I like the old lexus ES it was really well built properly comfortable on the
inside and actually quite calming to drive as well but that price tag it was
more than just a little bit much to digest now though we've got a brand new
model it's based on a new architecture looks
properly distinctive is more advanced and unlike the old model doesn't come to
us at the end of his life cycle but a mere few months after its global reveal
but there's only one question I am going to get answered would I recommend buying
this if it didn't have this but before we carry on don't forget to subscribe
and click the little bell to stay notified yes just look at it it's a baby
LS it's so edgy it's so pretty it's like a samurai slice it into shape with his
own swirl but it's also refreshing not just in comparison to the old Lexus ES
but also to the current crop of German luxury sedans all of which look a bit
too businesslike and it's also very smart because it is edgy enough to make
your child grab at a pinky finger scream and wail until you buy it kids are the
best aren't they but it's also not so edgy that it comes across as a midlife
crisis mobile the sense of grandeur expands not just with the radical
styling but also the little expansion of the car it's now longer wider and has a
bigger wheelbase and the one before while sitting ever so slightly lower to
make the stand sportier
of course in the luxury business your headlight must come with the prefix
otherwise what's the point right you've heard of matrix and laser LED
headlights but what the Lexus ES gets is a set of three I buy beam LED headlights
wait a minute now it does the es also gets cornering lamps LED tail lights
attack in two words the real number plate adding a touch of the RCAF to the
rear and 18-inch alloys with a design that almost mimics the hand folded
pleats we saw in the lexus LS and the LS connection isn't just on the outside if
you thought the outside mimics the design of the Lexus LS the interior
really takes the cake for example you've got a similarly
styled three-spoke steering wheel which is of course motorized you've also got
that similar kind of Frankenstein s inserts for the drive mode selector as
well as the traction control knob not to mention you've got a new 7-inch TFT
multi-information display instead of the old analog dial setup and a more size
appropriate twelve point three inch infotainment display you finally get
that sense of WoW in here it feels different it feels rich it feels special
and what stands out the most is the attention to detail it feels so much
richer than before with that solid third you get when you shut the door
the choice of smooth upholstery and the seats the inner part of the seat is
really nice and soft well the outer edges are slightly firmer giving you a
good balance of comfort and support front row space is also nice and
generous but one placements really lacking is Headroom as you can see it's
not the most tall person friendly place to be and in fact the minimum Headroom
in the BMW 5-series is the maximum Headroom in the front row of the es
however what really works in its favor are some touches that are deliberately
simple for example the aircon controls and the ones for the seat ventilation
the proper buttons you don't have to run through the screen to operate them nor
are they jumbled up in a sea of other controls and this is important because
someone with Lexus money is probably middle-aged and someone who values
functionality over just brazen fanciness which is where a little problem comes in
that infotainment system still isn't touch-sensitive
the mouse pad controller needs some time to get used to even at a standstill but
on the move it just doesn't feel as convenient to operate as I Drive or Audi
MMI the resolution is epic and this zero lag but the usability is still a bit
iffy not to mention no Android auto or apple carplay but it does get miracast
and a DVD player overall there's no two ways about it the
new es does feel like a near 70 lakh rupee car should but in the Indian
context at least that's not a decision that's going to be made here it's going
to be made it'll be decided here now pardon me while I make myself for a
little more comfortable and while you join me in the passenger seat why don't
I go ahead and set us up with a little more privacy
with 665 to about 900 millimetres of knee room the es isn't a class long-wheelbase levels of
dilation in terms of the cabin space well it is in fact marginally better
than it is in the BMW 5-series and as someone who's six and a half feet tall I
am quite happy with the space available and particularly the infotainment screen
that's like that's a television and I've got the remote control right here and
I'm sitting on my living room sofa
but here to all isn't perfect there is a lack of foot room unless the person up
front sets their seat high up and unlike the front seats the rear seats are only
heated not cooled that apparently is not even available as an option but there is
three zone climate control the temperature again controlled from the
rear armrest and something called the climate concierge which basically
detects which seats are occupied and focuses the cooling towards those seats
automatically but a major selling point for this cabin has to be the 17 speaker
mark levinson sound system the setup is absolutely bonkers and in fact a
testament to that is the fact that the media dinner that was held before the es
is drive that event the sound system was the es and I got to say it was pretty
effective at the job seriously I am just binge listening to some clapton and
nodding straight off and nod off you can because of one very big factor the ride quality oh driver
now at the outside and make one thing pretty clear we've been
driving around on the roads of Noida and even the Yamuna expressway so it's
not exactly the most indicative roads of most of India but one thing I can tell
you is that the ride quality is really nice and comfortable it takes and most
of the bumps and potholes quite well and settles in really quickly so at low to
medium speeds you are getting a little bit of that side-to-side movement
well settles quickly and even if you come across some rough patches say like
those Rambler strips or unpaved roads that are still under construction you
can feel a little bit of the vibrations through the floor plan but it's not
really disturbing it's not going to crash or bang through them it's also
really good at managing high speed undulations so even if you're traveling
at say 80 to 100 kilometres in a hour you come across one of those expansion
joints on a bridge it will pick up right through that and settle immediately
there's not going to be much other baby motion it's actually quite euro car like
in that way now one thing that you can notice is a
little bit of tire noise and that's not down to the sound insulation I mean
that's actually a lot better than it was before well what has down to is the fact
that the hybrid motor it's pretty much inaudible so that makes you focus a lot
more on the other ambient noises so just because the ride quality is
comfortable does that mean that it's boring well it shouldn't be according to
Lexus's own claims and I quote the GA kae platform gave the designers
flexibility to create a vehicle that's as visibly striking as it is enjoyable
to drive its lower stance and proportions to reflect its performance
capabilities right now like in pretty much any hybrid once you get off from a
rolling start it's going to start in EV mode so you don't have the engine
running the second you go a little bit heavy on the throttle the motor kicks in
but the transition between the electric motor through the motor generator it's
absolutely seamless so anybody who is even new to driving a hybrid this has
just come to them as second nature now to test how sporty this is to flow it
into sport mode
okay whoever said that hybrids are slow or boring I have no idea what they're
talking about because this just isn't either one
much like Lexus says this is quite bridge to pick up the pace I'm not gonna
say this is going to be an outright enthusiast pleaser but you're never
going to be starved for power at city speeds or even on the highway if you're
looking to make overtakes they're going to be quick they don't have to be
planned and even though you do have paddle shifters over here I'm not really seeing the need for them
low or high speeds even with the full passenger load
the ES 300h starts ahead quickly enough even while accelerating from 120
kilometres in a hour the claim 0 to 100 time of 8.9 seconds trails behind the
sub 7 second BMW 5-series and the Jaguar XF of the segment
but in use the es never feels slow heavy footing it does get the engine revving
but the NVH is still well controlled enough to keep the drama in check but if
you are looking for a little bit of drama there is one pleasant surprise the
steering light as it is in the city its brow racing ly quick through corners
it's also very well weighted at speed and filtering to high-speed traffic is
good fun
and once you switch over to this mode of driving you can once again start
appreciating the ride comfort just taking the scenery enjoy the absolute
noise insulation go for a nice and long drive and come out the other side relax
even in Eco mode the ES 300h doesn't feel like it's lacking for performance
with a claimed efficiency of twenty two point three seven kilometres per litre
it's also at least on paper one of the most efficient petrol cars in the
segment and it's also quite efficient in the usage of storage space should the
family want to go for a road trip the es 300h does offer a generous 454 litre
boot since the hybrid nickel metal hydride battery now sits under the rear
seat there's more room for luggage not to mention a full sized spare tire
placed under the boot flow the safety package as you'd expect is top-notch too
with standard kit including 10 airbags ABS with EBD vehicle stability control
front and rear parking sensors and tire pressure monitoring no surround view
camera unfortunately but the rear camera display is clear and it gets dynamic
guidelines too guess it's time we answer the original question
the new Lexus ES takes more than just a generations leap ahead it's more
luxurious there's more attention to detail and in a sea of stiff-upper-lip
German luxury sedans it comes across as something with an attitude for now it
has the exclusivity of not just being a Lexus but also being a hybrid all in all
the new Lexus ES is so well packaged that the Lexus badge is a bonus not a
justification to buy it