TomMartin

Curious what driving and ownership costs are like on the ES 300h...would love the mileage and understand they are pleasant to drive...curious if current owners like the ownership experience?

What about "h" issues? Is the battery the only thing to worry about if you keep your cars along time?...say up to 200K miles? Or...do most/all trade them b4 the battery is due for replacement? What about a 100K trade-in value...buyers worried about battery?

What does battery replacement cost? What mileage is battery replacement "due"?

Thanks guys...TomMartin

jollick

Tom, I believe you are referencing the ES300h. No worries regarding the hybrid system as it is the same used in the Camry, perhaps with a few tweaks, and is a proven system.

TomMartin

Correct ES 300h. I assume battery eventually needs to be replaced? What mileage and cost?

Also, do owners get close to EPA MPG?

Thanks...TomMartin

jollick

Looking at Camry and Prius forums, the batteries can last 200,000 miles or more. The replacement cost seems to be around $2,400 to $4,000 depending if you get a refurbished or new from Lexus. They are guaranteed for 8 years or 100,000 miles whichever comes first and the replacement price has been coming down over the years.

See here: http://www.greencarreports.com/news/...ent-cost-guide for more information.

TomMartin

Thanks jollick...does not sound like much of a problem. Any thoughts about what if any impact current "cheap gas" has had on ES 300h sales....or pricing incentives?? Might be a good time to buy?

I have been considering a '15 GS 350 F Sport...but not to excited about both the Premium gas and low MPG on the GS. 300h use reg or premium??

TomMartin

jollick

I forgot about the MPG, I get a year round calculated average of 36 mpg. I use it for a 30 mile round-trip drive to and from work 5 days a week. 37 mpg summer and 34-35 in the colder winter months as the car needs to warm up and batteries are not as efficient in the cold. Still excellent for a car this size and it has plenty of get-up-and-go. There are others here that get more mpg than I do but I just drive it as a regular car and do not try to get better mileage as I am satisfied with what I get. I would think that you can get a better deal with the lower gas prices. Also, the December to Remember deals going on right now and end of year/month push to move cars. Good luck!

Freds430

I think it is a great time to buy a hybrid. I bought my 2013 ES six months ago and payed about the same price of the ES350's on the lot. I enjoyed the car so much three months later my wife sold her 2010 RX and bought a 2015RX450h. We payed about $1,500 more than the RX350's on the lot. You don't go in a buy a hybrid when gas is $4.00 a gallon. I am so pleased with my ES300h. The drive is quiet, it drives very smoothly and it is not fast but quick. In the six months that I have owned it I have averaged 37 mpg's. Driving has been about 70% city and 30% highway.

TomMartin

Oh Ya...and wife asks...just how small is the trunk? TomMartin

jollick

It is about 12.1 cubic feet, the ES350 has 15.2. Your best bet is to go look at one. I have not had a problem with it but some may depending on their needs.

wowzer

The trunk is big enough for 2 golf bags and a bunch more.

TomMartin

Downsides to the 300h?

Any who have traded out of 300h due to "issues" with it?

I know little about them.

Is the 300h drivetrain pretty identical to the Camry version?

Curious minds want to know.

I have always been a MPG tracker (manually MPG tracking most of my life) and this would fit well with a nice new Lexus

TomMartin

Freds430

Looks like 37 combined mpg's is about average. Attached is a web site that confirms this. I can on a highway trip get 40 but also have averaged 37 in the six months of ownership. I was reading a couple of years ago that Consumer Reports rated the ES300h as the most reliable car on the road. Since nothing has changed over the years can imagine there is a change. J D Power rates Lexus as the most reliable vehicle four years in a row. Consumer Reports two years in a row as the most reliable. The Lexus ES 300h has been named the top luxury car value in the Consumer Reports annual Best & Worst New Cars. My wife and I both say that after each buying a hybrid mine a ES300h and hers a RX450h we would never own anything else.

http://www.fuelly.com/car/lexus/es300h

chromedome

I'm getting 50 mpg on my 50 km commute over mainly urban roads and I'm getting over 1000 km on a full tank. This is with Eco mode, using the heater only when the car is moving and doing pulse and glide wherever I can. With less obsessive driving, you could get high 30s easily on urban roads.

With highway driving, the car isn't so efficient as the engine runs most of the time. Roaring along at 80 mph also kills fuel economy. I tend to use cruise control on highways because I find the engine start/stop transition to be a bit annoying. There's a mild vibration through the throttle pedal when the engine fires up. There's also a lag when accelerating at high speed as engine revs climb up instantly but road speed takes a while to catch up, like on a CVT-equipped car.

I love the low and mid range torque from the electric motor, it's like a turbo diesel spooling up instantly. Sport mode gives a heck of a kick when doing traffic light burnouts, thanks to the extra voltage drawn by the motor. It's easy to spin the front tires on wet winter roads.

And yes, once you've driven a smooth hybrid like this one, there's no going back to plain old ICE

TomMartin

Thanks Chrome...how is the freeway driving? My wife and I try to take an annual about 5,000 road trip across the south toward California. Some roads (Texas) actually have an 80MPH speed limit so we travel 80MPH+. How would 70/80MPH gas mileage perform? I trust that relative to an ES350 it would be MUCH better on freeway MPH??

Also, in addition to MPG...how would the long day 70-80 MPH driving "feel" vs a gas auto? What about CVT...haven't experienced one yet...other than a Polaris Ranget which is worked primarily in the woods at 5MPH or less

Thanks...TomMartin

chromedome

You'd probably get 35+ mpg at 80 mph, still really good for a big car like the ES. I keep cruise control on and it's a lovely smooth ride, although road noise can be an issue on some Bridgestones.

As for driving feel, it's kinda hard to describe. The engine will turn on and off according to the power requirements; it'll turn off and the motor will regen the battery charge when coasting or going downhill. You'll get used to the transitions after a while. The car has a planetary gearset transmission - no gears, so acceleration is smooth without any stepping. There's still a lag between the engine revving and the car speeding up, especially if the engine is off.