Today on CarCostCanada, automotive journalist Trevor Hofmann reviews the 2015 Lexus ES 300h in top-line Executive trim. The Lexus ES is North America’s best-selling luxury sedan and the electrified…

2015 Lexus ES 300h Executive Road Test Review

If you have been seriously considering a luxury hybrid due to high fuel costs yet are now reconsidering because pump prices have fallen dramatically over the last month, I have one thing to say to you: think long-term. While nobody can predict the future, this recent decline in the price of oil may be more of a short-term reaction to geopolitical circumstance than any real abundance of cheap crude, and besides, if you had been told seven or eight years ago that gas would be priced near a dollar per litre in the year 2015 (let alone 20 to 50 percent higher as we experienced over the past couple of years), wouldn't you have been planning to purchase a hybrid someday in the future anyway?

No matter whether fuel prices drop another 20 percent, stay level, or go up to their previous highs, the 2015 Lexus ES 300h is a good choice. It remains one of the most comfortably spacious luxury cars in the mid-size segment, not to mention well-appointed and great looking. Of course, styling Read Full Story
Lexus has given its midsize RX luxury crossover a subtle update for 2015, and auto journalist Trevor Hofmann reviews it in detail. This attractive, comfortable, quick and ultra-efficient CUV is the industry’s…

2015 Lexus RX 450h SportDesign Road Test Review

Once upon a time, the only luxury crossover SUV available with an efficient hybrid-electric drivetrain was the Lexus RX. Now, 10 years later, many premium brands offer hybridized CUVs. While the RX remains the leader, Lexus is fully aware that they can't rest on their laurels while competitors play catch up, reason enough for introducing numerous upgrades with their 2015 RX 450h SportDesign.

Like the conventionally powered RX 350, the RX 450h benefits from a refreshed front fascia, keeping this latest iteration's styling fresh two years after the mid-cycle upgrade it received for the 2013 model year, when Lexus added its now trademark spindle grille. The unique design works as well on the RX as it does with other vehicles in the Toyota-owned luxury brand's lineup, the model's continued sales success proof of its general acceptance amongst RX fans.

Lexus manages to capture a certain windswept sportiness with the latest RX design, the bold grille and chiseled lower fascia Read Full Story
Are you the Lexus RX 350? If you’re looking for a luxury crossover, chances are this one’s got your name on it. Read Trevor Hofmann’s review of the updated 2015 model to find out why so many premium…

2015 Lexus RX 350 SportDesign Road Test Review

Let me ask you a quick question. If you were to buy a mid-size luxury crossover SUV today, what would you buy? Almost every luxury brand makes one, but chances are, just based on statistics alone, a Lexus RX 350 would end up in your driveway.

The Lexus RX is the best selling luxury SUV in North America, period. Others are doing their best to catch up, but the originator of the entire luxury crossover segment is still number one after 16 years, and deservedly so. It does exactly what people who buy luxury crossovers want them to do, provide comfortable, accommodating, feature-filled transportation in a good looking richly appointed cabin, while delivering good fuel economy and exceptional reliability.

What most don't realize, however, is that the RX 350 is also a very enjoyable vehicle to drive. Comfort might be objective one, and to that end its ride quality is second to none, but plant your right foot on the accelerator from standstill or while passing slower moving Read Full Story
In the market for a luxury hybrid? If so, Lexus has a lot to choose from, including the new 2014 Lexus ES 300h, a good looking four-door sedan that’s big on roominess, features and fuel economy, plus…

2014 Lexus ES 300h Road Test Review

It's hard to believe that 2014 is just the second model year for the hybrid version of Lexus' most popular mid-size ES luxury sedan. If there ever was a no-brainer in the auto industry this car is it.

For the ES model's first five generations ending in 2012, the Lexus ES shared underpinnings with the mainstream Toyota Camry, which has long offered a hybrid alternative. That Lexus didn't choose to adapt the Camry Hybrid's drivetrain for ES duty is something I have difficulty wrapping my mind around, as it would have been a prime candidate. It's odd then that the brand waited until last year to offer a hybrid variant when the sixth-generation ES moved up to share the new Avalon's platform architecture, but the ES 300h is a welcome addition just the same.

We don't get the Avalon Hybrid here in Canada, our market too small to warrant such a niche trim level for a model that already sells in relatively small numbers overall. It's a shame, as the Avalon is a superb entry-level Read Full Story
With the CT 200h, Lexus combines the affordability of an entry-level model with the fuel-efficiency benefits of a hybrid. Mix in loads of luxury and the practicality of a five-door hatchback design and…

2014 Lexus CT 200h Road Test Review

All it takes is one quick glance at the new CT 200h to see the big change for 2014, the adoption of Lexus' new trademark spindle grille. As with all cars and SUVs in the luxury brand's lineup, the uniquely attractive front fascia appears as if it was designed for the car from the beginning, even though in the case of this entry-level model not all that much else has changed.

Let me clarify that last point, as it's only partially true. The front styling is obviously new, but the additional exterior updates are subtler, such as new 10-spoke, 16- and 17-inch alloy rims, a new shark fin-style roof antenna, and a more horizontally-shaped rear bumper integrating cool new L-shaped reflector housings and a black diffuser-style centre section for a sportier stance.

Inside, the 2014 CT 200h receives yet more updates. First and foremost, Lexus upgraded the car's tactile quality so that more surfaces are soft to the touch. Even nicer, the binnacle shading the primary instruments Read Full Story