- Doors and Seats
4 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
3.0i, 6 cyl.
- Engine Power
158kW, 299Nm
- Fuel
Petrol 10.7L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto
- Warranty
4 Yr, 100000 KMs
- Ancap Safety
NA
Comfort zone
The Lexus ES 300 won't trouble the Richter Scale. But it does epitomise the best from Japan in a well-equipped, mid-size prestige car that's a pointer to the next Camry.
Pigeonhole: Leather-wrapped, premium preview of next year's Toyota Camry.
Philosophy: Japan's best technology packaged for American freeway conditions in faux French styling.
Who's buying it: Comfortable, relaxed mid-lifers with an eye for quality. Not vroom-vroomers.
Why you'd buy it: Near-silent running, exemplary quality and materials in a well-equipped, comfort-biased cocoon.
Why you wouldn't: Soft handling. It lacks the badge cred of a BMW or Benz and Camry buyers will get a similar package, minus the frills and the best tech bits, for less than half this price.
Standard equipment: The works. Climate control, electric everything, alloy wheels, cruise control, fog lamps, power sunroof.
Safety: Front and side curtain airbags, anti-lock brakes, traction and stability control, pre-tensioner belts. Developed to meet tough US regulations. Toyota makes strong claims but no independent tests so far.
Cabin: Smooth, near-silent running in a leather-trimmed cabin with all mod cons including touch screen DVD satellite navigation and powered rear sunshade. Painstaking attention to detail with the accent on opulence.
Seating: Electric adjustment and central heating on the front buckets pamper the posterior. The antithesis of the hip-hugging sports seat because Lexus knows its buyers aren't kids any more. Rear bench is roomy enough.
Engine: Tweaked version of the V6 3.0-litre used in previous models. It produces 158kW at 5,800rpm and 299Nm at 4,400. Translated, a smooth surger with adequate performance that is masterfully matched to the new transmission.
Transmission: Five-speed automatic that talks to the engine about shifting. Intelligent, adaptive, self-diagnosing and equipped with fail-safe and limp-home modes should you ever need to limp home. No manual Tiptronic-style override because American drivers wouldn't know what to do with it.
Steering: Power rack and pinion with a largish 11.2m turning circle. Weighted for ease rather than road feel. Better than previous Lexuses but no match for the Euros.
Ride: Only Grandpa's Jason Recliner is built with better cosset factor. But it gets a bit unseemly when hustled over pockmarked back roads.
Handling: Predictable and vice-free. Matron-at-a-school-fete gait.
Fuel: Expect about 12.5 to 13.5 litres per 100km on regular unleaded.
Brakes: Competent, anti-lock controlled system.
Build: Japan's best. Outstanding customer satisfaction ratings in successive JD Power surveys in the US. Reliability should be set-and-forget proposition for years to come.
Warranty: Four years/100,000km. The same as a $15,000 Toyota Echo. Surely five years/200,000 should be the mark for a Lexus?
Anti-theft: Remote central locking with engine immobiliser.
Audio system: Integrated with the sat-nav system is a good quality in-dash six stack CD and radio cassette.
Cost: Daunting at $84,900 plus on-road costs, despite the equipment and quality. The Camry factor haunts the ES 300 but the cheaper Toyota gains from this expensive Lexus R&D, not the other way around.
Verdict: You can't visit the Lexus factory because the cars are made in Toyota plants. The brand is not sold in Japan. LEXUS spells Luxury EXport to US and it perfectly suits that market. Opulent, stress-free but ultimately a bit of a softie.
Prices correct at publication date.