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Lexus ES300h MY21

59K views 224 replies 28 participants last post by  wrxmania  
#1 · (Edited)
Well, after nearly 5 years with the fabulous GS450h, it was decision time - keep maintaining (absolutely worth it), move into a 5 year old GS450h or look at a newer ES300h. Here it is looking lonely at the dealer awaiting to be sent to auction [emoji22]

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I have ALMOST bought a newer GS450h a few times, but other than being a bit newer/more modern/a few nice modern features, nothing got close to the one I had worth spending ÂŁ20k+ for a 5/6/7 year old car.

I also looked at, and seriously thought about a GS-F, which is a dream car, but the prices, rarity (and a lot had 5+ owners) and to a tiny amount, running costs, made this less of a good option, especially as I do drive my cars and it would not be a Sunday driver or garage queen.

A chance email to the Lexus dealer replying to a generic sales email which has a stupid finance mistake in it, led to some discussion with the franchise principal and some thinking, running options and some extra negotiations as we neared the end of the month (and led towards their VIP event on this weekend).

Anyway, several cars weighed up including a quite new low mileage GS300h F Sport, a potential RC-F and a few options on new ES models.

Long story short, deal worked out, then reworked out to ensure it covered quite a few extras for me that lead to not a lot of cost for the franchise but save me loads - various cars and colours but I loved the combination of Velvet Black NON metallic paint, and the lighter interior, so sorted a deal on an ES300h MY21 Premium Edition Velvet Black with a Sand leather interior, which adds some newer tweaks but also some important stuff - 12.3" screen, wireless charging, Apple Car play, 18" wheels, rear tints, and a huge pile of other spec including heated seats/steering wheel, electric front seats and steering wheel with auto retract on exit, huge levels of safety kit and driver aids - you get the idea - it's the highest rated Euro NCAP car ever I think thanks to all the pedestrian, auto braking, cyclist in the dark etc avoidance - all of which you can adjust or turn off.

I had already driven plenty of newer Lexus, but the test drive went well and for as long as I wanted, lovely quality, superbly heavy doors, beautifully built, and now I have it and have driven about 100 miles since yesterday, it's just an amazing car to have and experience. It is NOT an Aston Martin or a Ferrari, but it's also a hell of a lot better built, will be superb to own, and is plenty quick enough on the road with the newest hybrid system - it has an eco, a normal and a sport mode for economy vs responsiveness and is averaging just under 50mpg since I bought it so far on very mixed driving.

As part of the deal, and THE most important part - it left the dealer and went to their (luckily) on site company Detailogy for 3 days for a full new car prep, single stage machine and full ceramic coating. A valeter would have destroyed the velvet black on this so I was VERY clear with the franchise director I would NOT be allowing the dealer to prep the new car.

I have also negotiated in various useful (and some gratuitous extras) to bump up value to me to include a Lexus stainless steel entry guard, a Lexus boot liner, a complete spare set of black Lexus mats (it has dark brown ones which looks superb), a Lexus flask mug and lovely Lexus pen, full tank of fuel, as well as GAP insurance and the first service covered too - this was alongside a fair to reasonable enough trade in and a good deal on the car pricing and finance too.

All in, I am extremely pleased with the car - it's simply the most luxurious and high quality car I have ever owned and, although I will miss the GS450h outright performance, and a few of the luxuries (Mark Levinson sound, rear blind, cooling memory seats, auto dipping on reversing door mirrors) there are plenty of other lovely new features alongside a very decent Pioneer 10 speaker sound system which, importantly, still has a sub and centre speaker and can play DVDs too [emoji1]

Anyway, here are some pics after it was pressure washed as it was already looking unloved (parked under trees today at work, collected in the driving rain etc).

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A short video of the car starting up


I'll keep this thread updated now over many years of (hopefully) happy ownership [emoji2956][emoji817][emoji106][emoji91]

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#4 ·
Shame about the weather, as would have been nice to see it sparkling in the photos. But what a georgeous machine - I hope you keep it a long time, and I look forward to future updates!

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#5 ·
It's a lovely thing and the detailer is going to send me some shots he took so hopefully get them soon [emoji106]

I am certainly planning on investing the time and effort into maintaining it as best as I can, and will be speaking to the detailer when it heads in for its 1 month coating checkup and safe wash.

My plan is to have as little "washing" as possible, and maybe experiment with a DI vessel to get it dried without needing to put a towel on it - I am thinking PW rinse, foam, PW off, foam again and very soapy wash with wash mitts and something like TAC Systems Mystic Bubble or CarPro Reset followed by another rinse then a DI rinse to "dry" [emoji106]

Here is the brochure for the car https://d3rvezpmgp265q.cloudfront.net/lexusone/lexgbenv11/es_brochure_102020_tcm-3157-2093698.pdf

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#7 ·
Looking forward to those detailer photos!

Interesting on you plans for washing and keeping it swirl free for as long as possible.

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#13 ·
Looks like georgeous soft grain leather - you rarely get that in a German equivalent.

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#15 ·
Here's some lovely interior details taken in the near dark

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The variety and quality of materials, the machining on the aluminium and the texture on any black trim so it's not just flat, the height adjustable cup holder, the texture on the controls, the sound of the door closing make the designers efforts worthwhile.

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#20 · (Edited)
Yeah - it's very neat and tidy, beautifully engineered and nice to see quite a bit of sound deadening inside the bay too.

Knowing how the GS450h engine looked after nearly 15 years and 129,000 miles, I have real confidence that this one should have no issues as it looks just as well constructed. It's amazing to thinking that the GS450h almost looked the same at its age!

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#22 ·
Looks a lovely motor mate, enjoy it and enjoy finding out new things / differences over the old model.

The RC was on my radar as a possible, but they're not doing it now, suppose RC-F might be worth a look :D

Enjoy your new car mate :thumb:
Thank you - it's a well designed car with few "niggles" so far.

There was a lovely RC-F when I was looking, and that could have been a consideration but I think I have probably made the right move so far [emoji106]

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#24 ·
Absolutely - I love all those features of the cars, and alongside that, I am not seeing 10,000,000 of them on the road and the dealers have a very specific set of standards they are expected to meet down to the layout of showrooms, flexibility and care for customers. It's one of the main reasons I feel Lexus is the right place to invest.

I am sure an Audi A6 or BMW 5 Series handles better on the road, and are great cars (and there are good dealers) but I am also glad that the owners of Lexus cars often see through the pathetic quality of reviewing by magazines and the press who hang onto small differences or alternative options as "issues" whether that be engine note, using the media, or similar things that every owners gets used to.

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#25 · (Edited)
Picked up some accessories that were organised by Lexus after buying the car as part of the overall deal:

New black front and rear carpet mat set (the ones in the car are dark brown to match some of the interiors tones. I am confident they will last the lifetime of the car - with two sets of mats rotating, the last car was sold with its original cream mats and still looking pretty decent after 129,000 miles [emoji106]

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Also a genuine Lexus boot liner which will protect the carpet from filth and wear.

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Also had a very nice (but currently filthy) stainless steel etched bumper protector - a lovely "garnish" that serves a purpose

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#29 ·
Lovely car. As a long term Lexus owner Im genuinely surprised whenever I read reviews online

Ive had the RX300, 2012 RX450h, 2013 IS300h and currently own an RX450h and UX300e. Theyre bloody brilliant cars and never had any major issues with them. The radio died in the IS300h after a battery swap but because it had a FLSH Lexus said they'd change it for ÂŁ500 as goodwill without any hassle whatsoever.

I do think theyre hidden gems. The exclusivity is a plus point and I do find the designs quite refreshing compared to the boring Germans

Dont get me wrong, I also have had a Jag, a few Mercs and I think Lexus quality is much above them. The Mercs have a nice interior but the quality is not the same and they do rattle! In all the Lexus I have owned, Ive only had 1 rattle from my 2012 RX.
 
#37 ·
Looking good mate :thumb:

What made you decide to have it coated ?
Knowing the paint and how sensitive it is to wash marring, the coating should help to protect that. I also did NOT want it dealer prepped from new and I knew how well prepped it would be by the detailer - made sense to get it coated at that time and know it was protected from the get go [emoji106]

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#38 · (Edited)
"Job" done today - not done on any car before but I like tech [emoji1]

After some research and the usual NetBase options, decided there was loads out there that could do the same. Settled for this one with loads of great reviews (abs same spec as the good NetBase ones)

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Bought a 128gb card and also a hardwire kit for it too. It has all the features you want - GPS, WiFi and a decent app, front rear 1080p cameras, auto power on/off, motion sensor for recording when powered down, auto lock on important video files …..

Anyway here are some rough trial shots and some pictures of it being installed

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Here is the fuse box and the wiring then in place - chose the fuse for the wipers:

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And here it is position (roughly) and the front camera working - will keep tweaking it but after some test drives, seems to be working fine (5 minute loop recording and plenty of space on the SD card).

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