Unboxing The ES 300h F Sport
For some reason the world likes things in neat little boxes. This is no truer than in the automotive world. Depending on your inclination, you are funneled into a category of car like a demographic in a marketer’s spreadsheet. Like a bit of mindfulness, earthing and vegan burgers? You, my friend, go into the hybrid category. Enjoy the soft, suede-like microfibre pile of your Alacantra manbag and the way that the light shimmers off your Ludwig Mies Van Der Rohe designed chair? Congratulations, it’s the luxury category for you. Played every version of Forza and Gran Turismo? It’s the Sport column for you.
But chances are that you are a little more complex than that and you might not want to be compartmentalised by the system, damn it! Well Lexus hear you. They have thought outside of the box, well boxes, and have combined the best of all worlds to give us the ES 300h F Sport. The vehicle that adds the sport to luxury to hybrid.
The ES 300h in its own right has been a success story for Lexus and, against a world of growing SUV sales, has proven the place for a quality mid-sized sedan. This is probably helped by impeccable handling, a responsive hybrid powertrain and plenty of room. This makes for a good base to add some F Sport DNA to, of course, which Lexus have done with a host of exterior and interior modifications which include exclusive 19-inch alloy wheels, triple LED headlights, headlight cleaners, auto-retract and memory side mirrors and sequential front indicators, unique upholstery, leather steering wheel with memory functions, an all-black mesh F Sport grille and front bumper.
To enhance the handling, the F Sport couples the Adaptive Variable Suspension with performance dampers front and rear. You can also choose from pre-set drive modes including Sport S, Sport S+ and Custom options.
Driving is just all fun and games though, especially when you are carting your family around, so it’s good to know that the ES 300h F Sport features the latest Lexus Safety System + and includes All-Speed Dynamic Radar Cruise Control with Road Sign Assist function, Lane Tracing Assist, a dual stage Adaptive High-beam System, and the Lexus Pre-Collision System with Autonomous Emergency Braking. Other safety features include a comprehensive 10 airbag package, Blind Spot Monitor, Intelligence Clearance Sonar, a tyre pressure warning system and Rear Cross Traffic Alert with braking.
In terms of the all-important interior, NuLux and soft touch materials contrast with slashes of aluminium, symbolising a samurai sword, to create a very cool space. This is further accented by aluminium F Sport pedals and a configurable 8-inch F Sport instrument panel. And to help remind you that you are in an F Sport variant of of the ES 300h (not that you’ll need reminding), you get F Sport logos on the clock, gear lever knob, steering wheel and front headrests.
And whatever your musical tastes, we’re not here to try and define you of course, you will be able to enjoy them via an immersive 10 speaker array and infotainment system that is controlled via a touchpad linked to a wide 12.3-inch screen that connects to either an Apple smartphone using Apple Car Play, or Android phone with Android Auto.
ES300h 2.5 Hybrid Sedan F Sport ECVT is priced at $88,700