Used 2016 Lexus ES 300h Sedan Consumer Reviews

Love the car!

Performance does suffer a tiny bit because this is a hybrid (I say this most likely because I had a V6 car before), but it is meant to be a quiet, smooth sedan that provides plenty of luxury and superior comfort. You simply can't ask for a car that has V6 performance, a luxury badge, 40MPG AND an MSRP just above $40K. The car does provide instant acceleration because of the continuously variable transmission, which I am a big fan of. Step on the gas pedal and the feel is instantaneous, unlike a traditional automatic that has to constantly shift gears to get optimal performance. CVT is hated by many people because they think it is boring, not performance-oriented and can be very noisy. However, the CVT on this Lexus is nothing like this. The car's sound insulation is superior, you can barely hear the engine at all during normal driving, city or highway. It is also what helps the car gets the gas mileage because of reduced parts and better efficiency. Without even trying (as I said I had a V6 car before, so I don't drive very gently), I easily get at least 38+ MPG, sometimes even better (40-42 MPG), whether on the highway or in heavy traffic during rush hours, and I think this is really amazing. For my previous V6, in heavy traffic gas mileage easily falls below 15 MPG, especially for shorter trips. I had to frequently go to gas station every few days because the engine wastes too much gas when idling or starting/stopping in city traffic. This hybrid car however shuts off the gas completely when coming to a stop or driving at low speeds, and the car runs on the battery entirely. The result is extreme quietness and you won't feel the car's vibration when waiting for the light at an intersection. To me, I would even say the city traffic is now not as bad thanks to the car's advanced hybrid technology and superior sound insulation. I now seriously question myself why I spent the extra $$$ to get a V6, not needing the extra power, and spending more $$$ on premium gas that was not used to generate that power but was wasted. I am saying all of these probably because I have never driven a hybrid before and I don't really know how other hybrids drive, but I doubt the level of comfort, performance, efficiency will be comparable to these of ES300h. What's even better with this car is that it only requires regular (87 octane rating) gas. Also, the front seats are extremely comfortable and with the perforated seats and the safety features, so this is not just a getting-from-A-to-B commute sedan but will also be a nice place to spend time in if you are traveling for longer distances. There are interior cosmetic changes over the 2015 model - and I would say the steering wheel, dash and the gear knob look way better than the previous generation. Overall the interior is just elegant and beautiful. I would definitely recommend this car to anyone who is looking to buy a reasonably priced, entry-level luxury sedan that combines reasonable performance and gas efficiency. Lexus offers a longer warranty, one full year of complementary maintenance, and with its reputable long-term reliability the car should provide a worry-free, enjoyable driving experience.

Lots to love, but some disappointments as well

I have had my 2016 ES300h for 2 years. I really like the outside styling and the interior is luxurious and very comfortable. I am getting very good gas mileage. Acceleration in power mode is very good, but I don't use it that often, preferring to get better fuel economy. I find the ride to be very smooth and quiet. The safety features are terrific. In general I love the car, but here are some issues that have disappointed me. 1. The Sirius/XM satellite radio reception is TERRIBLE…music fades out every day, this makes me wish I had a different car. I had sirius/xm reset the signal but that did not help. July 15 2016 update: I took the car in to Lexus of Austin to research the audio problems described in #1 above. The service rep said it is a problem recognized by Lexus that affects a few (random) vehicles across all the Lexus models but they do not know how to fix it. It is weak reception signal that causes dead spots and also lack of HD reception which causes some stations to sound very bad, while other stations sound full and rich. They informed me it could be many months before the issue might be fixed. They recommended that I contact Lexus USA customer service to file the issue. I ended up putting Spoify on my iPhone and cancelling my Sirius/XM subscription. 2. Voice recognition is not good, making it difficult to enter destinations into the Nav system. I would prefer Apple Play. 3. Nav system directions (by Tom Tom) are not good compared to google maps or garmin devices. I would prefer Apple Play. 4. In the summer, climate control defaults to “recirculating” air instead of fresh air from outside, so I have to press the climate control button twice every time I drive the car just to get fresh air! This seems like a design flaw. 5. Limited storage: Front side door storage bins should include a cup holder, but they don't 6. Limited storage: The front cup holder along center console is TOO far back to reach with a normal arm position 10. Limited storage: No small compartment for sunglasses Update: I bought a visor clip for my sunglasses. Not as elegant, but it works. I bought this car because I wanted a hybrid. My last car was an Acura TL. I would have bought a TL hybrid if one existed. The Acura did not have any problems with satellite radio reception, defaulted climate control to FRESH air (what a concept)!, and had more storage compartments (for cups and sunglasses and cell phones). July 2018 update: I've now owned this ES300h for 2 years. I don't regret it. I found work-arounds for most of the issues listed above. I get compliments from friends and strangers about this car.....about it's beauty, styling and luxuriousness.

Lexus ES 300h v. Avalon Ltd hybrid

I read the reviews describing the Lexus 300h and Avalon ltd as comparable. I shopped for > 1 yr. I bought because of a good deal (thank you Edmunds for posting the incentives); in August 2016 the incentive on the Lexus was $3500 and the Avalon was $1000. I test drove both cars and here are the differences I think that exist. The Lexus was a little quieter, the sound system a little clearer, the wood finish clearly bamboo wood (and nicely finished), the seats a little more comfortable, and the interior a little bigger. the Lexus Navi system is 1" larger and recessed so it isn't as affected by sunlight. The bad parts of the Lexus are the storage--less trunk space, glove compartment, center console space. it doesn't have the number of "nooks and crannies" that a Toyota does. The Avalon Ltd had these included--plus the rear windowshade. neither trunk passthru works. (the non-hybrid models have a trunk pass thru .) the maintenance cost of the Lexus will be higher; my wife's Sienna has 24 mths free maintenace; the Lexuas has 12. Oh.... the additional "24/7 roadside assistance" on the additional service package is really AAA so just join AAA. compared to my previous car (an 8 yr old Acura RL), the Lexus has worse interior storage, much better mileage, better visibilty / smaller blindspot, and similar size trunk. I had previously thought that the Acura had small storage space! the Lexus' glove compartment, center console have even less storage room than the Acura! the acceleration on the Acura is definitely much better but the hybrid is acceptable. I wish the Lexus ES and/or the Avalon had a AWD AND hybrid model. I guess my biggest surprise disappointment was that I expected more interior storage in the Lexus---especially since our Sienna has so many clever nooks for cup holders, console, etc. update 7/31/17: I've owned the car 11 months now. it is a comfortable car. the rear seating area is very spacious. my favorite feature, however, is the bluetooth "auto connect and play" feature with my iPhone. after the car starts, it automatically connects and plays whatever audio (music or podcast) through the sound system. this is very convenient and meets my music content needs. the most frustrating part of ES 300h ownership is not related to the car itself. it is the Lexus "e-mail reminder" feature which reminds me to service my car depending on the time (estimated mileage) weather (wiper blades in the winter), etc. the worse episode was when it "automatically" made an appointment for me (that I did not request and cancelled by calling person to person) and then sent me an admonishment that "I did not show". Lexus really needs to fully test a software feature before activating it. the navigation screen does not have as many customization options as the Acura (nor is it as easy to program a route). the Acura is better suited for 1 handed control---the main navigation screen knob with rotate and press feature is much easier (and IMHO, safer) than the Lexus mouse-like control. Lexus should just provide a touch-screen (like the Sienna) which would be more intuitive. The blind spot monitor and rear view camera showing the anticipated direction of the car based on the wheel position is very helpful. update 1/31/18: t I've delighted and still enjoy is the "custom seat" setting. when you get in the car, there is a lot of space between the steering wheel and seat; very easy to slide in. When the car starts, the seat slides forward and tilts to your custom settings, making you feel like you're in a spaceship. I still believe the Acura navi system is more ergonomic. the Lexus interior storage is still poor. update 8/4/18: pleasantly mildly surprised that at low mileage (< 7500 miles/yr), I only need to take it in to dealer to maintain once a year. (helps offset 50% higher cost of maintenance over Toyota; 30% higher than Acura). Acura was a little more specific about what would be done at each service appointment needed; Lexus just says, "needs service maintenance". car is still comfortable, still not enough storage. voice command is hard to learn (haven't learned how to use it; easier to pair phone via bluetooth and use phone to call, etc.) navigation system needs work; POI is not bad but need to enter entire address, incl. city. Using the 10 digit phone number to enter POI on the Acura is much, much easier. can't move map around to see "ahead". 8/23/19 update: still happy with mileage and comfortable seats. E300h definitely does not corner well. still wish for hybrid/AWD. would look at Tesla 3. 8/31/20 update: still happy with mileage and comfortable seats. E300h definitely does not corner well. still wish for hybrid/AWD. still wish for better storage. I would look at Tesla 3.

Great car for the money

If you are looking for a quiet car with luxury features and good gas mileage this is the car for you. Driven carefully you can get 42 MPG around town. I only have 1100 miles on the car and first trip on the freeway at 75MPH caused the indicated mileage to drop to 36MPG. Complaints: trunk is rather small but adequate, no cubby hole space to store things except in doors. Console should have more storage as well. One glove compartment- which is pretty much filled with the 5-6 volume instruction manuals. However, thanks for the manuals - much better than a CD/DVD that I cannot look at if I have a question when I am on the road. One complaint on the mouse system- it has three ways to select something (2-side buttons or push down on the joystick - it needs one button programmed to go-back instead of me having to select the go-back icon on the screen which is time consuming. It is a fairly long car but will be a good compromise car for trips on the road for comfort and town car for good gas mileage. I bought the Ultra-Lux package, which has the cooled softer leather seats, plus rear and side sun shades plus the Mark Levinson sound which I feel was worth the extra $2-3000.

Great Car, Great Mileage

This is my second ES300h, and it's even better than the first. The additional sound proofing and quietness are immediately noticeable. I have the Blind Side Monitoring and the Lexus Safety System Plus packages and they significantly improve the driving experience. When I got the car, it had 10 miles on the odometer and a full tank of gas. I drove it 18 miles to get it home and the instrument panel MPG readout was 24.7. That was NOT acceptable so I implemented my 2013 ES300h technique for mileage improvement. I put in 1.5 to 2.0 gallons of PREMIUM grade gas at every fill-up and increased, and rigorously maintain, 35 psi tire pressure. I measure the pressure alt least once a month, first thing in the morning, when the tires are cold. I took those actions with the new car. As expected, my mileage went from 24.7 to between 39.8 to 43.2 mpg in mixed city/highway driving!! I am very pleased, There is only downside I've encountered and change I wish they would have made -- there isn't enough storage space readily accessible to the driver. There isn't tray in which to put miscellaneous things I don't want to keep in my pockets when sitting in the car. The result is that I have to use the cup holders for my wallet, keys, sun glasses, coins and flip cell phone.

Leg room kinda tight

I think one problem that stood out for me was that my left leg hit the door moldings. I like to open my legs a little when I drive and not have them straight in front of me (which if I did may not have been a problem). Another thing I noticed, that others have pointed out is that the braking was not too great. The brakes on my current car are pretty sensitive and responsive, but braking with the same pressure on this car felt like the car was sliding forward and actually alarmed me. It was sort of scary but did not have enough time with the car to see if I would get used to that. The ceiling on the car was sort of low so w me at 5'9" I had only a half an inch above my head; same with the back seats, but the leg room is very good. Three large adults in the back would be very tight. What stood out as exceptional for the car was the suspension. Absorbed the bumps very well, even in the horrible streets of NYC. Another thing that stood out was the engine noise. This car revs very high when accelerating from 0-50/60mph and even with the sound deadening, engine is still loud due to the RPM. The sound system only sounded OK in the Premium version.

Comfortable Car - Promised Mileage NOT Obtained

The reason I leased this car was because I wanted a car that delivered a fine ride with terrific gas mileage (claimed at about 40 MPG). What I ended up getting is a car that delivered a fine ride, but the gas mileage was off by about 25% - and that is driving the car as gently as possible while in the most fuel efficient mode – ECO Drive. Don’t get me wrong, this is a nice car, well appointed and delivering a great ride. It is just that the mileage is far, far off from what was promised. I asked the salesman if I could take a car home overnight, and was told “no.” (now I know why he said no). Had I spent more time test driving the car, the MPG truth would have become obvious. Oh well. Next time I will be more vigilant.

This car is a head turner!

I have never owned a hybrid and was skeptical, but the car has outstanding gas mileage, without giving up a lot of handling or even power. While only 200 hp, the car gets up and goes when you need it to. The ride is quiet, comfortable and the tech features are top notch which adds up to a great ride with plenty of creature comforts.. I have the Premium Limited edition with park assist, blind spot monitoring (the best), automatic high-beam headlights, lane departure warning and forward collision warning with automatic braking and they are, in a word, outstanding. Great car for commuting and for weekend travel. Best of all the car has the great Lexus good looks and it is nice to get the looks and know that I'm also getting the mileage.

Nice but not nice enough for the $

I test drove the 300h with the tech package. I liked all of the tech features. I really wanted to like everything about the car. I test drove an es350 several years ago and was impressed. However, the 300h that I test drove did not have a smooth ride. There was also an excessive amount of wind noise. Maybe I drove a lemon ? I wound up buying a Hyundai hybrid limited. The interior was not quite as nice, but it was quieter and had a smoother ride.

Inflated advertised MPG

Bought this 2016 ES300H in early December 2015 with a (at least allegedly) full tank of gas by dealer. Fuel gauge did show full tank. At 450 miles, "Low Fuel" light came on. Assuming 3 gallons of gas still in the tank, mpg comes to 32. The mpg calculator/indicator in the car shows 33. I live in the mid-Atlantic area where the December 2016 weather was very mild. I have been driving very gently, no hard acceleration or stopping, as I wanted to see what gas mileage I would get. I've been driving about 60% in-town and 40% highway. I've read elsewhere people getting 33, 37, or 40 mpg. Does individual ES300H's have such large disparity in mpg? Lax quality control? Or the car should have low mpg during "break-in" period (first 600 miles) when the engine is "tight"? After one year owning the car, I can confidently say that my ES300H never achieves the advertised mpg, even in ECO mode. 34~35 mpg is the norm, and low fuel light comes on at about 450~500 miles, and at 500 miles, need to add 14~15 gallons. Also, actual mpg calculated from added gas versus mileage is always lower than shown in the dashboard. Jan 2018 Update: I have owned my 300H for 2 years now, at 18K miles. Have been driving it in ECO mode for almost 2 years. In pleasant temperatures (e.g. May or October), I can get 39~41 mpg reading on dashboard. Actual mpg calculated from gas filled/miles run is always about 2 mpg below car reading. In winter, mpg is much lower. I am currently (December - January) reading 33~34 mpg in car, expecting actual mpg to be 2 mpg lower.

Hybrid Review

The engine is extremely quite while idling or at slower speeds.

Lexus ES 300H

Driveing expirience is awsome but navigation SUCKS, That joystic is dark ages poorly design ,and you cant operate most of the van while driving,I wont buy Lexus again.

Pay Less for More

Lexus is riding on its name. For $7,700 less than the Lexus ES 300h, I purchased a Toyota Avalon hybrid Limited. The Avalon has more features, better styling, intuitive technology, a bigger trunk and is just plain fun to drive. The Avalon is built on the Lexus LS frame, while the Lexus ES is built on Toyota's Camry frame. I say this as a former Lexus ES 350 owner; I loved that car! The new ones are no match for my old Lexus or for the Toyota Avalon Limited.

Could be a forever car

Auto climate control built in without driver control is stupid. The Joystick toggle is cumbersome--a simple touch screen is much better, would save time, and be a lot more safe.

Sleek and sporty

This is a great vehicle ! Exterior appointments are very nice. I would have liked the option of pin striping but am well satisfied with the appearance over all. The interior is very nicely done with quality materials and color selection. Performance so far is great. It is taking some time to figure out how to make the navigation system work but will figure it out.

Dream car

First of all buying this car from Alhambra Volkswagen was a great experience. Everyone there was so nice to deal with. I fell in love with the quality of this car. It handles so well but most importantly was the environmental impact. It has such great gas mileage for a luxury vehicle, and it doesn’t lack when accelerating. It’s Fantastic!

Love my 2016 ES300h

My Es300h has performed flawlessly for the past 3 years. Locally, the Lexus dealer is offering me $23K trade in and $6K in incentives if I trade for the 2019 / 2020 model. I'm really having a hard time with this as I'd love 3 - 4 years newer technology, but do I really need the payment. This is the very best auto I've ever owned, and I've owned a lot of cars going back to a 1962 Dodge Polara convertible with a 361 interceptor V8 engine (second worst car I've owned but he most fun to drive with gas at $.17 per gal).

Lexus ES 300h

Smooth running, quiet car with good gas mileage.

Great all-around car