Magellan55

Well, I'd have to agree there - the HS isn't exactly luxurious in the way people think of Lexus - total isolation from the road and such. I'm not the typical Lexus buyer, as I want a lot more driver interaction and would rather spend my money on driving dynamics than posh and gizmos, so I didn't even consider Lexus until I saw / drove the HS. I think it also hurts the HS a bit that they have so many options, which take it "fully loaded" to $50k in shoppers' minds when it really isn't a $50k car.

But until they make a hybrid ES, you're right the RX might just be the Lexus hybrid of choice for those wanting the Lexus experience and good gas mileage.

Canesguy

.........unless ya don't want an SUV, which I didn't.

LexFather

Let me throw out there the HS IMO drives far better and more sporty and less detached than the ES or RX and all 3 are FWD (RX has AWD optional). That is one thing I liked about the HS, it drove well for a FWD car.

I just drove an ES loaner yesterday and Its just not for me, way to cushy.

Magellan55

Right, but most Lexus owners don't want sporty - they want cushy - sorry, "luxurious". The ES is known as "a better Buick". Drivers need not apply. Lexus' own marketing is probably to blame for that rep - it started with the GS commercial years ago where they end it with "and if you want to feel the road, you can do that too" whereby the driver stops, opens the door, and puts his hand on the road.

IMO ,the HS handles well enough, and likely better than the ES or RX (never driven one - their rep is enough to keep me away), but it would never be confused with a VW / Audi / Saab FWD sedan.

psoccer555

I've owned the RX330 and IS and the HS gives me as great a ride, fun, performance and comfort as the these two others. The HS is distinctive in many ways and IMO doesn't resemble other rides on the road.

LexFather

Well it is based off the Euro Avensis so IMO it drives pretty darn Euro to me. I agree Lexus marketing hasn't touched how it drives, only its a hybrid and its technology.

I think the younger crowd they are going for with this car will like how it drives though compared to an ES.

One thing I like about Lexus is they offer different vehicles with different drives and you can chose what you like.

syzygy

Yep, that's the bottom line. For me personally, there are only a handful of vehicles in the Lexus lineup that will ever pique my interest - the IS line, the GS line, and the LS line.

And, the LF-A of course


RX, LX, GX, ES, HS are not for me.

YotaCarFan

The large number of options is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, it results in an inappropriately high $50K tag on the fully loaded HS. On the other hand, the HS is a technophile's dream car with all the options loaded on, the pop-up nav screen, the cockpit style dashboard, etc, and so the options need to be available. Toyota needs to drop the price on the fully optioned version of the HS to about $40K, make the options available w/o special order (LED headlamps, Mark Levinson audio), and market this car as being high-tech and therefore fun, advanced, safe, and appropriate for people who are young, educated, active, etc. This, plus the reduced price, would sell well. Also, tweaking the exterior to be less Corolla-like in appearance would help sales, too.

Magellan55

good points. Maybe package things like Acura does - have several levels, culminating in a "technology" level, where it's all thrown in. But I know that's not the Toyota way, and I'm guessing Lexus follows the parent scheme.

Not sure they can fix the Corolla issue, as many Lexus' look like Toyota siblings to those that don't own a Lexus. Before stepping onto a Lexus showroom and looking at them closely, I confused the IS with the Corolla and the ES with the Camry out on the road, and I'm sure the average Joe does the same.

Canesguy

You could always go for an "evil smiley-faced" Mazda .

Magellan55

Oh, man did they mess up a nice car with that new front end! I actually started my search with a Mazda 3 hatch (which the CT200h looks like IMO), and thought the car was fun to drive given the price. But they made it worse IMO from the previous gen, both in the front end and the dash. My search then took me upscale from there.

YotaCarFan

Do the HS250h cars you folks have been getting as loaners or taking delivery of have the dealer-sawed-off gas pedals? Do I need to get one made after a certain date to get one with an unmolested factory-installed pedal? Also, are the floor mats cut and zip-tied to the seats?

KGenaidy

I bought my HS in 10/2009 and there has been no molestation of my gas pedal. The only recall was to adjust the programming on the abs brakes.

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

I got a HS250h premium as a loaner for the 2nd time today, I must say, it is growing on me the more I drive it.

Just like you said, since my regular daily driver is a V8 LS430, and my weekend car is a V8 SC430, obviously the lower end HS hybrid feels much weaker and much less luxurious. But the HS is VERY nice for what it is, a very upscale Prius/Camry hybrid.

Am I ever going to own a HS? Probably not, because I love V8 torque too much. But I am not going to slam the HS for what it is not, it is very nice for it's design intent.

BNR34

iTrader: (1)

The HS is pretty much a hybrid ES, since the ES350 is basically an upscale Camry, and the HS250h have the same drivetrain as the Camry hybrid. It just got a different, slightly smaller body.