2016 Lexus ES 300h
Vehicle type: Midsize hybrid sedan
Base price: $40,920
As tested: $40,920 (excluding $940 delivery)
EPA mpg: 40 city, 39 highway
Engine: 2.5-liter in-line four-cylinder with electric motor
Transmission: Electronic CVT
Some words just sound right. To say “smile” turns up the corners of the lips into the very thing it defines; to say “love” is to open up, then embrace that which was once parted. The perfect word transcends the object it defines into something more.
“Lexus” is one of those words. The subtle flow of “luxury” into “success” may be the perfect automotive marketing nonword to define a brand. It must be the word “Lexus” that bothers me more than the product.
The product is reliable, nice, retains its value but is not in the category of true luxury cars that make you feel like something more than a corporeal being destined to die.
The Lexus ES300 hybrid epitomizes this divide between marketing promise and product delivery.
The redesigned midsize hybrid sedan is nice, but the trim lines of other automakers have surpassed what was once the status symbol of near luxury, and they cost less.
The ES gets 40 mpg city and costs $40,920.
The Ford Fusion hybrid starts at about $26,000 and gets 44 mpg city, with the fully equipped Titanium trim coming in under $32,000.
The Honda Accord hybrid, the most fuel-efficient midsize hybrid, gets 50 mpg city, but it starts just under $30,000, with the top of the line Touring trim coming in over $35,000.
But those aren’t Lexus levels of luxury, one might argue. How about the Lincoln MKZ hybrid, which gets the same 40 mpg city, starts at just over $35,000 and does not carry a hybrid upcharge from the gas model?
The 360-horsepower Infiniti Q50 hybrid is more expensive, but it’s a sport hybrid, which the ES is most certainly not.
The ES300’s toned-down stablemate, the Toyota Camry hybrid, gets 43 mpg city, starts at $27,000, and the top of the line Hybrid XLE trim costs just over $30,000.
The ES300 hybrid, Camry hybrid and full-size Toyota Avalon hybrid share the same 2.5-liter in-line four-cylinder engine with an electric motor and electronic continuously variable transmission. They’re all front-wheel drive, and the same hybrid power plant generates 200 horsepower and 156 pound-feet of torque.
The ES300 is the most pedestrian of the six Lexus hybrids for 2016. Toyota and its premium brand dominate the hybrid market, which has taken a hit with the upswing in the economy and the downswing in fuel prices.
Unlike the Toyota Highlander Hybrid, which comes loaded with near-top-of-the-line trim, the ES300h comes with equipment standard in the ES350.
The ES300h comes with soft-touch interior that in the test model was a lovely color combination of black and tan. Several people remarked on the exterior color of Autumn Shimmer, which had the opaque shine of lager beer.
Other than the colors, the body design and interior comfort are indistinct, unremarkable. Luxury and convenience features listed on the Monroney sticker include power windows, power moon roof and 10-way power seats.
Infotainment features are controlled by redundant steering controls or a center console dial, which is much preferred to the belt-buckle shaped mouse in other models. The Lexus Enform suite of connectivity isn’t the simplest to intuit, but owners will understand its logic with experience supplemented by a video demonstration or a trip through the owners manual.
The powertrain is seamless and quiet, with the electric motor quietly powering the vehicle at low speeds, and the Atkinson-cycle 2.5-liter engine taking over under more throttle. Even at highway speeds, when the gas engine is at its most efficient and doing all the work, the ES300 remains quiet.
In sport mode, the eco-gauge on the left side of the instrument cluster, which usually shows the power band in soft green and blue hues, turns into a red get-ready-to-rumble tachometer. Behind the wheel, the sport feel is negligible. EV mode provides silent battery-only power at short distances and low speeds.
The hybrid gets an EPA estimated 40 mpg combined, though we averaged 38 mpg at an average speed of 21 mph, while the ES350 with the 3.5-liter V-6 gets only 24 mpg combined. The hybrid premium is about $3,000 more, so hybrid buyers should recoup the premium in money saved on gas in about five years, depending on how they drive. That does not include the more subjective valuation of limiting one’s carbon footprint.
The top-of-the-line trims of some mainstream models have Lexus levels of luxury. They may not carry the same reputation of reliability and longevity, but is the Lexus brand worth 25 percent more when it comes to midsize hybrids?
In a word free from marketing glam, no.
