I know this had been some mystery, debate, as to why the hybrid shows 0.26 and the ES350 0.29 on Lexus's website.

Guess some how we... I missed this, but Lexus promo material shows the 0.26 drag coefficient as being the result of the optional spoiler. Which a lot of us doubted as how could a spoiler make that big of a difference.

For a while we speculated due to the shutters which still could be the case, but i don't think the #s published are due to that. I'll bet though in the closed state, active shutters can bring that down further, but not published due to the fact it opens AND closes. So not constant.

So...Neat!

 

Looks better with a spoiler AND it's functional. Very nice Lexus.

 

When I bought my 22 ES 300h my first thought was that it looked a little chunky.

Now that I’ve had the car a short while I really like the look of the spoiler.

Glad to know it’s functional!

 

Link? Based only on the photo, that confirms that the drag coefficient is lower with the spoiler than without it, but it doesn't confirm that the majority of the 0.03 difference is attributable to the spoiler rather than the grille shutters.

 

It is the combination of spoiler, shutter, NVH panels and the air flow over the engine.

 

sorry gonna have to poke at you for this.. what do you mean "NVH panels"? seems you are implying the ESh has "NVH panels" specific to it. that would be news to me! elaborate pls

 

Nah. What's really being missed here is that Lexus marketing department personnel are pretty lame propagandists. Data from [US] Lexus's own official web site does NOT support the claim that the standard equipped "Color-keyed rear spoiler" has any effect on the "Aerodynamic Drag Coefficient" specification.

1) Aerodynamic Drag Coefficient for model types standard equipped with Color-keyed rear spoiler:

0.26 - ES 300h, ES 300h LUXURY, ES 300h ULTRA LUXURY. and ES 300h F SPORT
0.29 - ES 250 F SPORT AWD and ES 350 F SPORT

2) Aerodynamic Drag Coefficient for model types with only optional Color-keyed rear spoiler:

0.29 - ES 250 AWD, ES 350, ES 250 LUXURY AWD, ES 350 LUXURY, ES 250 ULTRA LUXURY AWD, and ES 350 ULTRA LUXURY

If the rear spoiler has any significant effect on the Aerodynamic Drag Coefficient number for a model type you would NOT see the two model types with the 0.29 number under the 1) category.

Also, if the rear spoiler really has the claimed 0.03 difference in Aerodynamic Drag Coefficient you would see two numbers cited for the category 2) model types. One for with spoiler and one for without spoiler in a manner similar to "Headroom (Front/Rear)" specifications that cite different numbers for "with moonroof" and "with panorama glass roof".

So...False. Back to the wild *** speculating?

 

Yeah, the underneath is more covered on the 300h.

 

Seems like cause hybrids gets the spoiler standard while it's optional on non-hybrid models. So for marketing intents and purposes, hybrids=0.26 while non-hybrids=0.29.

Either case, it's known fact that adding a spoiler and other hard trailing edges off rear surfaces helps air attachment and thus lowers drag. Popular mod in the aero modding community which I've been following for over a decade.

It's why the Prius has sharp edges on its trailing edge of the bumper as well as a flat duck bill spoiler at the back. Aero 101.

 

specifics? Maybe V6 owners can upgrade.

 

some aero modder guys go to home depot and buy lawn edging to stick on the edges/ends/rear of the car/bumper/trunk. drastically improves aero. but looks ugly. it's why our bumpers remain rounded and classy... prius=ugly weird bumpers with sharp creases (3rd gen anyway)

 

actually it appears there is a hard edge incorporated into our rear bumpers. but it's blended well to look round.

 

No, they can’t, because the V-6 has two rear mufflers, it has less NVH because of that and also because the muffler in the front goes underneath the engine.


Take a look, you’ll see the difference, first the 300h:













Now the V6:

 

Not seeing any meaningful difference in the underbody covers. For all intents and purposes they look about equal. Sure the hybrid if you're counting hairs has an extra cover where the additional muffler would go for the v6 model and the hybrid has a bit more covering where the V6 front exhaust manifold would typically go, but other than that that's just cause both have slightly different shapes for their metal junk. i don't think it's a "hybrid is more luxurious so lets add more pAnELs" type of deal. not seeing more "sOuNd iNsULaTiOn" in these pics. I think it's just a this vs. that scenario. I love to brag all day long about my hybrids but i don't think this is a bragging point. pics above look about equal in my book.

 

Is it possible that the differences between the two degrees of paneling relates to heat release or cooling of certain components? Such as the heat of the exhaust system which would be higher in the non-hybrid ES?