SiulMan19

Hello all, i have recently gotten the chance to drive a 2013 ES300 Hybrid for a couple of days and i really notice the nice little growl it has when you accelerate. Is this the cause of the engine or the intake or something else? I have a 2009 IS250 which does not sound as nice as the ES. Anyone know what might cause this nice "growl" on the ES?

azipod

What you are probably hearing is the 2.5 cylinder revving but staying at a near-constant RPM because of the CVT. The IS250 is a V6. It will generally rev less under the same conditions. The traditional transmission will have the engine run through the gears and shift, unlike the CVT, giving it a different sound.

I think most people like the sound/feel of a traditional transmission than a CVT.

chromedome

You're the first person to describe the ES300h as having a nice sound I used to hate the droning engine sound because rpm stays fixed during hard acceleration, while road speed slowly catches up. After 15k+ miles I think it does have a nice growl in the mid range, although the small V6's smooth purring still sounds better.

There aren't many big 4-cylinder petrol motors left. I think the ES300h, ES250 and RAV4 share a similar 2.5 liter engine. The old TSX 2.4 200 hp lump was also a smooth and revvy engine. The largest one I've heard about was the old Porsche 968 motor at 3.2 liters.

SLH

I suspect a good part of it comes from a sound generator. There is a "resonator" part in the air-intake plumbing.

SW17LS

The ES350 and ES300h do not have the intake sound generator, the IS, GS and LS F sport do.