In the first six months of this year, Lexus sold 18,265 ES sedans in the U.S. --
nearly a 9 percent increase over the same period in 2011 and by far the most of
any car in its lineup (only the RX crossover outsells it). Since the model's
introduction in 1989, the faithful have loved this buttoned-down four-door and
their ardor is sure to bloom even more this month, as the Japanese maker
releases a new, sixth-generation version -- including a first-ever hybrid. The
ES has always been -- and, it turns out, continues to be -- the
internal-combustion equivalent of Top 40 hit from The Carpenters: pleasant
enough, masterfully executed...and almost offensively innocuous. The enthusiast
driver will find almost nothing to latch his soul to here. The Lexus brass
monitoring the sales charts doubtless couldn't care less; for buyers in search
of slip-on status, the ES's relative affordability, proven quality, and
look-what-I'm-driving "L" on its hood ensure this machine will fly off sale
floors like a rocket-fueled iPad. Still, given that Lexus is now touting a
high-drama, $375,000 LFA supercar, who could blame us for expecting some of that
DNA to trickle, BMW-like, into everything the company makes?
The standard V-6 is a seasoned champ, frisky enough to serve in the Lotus
Evora sports car. It's potent, smooth, and makes an aggressive yowl under a
heavy foot. In the ES 350, there's enough grunt to reach 60 mph in six seconds
flat, the six-speed automatic snapping off shifts as if it's a graduate of the
University of Idyllic Torque Management, but don't for a moment think this is an
athletic car. Steering feel is...well, there isn't any. Though the ratio has
been quickened for the new car (from 16.1:1 to 14.8), it's still glacial in
response. Worse is the lack of feedback; the wheel offers little sense of the
road beneath or building cornering forces.
Perhaps that's because there aren't
many cornering forces to detect: both cars delivered just 0.76 g of grip. An
automobile doesn't need lofty performance limits to be entertaining (VW's GTI is
no F1 car, but it's a blast to gun across a twisting road), but the ES
resolutely shrugs off any attempts at driving enthusiasm. It's almost
unbelievable that this machine and the LFA (not to mention the GS 350 F Sport
and the IS F) wear the same badge.
Though we might not have predicted as much going into this review, after
driving both ES models back-to-back it's the hybrid ES 300h that comes off as
the far more appealing car. It's not as quick as the V-6 -- the run to 60 mph
takes a leisurely 7.6 seconds -- but in around-town driving its instant-torque
electric motors and seamless CVT make it feel livelier (despite the hybrid
weighing 161 pounds more than the ES 350).
A silly feature, standard on both
cars, dubbed Drive Mode Select allows the driver to choose eco, normal, or sport
settings to alter the response of the throttle and power steering assist. In the
ES 350, you'd be hard-pressed to notice much difference between any of the
three, but in the ES 300h the sport setting really juices-up the throttle; the
car fairly leaps away from stoplights. In sport, the hybrid's main dash displays
a tachometer -- which takes some getting used to for the first few stoplights as
the needle suddenly plops to zero. While the hybrid is capable of running in
full-electric mode for short periods, doing so requires a delicate right foot --
and keeping the speedo below 25 mph.
Of course, the hybrid trumps the V-6 model on economy: 40/39 city/highway
mpg versus 21/31.
That taken into consideration, the ES 300h really is a
standout: a luxuriously appointed, hugely spacious sedan that returns 40 miles
per gallon in urban settings -- nearly double that of its V-6 sibling. True, the
four-cylinder gas engine in the ES 300h can't match the ES 350's six for
silkiness, but it's respectable. Overall, the hybrid simply comes off as the
more modern and engaging machine.
The ES 300h carries a $2750 premium over its "regular" twin, in return
delivering crisper city responsiveness, far fewer visits to the pump, and the
knowledge that you're demanding a little less of Mother Earth than the driver of
the ES 350 (some might consider that worth it, others not). Outfitted with
navigation, Mark Levinson premium audio, and the Ultra Luxury Package (leather,
climate-control seats, park assist, etc.) our test car climbed to $45,050.
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