CyberDoc

First I wanted to thank everyone who contributes to this forum for all the great posts and feedback.

Here's some background info to set the stage for my questions: I currently have a 2008 Mercedes C300 that has about 165K miles on it. My daily commute is roughly 100 miles (50 miles one way), mostly on freeways and I drive about 22 days/month. I have been very happy with my C300 and it has only been in the dealership for scheduled maintenance. For various reasons (the engine is starting to rattle a bit if I accelerate too hard), its time to switch. My original plan was to upgrade to a new BMW 528i but I'm not too keen on the reliability issues and I drive too many miles for a lease to make sense (went to a BMW dealer who ran numbers for 3 year lease with extra warranty/maintenance thrown in and was coming ridiculously expensive!)

So I am considering the ES300h with NAV. Some folks discouraged me about hybrids for high mileage commutes, but most threads/reviews seem to dispel that myth. I plan to purchase the car and keep it till probably 120K miles (so I would be buying the extended warranty).

The other main area is color combos: I love the black interior with the bamboo trim and don't want to compromise on that. Even though Nebula Pearl Grey seems popular, somehow it does not speak to me. My current C300 is a beautiful dark blue. I seem to be stuck in settling between the following three colors (with black interior):
1. Deep Sea Mica
2. Silver Lining Metallic
3. Obsidian

I have 2 broad category questions:
1. Any thoughts on the choice for ES300h based on my above background/driving needs?
2. Choice of color

Thank you for your feedback.

SW17LS

The issue with the hybrid for long highway commutes is that the real benefit of a hybrid power train really comes when driving in the city. Not that you won't get better economy on the highway, you will, but the difference is not that huge.

When I had my 2010 ES350 I could easily get 30-31 MPG on the highway at speeds 75-80MPH. The 6ES 350 is rated higher. The 300h is rated for 39 highway, but I would look around here and see what people are actually getting. If its something like 4-5 MPG difference which is what I would suspect...you have to ask yourself if the additional expense and complexity of the hybrid system over a normal 350 is worth it for you.

The ES in general is a great highway car, and a great choice for someone who drives like you do.

I chose silver in the poll. My new GS is silver, I don't *love* silver as a color but its handsome, practical, and goes very well with black interior. The Obsidian is VERY high maintenance, very easy to scratch. DSM is a beautiful color, but also high maintenance.

I would recommend a clear bra since you're going to be driving a lot on the highway.

Stay away from BMW for something other than a lease. I have many friends with BMWs. Good friend of mine has an 08 535 that he bought CPO, he's had all kinds of problems, luckily covered by the CPO warranty. CPO warranty just expired and I tried to get him to trade it for a new GS but another friend of ours who also is a BMW fan convinced him to keep it. 2 weeks out of warranty, water pump fails and leaves him stranded. Towed in...$1,900. Driving it back from the dealer, navigation screen goes out. $6k. It only has 75k on it. The friend that convinced him to keep it has an X5, also just out of the CPO warranty, 55k miles. Radiator failure...$3,500. You just will not see repair bills like that on a Lexus, even with 200,000 miles.

Even just for her to put a battery in her X5 was $400. Its some weird marine battery or something you can't seem to find anywhere but the dealer. Thats the other nice thing about a Lexus, anybody can service it...you can buy batteries and such at AutoZone when they get older right off the shelf.

jonmanch

This past week when the temperatures rose from really frigid in NY, the highway portion of my commute (about 14 miles out of 19), got over 38 MPG consistently.

brittmayo

Doc,

I voted "other color" and suggest the Cerulean Blue. I think it's gorgeous and goes well with the dark interior. The only thing that kept me from ordering mine in that color was the I went to Duke, and it's way too close to Carolina Blue - and despite that, I thought about it long and hard.

IS350atWOT

iTrader: (1)

I have the matador red with black interior and love it! But if red is not your thing, I chose the silver lining metallic. I've had black before and, while it's pretty after a wash job, maintenance on it is more challenging/more work. I have 22,000 miles on mine with my first year anniversary this month. Averaging 40+ miles per gallon and nothing but oil changes and tire rotations.

LexBob2

I didn't vote on the color poll. IMO color is the most subjective item with a new car purchase. What I think might be the best choice might be 180 degrees from what you like.

Since you're the guy who will be paying for it and living with it, it should be what YOU like.

Good luck with your decision. With all of the colors available it can be a tough choice.

lesz

I agree 100%. You are the one who is going to be living with the car every day, you should be be choosing a color that appeals to you, not one that appeals to someone else.

With regard to the practicality of different colors, with most colors, there are both advantages and disadvantages. While colors such as pearl whites, light silvers, and light golds don't show dirt or surface scratches as much as some other colors, they (and pearl and metallic reds) are also the colors that provide the biggest challenges to body shops if paint work is ever needed. Even when paint work is done by a skilled technician, refinishing work with any of those colors requires multi-stage blending, and, even when done well, can end up resulting in a repair that can easily be detected by those who are very discerning with regard to fits and finishes.

On the other hand, while black shows dirt and surface scratches more readily, it is about the only color for which paint work can be done with assurance that there will be a perfect or as close to perfect as possible match, and paint work with black can usually been done with a panel-to-panel match and without a need to blend the refinishing into adjacent panels. For example, if the rear bumper needs to be refinished on a pearl white, metallic or pearl red, light silver, or light gold vehicle, the paint will need to be blended well into the rear quarter panels on both sides of the vehicle, and, even then, it may not result in a near perfect repair. If a black vehicle requires rear bumper refinishing, that refinishing can be limited just to the bumper, and there will be no need to blend into the quarter panels. Also, even though black does show surface scratches more easily, those surface scratches can easily be polished out.

For many, a good compromise color is a medium to somewhat dark color, such as the nebula gray pearl (which I know doesn't appeal to the OP). Such colors are fairly good with regard to showing dirt and scratches, and, if paint work is required, they present far less severe challenges to result in a perfect or near perfect repair.

Some vehicle owners are not troubled by less than perfect repairs, but, for those who are and who have an especially discerning eye with regard to fits and finishes, the challenges of doing refinishing presented by various colors probably should be a consideration.

wasjr

I voted silver. While color is a personal choice, I see you are in Texas and the silver would reflect the sun better than a dark color during hot summer months. Also, like the contrast of the darker interior with lighter exterior.