Lexus ES 300h review: hybrid sedan that exceeds expectations

Buckle up. What follows is a rave review of a slow, beige, hybrid sedan.

Lexus ES 300H.

At the outset of what will be a rave review of a slow, beige, hybrid sedan, I feel the need to lay out my car-guy bona fides. Naturally I enjoy being strapped into a hypercar like the McLaren Senna atop a blooming pillar of testosterone. I believe the greatest TV show in history is Alain de Cadenet’s Victory by Design. The three classics I would choose to be marooned with on a desert island are the Citroën DS21 Decapotable, Facel Vega HK500, and Porsche 959 Komfort.

But I contain multitudes. I also admire excellence in fuel-efficient, mass-produced large appliances such as our test subject, the redesigned-for-2019 ES 300h from Toyota’s luxury division, Lexus. This is the most overachieving car I’ve driven lately, the most surprising, the one whose refinement and value for money will give snobby Mercedes and Audi intenders the longest pause. The fourth-gen hybrid system is silky, near-silent and super-efficient. Even the beige – Moonbeam metallic – is fabulous.

About 10 per cent of my mail is from readers seeking a car like the ES: a premium sedan with extra spacious cabin, great seats, smooth ride, good fuel economy and plenty o’ buttons. Lately these letters have been tinged with frustration as sedans have become marginalised by crossover/SUV sales. These people don’t want an SUV, damn it. Other notes are from long-time ES owners who would be interested in something a little less stolid.

It seems Lexus designers have been talking to the same people. The seventh-generation ES is longer, wider and lower than the outgoing model, over a wheelbase 5cm longer. The rejigging of dimensions has cascading effects, both practical and poetic. It made the chassis engineers’ job that much easier, improving the platform’s roll resistance and drivability without compromising the ride quality, which is super-bueno deluxe. The extra length also gives more rear legroom without compromising boot space; it’s large enough to support a family trip to a wedding requiring the wardrobe changes of a Cardi B show.

On this more ample canvas, the stylists composed a compelling shape of light and shadow, bulge and hollow, rake and curve, and above all shameless amounts of brightwork. The ES now enjoys some of the presence and formality of Lexus’s grand piano, the LS 500.

I have a theory about this car, supported only by long experience with Toyota. Management tolerated above-the-line development and material costs on this iteration because of its being the first ES to be sold in Japan, after years of it being mostly a North American product. It seems clear that Lexus’s product development team were rising to home market expectations.

In other words, the ES feels over-engineered, particularly in the realm of chassis construction. What the hell did they put in this thing? Oh, I see: extensive laser screw-welding; twice as much structure adhesive as before; elaborate structural reinforcement at the front strut towers; a third more sound deadening insulation, covering 93 per cent of the floor. Our test car also sported the 18-inch wheels with noise-reducing profiles. So, to recap, dead quiet, solid as a rock.

The ES comes with either a 3.5-litre, 225kW V6 combined with an eight-speed transmission, or the hybrid powertrain fitted to our test car: a 2.5-litre four-cylinder paired to a hybrid transaxle with integrated electric motors.

The 300h’s fuel economy is outstanding; on a 1400km round trip along the US east coast, we averaged 5.7 litres per 100km, which is a real-world number that few gas-burners can match.

It wasn’t what you would call fast. The hybrid gives away 65kW to the V6-powered version. But whatever exertions the powertrain was making, the 300h didn’t complain. Only occasionally, during moments of highest load, I could hear a faint whine, like a beehive in the trunk. 0-100km/h acceleration is 8.1 seconds, a flaming catapult of temperance.

The ES is also resolutely a front-drive car, with almost 60 per cent of the weight on the front wheels. No matter what engine Toyota puts in it, the ES will never be a sports sedan, running nose-to-tail with a BMW 5. Anywhere outside a racetrack, though, the BMW’s premium seems harder to fathom.

LEXUS ES 300h

ENGINE: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol plus electric motor (160kW/213Nm) Average fuel 4.6 litres per 100km TRANSMISSION: Continuously variable automatic, front-wheel drive PRICE: From $59,888