Lexus ES300h Takumi - driving luxury

Road Test

byMarkSlack

IT takes a lot of time, money and hard work to build a new brand, and many automotive giants have tried and failed over the years. One manufac ‐turer who succeeded is Toyota, with their luxury brand Lexus. Launched in the UK back in 1990 with the LS400, early second hand models with large mileages still fetch sur ‐prisingly good money. It was a car that was never going to set your driving senses alight but used the best quality materials and engineering and was supremely refined.

Although style is very subjective Lexus models have become less conven‐tional in their looks but continue to major on quality and reliability. The ES300 follows that theme with a drive train that’s smooth, refined and eco ‐nomical, but not one to thrash across a twisting cross country road.

Priced from €45,561/ £40,000 the ES sits just below the largest Lexus offering, the LS, and has just one engine option of a 2.5 ‐ litre four ‐ cylinder petrol/ electric hybrid, mated to a CVT auto matic gear box. It’s a happier engineering union than a lot of CVT and double

Facts at a Glance

• Model: Lexus ES 300h Takumi clutch transmissions. Changes are smooth and can be encouraged via flappy paddles. There’s a more noticeable rise in engine revs compared to remain high until the speed catches up. Howev‐er, being a Lexus, every ‐thing remains pretty re ‐fined and quiet. above a sporting drive. It’s a car that doesn’t par‐ticularly entertain, but is‐n’t designed to in fair ‐ness. The comfort levels

• Engine: 2.5-litre, 4-cylinder, petrol-electric hybrid

• Gears: CVT automatic

• Performance:0-100kmh (62mph) 8.9 seconds. • Maximum Speed 180kmh (112mph)

• Economy:5.3l/100km(53.2mpg) combined driving-WLTP

• Emissions:120g/km-WLTP Model tested was UK-specification and equipment levels and prices may vary in other markets.

The ES is at its best as a comfortable cruiser and definitely for drivers who value quality and comfort feeling of quali‐ty wherever you look. The front seats have heating and cooling along with a substantial array of individual controls even in the rear where the seats are heated and recline. Other standard fare in the Takumi models includes, in a very long list, a fantastic 17‐speaker audio system, an electric rear sunblind, large multi‐media screen, head ‐ up display, powered tilt and slide sunroof, LED lights with corner ‐ing headlights and a veritable plethora of oth ‐er comfort, con‐venience and safety features. The interior as a whole is a very nice and impres ‐sive place. At €64,202 / £56,365 the ES Takumi is‐n’t cheap but it offers a size and level of equip ‐ment that puts others to shame.

If you like your automo‐tive luxury, and want to be wafted along, then the ES should be on your shopping list.

MEASURES have been an‐nounced to increase the use of electric vehicles, as well as the production of sustainable avia‐tion fuel in the UK.

The UK government has now launched the £381 million Local Electric Vehicle Infrastruc‐ture (LEVI) fund alongside an additional £15 million for the On‐Street Residential Charging Scheme (ORCS).

Taken together, the funding will support the installation of tens of thousands of new chargers across the country, in‐creasing EV infrastructure in every area and ensuring the UK’s charging network can support the increasing number of EV drivers.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said: “Transport is one of the most important sectors for achieving net zero by 2050 and so we must accelerate our efforts to decarbonise how people get from A to B while growing our economy and supporting thousands of green jobs. From expanding our charging network to boosting production of cleaner aviation fuel, today’s announcement is a great stride forward.”