That's a gray area, kinda like the styling...

 

I can also totally attest to this from my drive of the car, as I actually had to use them (oh crap!) to avoid an accident.

I was going into a separate right turn lane following behind this guy in an old Buick when just suddenly out of nowhere he comes to a dead stop. Needless to say, this is not an experience you want to have when driving a loaner car! Fortunately the brakes were excellent and I didn't have any trouble stopping in time. I think the Buick must have stalled or something.

The turning radius of the HS is pretty nice too, as even though I was pretty close to the rear of this guy's car, I was able to steer around him once traffic cleared without needing to use reverse.

 

I like it. 40 MPG hwy is pretty good...wait for the 2.5L I4.

 

Excellent writeup, Mike, Thank you.

 

The much smaller, plainer Honda Insight only gets in the low 40s on the highway.....and the HS, of course, at virtually the same mileage, is a lot nicer car overall.

 

Thanks for sharing as always Mike.

One question. How is the back seat leg room compared to the IS and ES?

 

its somewhere in between the IS and the ES. the ES has huge amounts of legroom.

 

great review Mike. I am now looking forward to my next iol change and service. My service rep told me that thew dealership was going to be switching to these over the IS model as the main loaner. I am eager to see what a hybrid feels like. Especially one that costs 40k

 

Exactly and leaning more towards the ES in headroom, legroom and shoulder room. The design of this car is very upright and square shouldered, nothing like the swoopy IS so the backseat is pretty solid in the HS.

A couple other tidbits:

I noticed the TRUNK needs a real good slam to make sure its closed. A couple times I thought it was closed but it was not.

This let me know the car had the lame old style "door open" warning that tells you a door is open but not which one.

The rear license plate and the puddle lights have standard halogen bulbs and not LEDs like on my 450h and other Lexus models.

You REALLY sit high up in this car. It towers over most cars, especially older ones. It gives you a nice view of the road, especially with the way the dash is setup and the abundance of windows.

Considering the size of the windows, the noise was not an issue. It was a quiet car. I was expecting to hear windnoise but we did not.

Not a huge fan of the standard sound system. I am no audiophile but to me it was pretty flat sounding no matter what I played with boomy bass, high treble and overall blah. I would need to listen to the ML in the car but I am pretty sure it HAS to sound much better.

Today I got 32 MPG, not great but again the car is brand new and its cold and I am not exactly an eco drive though I drive a hybrid. Now mind you there is no way in hell any IS or ES is going to AVERAGE 32 MPG. Maybe on the highway but NOT overall. Something to think about.

After much discussion with my G/F we agreed its a GREAT addition to the Lexus lineup and felt 100% like a Lexus. It did grow on both of us immensely. Now buying one is another issue as IMAGE does come into play as do exterior styling. We think its fine and understand its FUNCTION but she likes the looks of the IS and ES far better as do I.

 

I'm really enjoying this thread thanks again!

The quote above is one I've been waiting for and have not seen (at least not that I remember) in a lot of write ups on the HS. To me this means if someone has already decided they are getting a Hybrid that everyone will know is a Hybrid and they drive this car at least they will know they are driving a Lexus. FWIW I think this a critical point as to whether the car will continue to sell well.

 

i wish my car got 32 mpg ;-).

 

Great real-world info

 

Another HS250h review.

http://www.examiner.com/x-1017-DC-Ca...0-Lexus-HS250h

 

Thanks for sharing in my thread. Its exactly what Santa Clause needs to pick up the reindeers crap with.

First the moron clearly doesn't know that the HS is being produced at full capacity and we can't even get cars here. He also didn't even reseach its low sales goal here of only 24k.

He is completely wrong about the engine at highway speeds, it is more than adequte. Possibly he never had it in Power mode.

There is no Corolla buzzing from the engine unless he is reaching like most detractors to MENTION Corolla anytime this car comes up.


His craptastic writing is EXACTLY why I do reviews.


I will edit this later and respond with more later...

 

Wait, the review was negative? I actually just posted it here without reading it. I just saw that this was an independent test and I thought it would be something refreshing compared to the usual magazine write-up.

My bad.