😕 ) I think I will give this a try myself and see how I get on. Thanks for posting the details (with greatest penmanship I must say 🙂 ) Cheers, —E

That is brilliant. I tried washing my car myself once and … gave up. Didn’t realise products like these exist. At the expense of being value conscious (aka cheap) I will ask… how much of the fluid was used for this one single “sponge bath” ? Cheers, —E

It is a special Nurburgring license plate ! Only allowed to cars which do the most fuel efficient lap of the `Ring.