Pavement make a big difference as well. When you hit a new pavement it feels like there is zero noise and other times noise level goes way up. My commute is short and always same. I have a trip in 10 days that will take me 300 miles north. If I will not forget I will test it for longer period.

 

There are MANY variables to this kind of rudimentary comparison. As others have already indicated, tires and road surfaces are two huge factors. But different mobile phones will also have varying levels of microphone sensitivity - even within the same model run. You would literally need to use the same phone in both vehicles for that comparison to have much validity. With that said, I wouldn’t expect a 10 db variation to be caused by different phones alone. There is obviously more to this story.

When we were shopping for our 2019 I had read that the Ultra Luxury and hybrid models both had additional sound deadening. In the case of the hybrid, it was suggested this was because the 4 cylinder engine under heavy load could be noisier and they were trying to minimize the difference. I can no longer locate any discussion of different levels of sound deadening - even in the older 2019 models. I’m sure I didn’t imagine that discussion, but I cannot confirm it today!

 

The hybrid also has a 0.26cd drag vs 0.29 for the ES350. That may play some minor role too.

 

Yes, you're right. I've seen in multiple places that the hybrid has a unique 3-layer sound insulation blanket, I think at the firewall.

 

Which components are responsible for that difference? Since they share the same body, that seems like a big difference.

 

This was discussed in the "Does 2022 ES300h have active grill shutters?" thread. See post number 23 where mcomer posted a good writeup on the details.

 

Let your own ears and backside be the judge, but most testers have concluded that the hybrid is, if anything, slightly louder under throttle although quieter when in electric mode (I know CT may disagree with me on this).

The bottom line is that if you want a meaningfully quieter car than the ES350, you're going to have to spend considerably more money. The most economical upgrade in quietness that I can think of, other than electric cars, is a Genesis G80 with a V6, and that's probably going to be over $10,000 more in street price. Quietness was very high on my list of purchase considerations, and I ended up choosing the ES 350 even though there are some other aspects of it that I felt weren't ideal. I'll also add that I agree with the comment about the important role of tire choice.

 

Thanks. Does that mean that the 300h has a different drag coefficient depending upon whether the grille shutter is open or closed? If so, isn't it misleading to quote a single number? Also, it's not clear to me that the grille shutter alone is responsible for that big a difference.

 

very interestiong and informative reading, thanks. I spent $110 on a decent sound meter and apparently the sound meter on my phone was way off. I measured 62 dba at 65 miles on my way home. I guess this is as good as it gets with 18" rims and 145 tires. I may go down to 215 tires when I am done with the current new tires then I will take another reading.

Btw, I was surprised that there was no mercedes Benz on that list, dont you think that is odd?

 

Phone app was way off apparently. I bought a decent reader and I am reading 62 dba at 65 mph on a good highway. today I drove a 2017 hybrid with 50K on it and it was very loud. They did not have a brand new hybrid on hand to test..

 

62/65 db at what speed?

 

Again, no phones to measure sound pressure levels. That's just a toy for fun. that's not meant to be taken seriously. particularly and especially in an absolute sense. just enjoy the car. they're all built the same and within spitting distance of anything else in its category, if not at the top.

Long story short this is as good as you're going to get without dropping an additional $50,000 for a car.

also closing the front grill is a massive deal in terms of aero. it's one of the biggest and most famous aero mods people do on the aero modding community for a couple decades now. oldest trick in the book.

 

62@65 mile

 

on sound noise

> The ES 350 ie F-Sport / UL is about "noisy" as it's equivalent A6, 5 series and MB. Difference are slight not major.

> to reduce road noise just get quality tyres like Michelin

> reduce RIM size by one

> you cannot reduce to library level quietness. It cannot be done. Earlier Lexus ES 300 were super quiet. Why? becos they were stuffed with noise deadenning materials which added to it's wieght. Newer generation lexus ES are much better to drive and handle very well plus relatively good fuel economy for the car this size and power. It is an engineering trade off, they had to made these cars ligher and more rigid to handle better. The down side is more noise is transmitted. The germans off set by using clever gimicks like active noise cancellation etc But the truth is modern cars cannot be as quiet as the 1980s or 1990s cos of wheel rim sizes etc. ie at this price category

 

So we have owners complaining about noise levels AND inferior audio systems. How can you notice both? Hmmmmm