If you have been seriously considering a luxury hybrid due to high fuel costs yet are now reconsidering because pump prices

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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

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most comfortably spacious luxury cars in the mid-size segment, not to mention well-appointed and great looking. Of course, styling is a personal thing, but the car’s impressive sales prove that ES customers like what they see and I happen to concur, plus they love the way it drives.

The ES is all about smooth. It’s not trying to outperform rival brands’ sport sedans – Lexus has its IS model for that purpose. Rather, the ES’ sole purpose is comfortable quiet cruising, its exterior sheet metal aerodynamically designed to minimize wind noise, its body panels filled with extra insulation to isolate occupants from the noises of the outside world, its suspension made compliant enough

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to absorb nasty dips, bumps and any other assortment of pavement irregularities, and its drivetrain discreetly capable of ample performance with a minimum of fuss. That it’s also one of the most reliable cars money can buy is an additional luxury its owners enjoy, and something that its European rivals can’t boast of.

Come to think of it, the ES really doesn’t have any direct European rivals. None of the big three Germans (or for that matter the lone Brit) makes a large front-drive sedan

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at all. If you consider Sweden part of Europe then Volvo offers its S80, but it starts at $10k more than the base ES, whereas the S60 is too small to be compared directly. Amongst North American competitors GM’s Buick division offers its LaCrosse, even in mild hybrid from, and Lincoln antes up with its MKZ, this one with a full hybrid option, whereas the only premium Asian competitor that comes close is the Acura RLX, although like the Volvo S80 pricing starts at more than $50k for the conventionally powered version while Acura’s hybrid starts at $70k. The 2015 Lexus ES 350 starts off at only $41,600 plus $1,995 for freight and pre-delivery preparation, while the electrified ES 300h can be had for $44,000.

One

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look at this car and you’ll see it’s easily as dramatically aspirational as any of the aforementioned competitors, and arguably more so than most. The Volvo looks downright dowdy in comparison, the Buick a bit long in the tooth too, not to mention stuck with that grandpa stigma the near-premium GM brand hasn’t been able to shake. The Lincoln, on the other hand, has one of those love it or hate it designs that polarizes viewpoints, and the Acura is nowhere near as grand looking despite its slightly grander size. No, most people will agree that the ES, benefiting from Lexus’ trademark “spindle” grille, is the best looking of its rivals, but of course styling is a personal thing and we’re all free to decide what we like best.

As

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for the ES’ interior, it’s a mix between premium level soft-touch synthetics and harder plastics. The softer surfaces are the usual dash top, door uppers front and rear, door inserts and armrests, while harder surfaces on the lower dash panels, lower console and lower door panels are to be expected in this more entry-level luxury category. Then again, some rivals, even from volume mainstream brands, are attempting to upstage the ES by adding yet more soft-touch surfaces and other premium touches, but I doubt Lexus is worried about losing sales to bargain basement-branded premium wannabes. After all, there’s a

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lot more to luxury than pampering plastics.

First of all, the way Lexus puts all of the aforementioned soft-touch surfaces together makes for a beautiful display of contemporary industrial art. The sculpted dash top is expansive and stitched with genuine white thread to match the contrast stitching on the leather portion of my tester’s leather and wood steering wheel, as well as the stitching on the Remote Touch Interface infotainment controller’s padded “palm” rest, the centre and door armrests, and the seat bolsters. Wood that matches the steering wheel spans the dash and door panels plus gets layered onto the lower centre console for a look that’s utterly rich, while brushed and chromed metal garnishes are added with impeccable restraint and taste.

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The ES 300h’s primary gauges are large and easy to read while filled with useful info via the standard multi-information display, which also boasts unique hybrid details to help you get the most from each litre of fuel, whereas the switchgear on and around the steering wheel is high in quality for a look and feel that seems like it will last for eons.

Likewise for the centre stack, which isn’t really a centre stack at all. I call it such out of habit, but Lexus has gone and messed with the status quo and by so doing delivered something a great deal more appealing, both visually and functionally as the instrument panel is now laid out with distinct command and control zones. A large infotainment screen gets deeply recessed within the aforementioned sculpted

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dash top, controllable via the Remote Touch Interface situated on the lower console that I also described earlier, complete with a newly designed haptic touchpad just ahead of its padded palm rest. The system’s graphics are full-colour and wonderfully clear, while its ability to split its screen into three sections for optimal usability of its audio, climate, navigation and additional settings, such as a customizable home screen, HD Radio with complimentary traffic and weather data, Bluetooth streaming audio, automatic phonebook transfer, 3D maps, a bird’s-eye navigation view, and traffic guidance, not to mention the ability to cache 15 minutes of radio broadcasts for playing later, makes it ultimately useful. What’s

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more, new this year is Lexus Enform Remote, a subscription-based service that lets you monitor and control numerous vehicle functions, such as remotely locking and unlocking the doors, starting and stopping the engine, setting the climate control system, or keeping an eye on teenagers, friends, or anyone else you may have loaned your car to, via your compatible iOS or Android smartphone. The carryover Lexus Enform App Suite now gets Slacker radio and iHeartRadio 4.0.

Just below the infotainment screen is an elegant round clock that should appeal to classic horology buffs, bookended by a useful set of vents, while below these is an interface filled with knobs and buttons that include one for the engine’s ignition system on the very left, and all the audio system controls to the right, my tester’s featuring the top-line Mark Levinson system that’s solely worth the price bump to the

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Technology package alone if you truly love music. Incidentally, the Mark Levinson system now includes a new “restoration” feature that enhances the quality of compressed digital audio files.

Hanging just underneath is a complex combination of dual-zone automatic climate control switchgear, while controls for the heated and ventilated front seats can be found even farther down the “stack” atop the lower console, along with a button for the heated steering wheel and one for the powered rear window sunshade.

Some of these items are standard and some optional, so before we continue I’d better

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help you sort it all out. Every ES 300h comes with the proximity-sensing Smart Key system with pushbutton ignition, multi-information display, analog clock, dual-zone automatic climate control, and heated/ventilated front seats I just mentioned, as well as a seven-inch display audio system incorporating a reverse camera and eight-speaker audio system featuring AM/FM/CD/MP3/WMA/satellite radio, aux and USB inputs, plus Bluetooth connectivity. Standard three-way driver’s memory powers the standard power tilt and telescopic steering column and the 10-way adjustable driver’s

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seat that’s wonderfully comfortable (as is the 10-way adjustable front passenger seat), although I never tested the base model’s perforated NuLuxe upholstery. As per the usual luxury fare, all windows power up and down automatically, while variable intermittent wipers, cruise control and a garage door opener integrated within an auto-dimming rearview mirror are standard, plus there’s a powered tilt and slide moonroof overhead. Outside the standard list includes LED daytime running lights, fog lamps, a rear lip spoiler and 17-inch alloy wheels.

If this isn’t enough then Lexus gives you the choice of three upgrade packages. The

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first is dubbed Touring package and, at $46,550 plus freight consists of an infotainment/audio upgrade with a larger eight-inch screen incorporating navigation and the Remote Touch Interface I told you about before, plus a better audio system with an in-dash DVD player. The Touring package also adds rain-sensing wipers, blind spot monitoring, intuitive parking assist, clearance and back-up sensors, and the beautiful heated wood-enhanced steering wheel I also mentioned earlier.

An upgrade to the Technology package adds the 15-speaker Mark Levinson ear candy and powered rear sunshade I previously told you about, as well as rear door sunshades, perforated leather

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upholstery, illuminated entry, auto-leveling HID headlamps and 18-inch alloys, all for $49,800.

Lastly, the top-line Executive package that came with my tester added premium perforated leather upholstery, passenger seat memory, a powered trunk lid, automatic high-beam assist, dynamic radar cruise control, lane departure alert, rear cross traffic alert, and Lexus’ pre-collision system for $52,900.

Another luxury that Lexus customers enjoy is the industry’s best long-term record on reliability, the ES achieving J.D. Power and Associates’ best compact premium car status in its most recent 2014 Vehicle Dependability Study. Lexus also took the best midsize premium car (GS), best large premium car (LS) and best midsize SUV

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(RX) categories. I’m not sure why J.D. Power classifies the ES as a compact, especially since the smaller Toyota Camry that rides on a shorter version of the Toyota K platform architecture took best midsize car honours. Their reasoning hardly matters in the end, but rather the results, which look very good on Lexus and the ES.

The Lexus ES actually utilizes an identical wheelbase to the Toyota Avalon, the latter an impressive luxury sedan as well. This long wheelbase allows for excellent rear seat roominess, capable of swallowing up three full-size adults in comfort. The front seats are generous too, while occupants front and back won’t issue any complaint about seat comfort thanks to good leg and lumbar support at all positions. Trunk space is good for the conventionally powered ES and somewhat abbreviated

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for the hybridized ES 300h I drove recently, the measurement dropping from 430 litres to 342, while no rear seat pass-through is offered. But let’s be reasonable as Lexus has the aforementioned RX available if skiing is your thing, featuring conventional or hybrid drivetrains as well as all-wheel drive for getting up to the slopes.

I had no such intentions during my ES 300h test week, mostly because there was no snow on the local mountains (and it’s not much better now). Rather, I was very satisfied just to cruise around town with my significant other at my side doing our various errands, totally at ease and completely coddled. I tend not to drive the ES as fast as some other premium sedans like Lexus’ IS, which focus more

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on sport, and it’s just fine by me. It’s true that a car influences its driver more often than not, and the majority of ES drivers that I see are abiding by the rules of the road. Don’t get me wrong, as both ES 350 and ES 300h are quick off the line, the 3.5-litre V6 powered version tuned to produce 268 horsepower and 248 lb-ft of torque for truly enthusiastic acceleration, whereas the hybrid’s 2.5-litre four and electric motor combination nets a more sedate yet still willing 200 horsepower and 212 lb-ft of torque.

On the road the ES 300h certainly feels more entertaining than the numbers suggest, likely because much of its torque can be felt immediately upon pressing the throttle as part of the electric motor’s inherent nature. The internal combustion

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portion of the drivetrain is a DOHC, 16-valve, Atkinson-cycle unit featuring variable valve timing with intelligence, while the electric half incorporates a permanent magnet synchronous motor and nickel-metal hydride battery combination. Power goes down to the front wheels via a continuously variable transmission (CVT), the way Lexus (and Toyota) has done hybrids from the very beginning and therefore the most tried and tested HEV drivetrain setup period.

It all results in absolutely smooth and continuous performance, which is precisely the type of driving experience ES customers seem to want, not to mention a powertrain that’s totally congruent with the suspension setup. As I said in last year’s ES 300h review, “The ES doesn’t ride, it glides.” As mentioned its fully independent MacPherson strut and stabilizer equipped undercarriage won’t make you suffer through the types of road scars most of us need to endure, but then again it’s plenty capable when pushed through corners at higher than posted speeds, albeit within reason. My tester’s 18-inch alloy wheels shod in 225/45R18 all-season tires helped to keep the car stuck to pavement, while last year’s upgraded

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electric power steering delivered better responsiveness and the longer wheelbase improved ride and high-speed stability, the latter improved upon even more via new opposite-wound front coil springs.

Depending on your mood, Lexus’ Drive Mode Select system allows you to choose one of four performance settings ranging from EV to Sport, with ECO and Normal modes in between. I tried them all, experiencing a noticeable difference in Sport mode, and not just because the instrument cluster glows red instead of the blue hue used for EV and ECO modes, but because it gets up and goes with more immediacy. I must admit to keeping the ES 300h in ECO mode most of all, and not because I wouldn’t have rather enjoyed better mileage in EV mode. While driving around shops in my neighbourhood looking for a parking spot over a 10-minute period I managed to

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stay in EV mode, which was pretty impressive. Yet as soon as I went over 30 km/h the internal combustion engine came on. The next day I was able to drive up to 40 km/h in EV mode, which was certainly an improvement, but the ES 300h still couldn’t keep up with traffic on electric power alone. That’s obviously not its purpose, and at the end of the week I wasn’t complaining when the necessity to refuel arrived.

These are the moments hybrid owners enjoy most. For such a large and accommodating car the ES 300h is one of the stingiest fuel misers available, with a claimed Natural Resources Canada rating of 5.8 L/100km in the city and 6.1 on the highway. Note that these are the numbers quoted on the brand’s retail website,

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while the car’s specification info that’s downloadable in PDF format from the same website (and from the company’s press site) shows last year’s rating of 4.7 L/100km city and 5.1 highway for the 2015 model. Lexus will want to change this ASAP as it’s outdated information based on our government’s old two-cycle rating system that’s since been improved to a five-cycle process for all 2015 models, resulting in much more accurate fuel consumption estimates.

Along with the steady improvements made to the Lexus Hybrid Drive system, the luxury brand has learned a lot about how to make regenerative brakes feel smooth and controllable, some of its rivals still plagued by initial grabbiness. The brakes are discs all-round, of course, and ABS-enhanced with the addition of electronic brake-force distribution and emergency brake assist, while the ES 300h’s

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standard safety kit also includes traction and vehicle stability control, Smart Stop Technology (which reduces power to the engine during braking), hill start assist, tire pressure monitoring, and a total of 10 airbags, six of which are the normal variety while two are for the driver and front passenger’s knees, and two are side-impact airbags for the rear outboard seats. Along with ES 300h’s ultra-strong body structure these safety features helped it earn a Top Safety Pick award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS).

What

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I like best about the ES 300h is how perfectly all of its technology works with minimal input from its driver. It just goes about its business with as little fuss as possible, while all of its various digital interfaces are designed to be used by people with very little technological know-how, meaning that you don’t have to be a computer programmer in order to get the most out of the multi-information display embedded within the primary gauges or the advanced infotainment system atop the centre stack. It’s seriously complex tech, but it’s all ultimately user-friendly in a very intuitive way.

That pretty well describes the 2015 Lexus ES 300h to a tee. From its thrifty hybrid electric

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drivetrain to its sophisticated electronics it’s a state-of-the-art statement of advanced engineering, yet it’s about as easy to live with as cars get. No wonder the ES is the most popular luxury sedan in North America. It deserves its success and more. As for buying the conventionally powered ES 350 or electrified ES 300h that’s your call entirely, although I wouldn’t bank on low fuel prices lasting forever.

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