Simon Haw and Alwyn Viljoen rode in and wrote about the Lexus ES250.
NEED a big fat book for bedtime reading? If you are the lucky owner
of a Lexus ES250, you need look no further than the car’s manual, which at 968
pages must constitute something of a record.
The diligent reader of this motoring version of War
and Peace should within a few days transform into a power user of the
car’s numerous features. Then awaits the sequel — a whole separate book to input
destination data into the Lexus’s Satnav — there are 10 different ways to do
this.
You can probably skim over the many nanny-state warnings. Only some
lank-haired earth child is likely to get his or her hair caught in the remote
touchpad — used to navigate around the large, clear screen. And, duh, it should
be apparent to all but the most intellectually challenged that in extreme
climatic conditions this same touchpad will either be cold or hot to the
touch.
For the less diligent owner, there is a quick guide booklet to this
remarkably well-specced saloon. In fact at its price point, there is probably
nothing of a similar size and luxuriousness with as many bells and whistles.
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| The Lexus seat, like most cars, is for tall legs. Petite women face the danger of an airbag under their noses. |
What Lexus have done in order to spread the pleasures of driving a
sumptuous cruiser to a wider motoring public is to opt for a somewhat old tech
engine driving the front wheels through a competent, but less than cutting edge,
six-speed automatic.
The engine, a 2,5 litre naturally aspirated, twin-cam
four-cylinder, puts out 135 kW at 6 000 rpm and 235 Nm at 4 100 rpm. This is
quite adequate to hustle the big car along at a fair turn of speed and with
quite reasonable fuel consumption for a large saloon (expect an overall
consumption of about 9,6 litres per 100 km).
Driven in the relaxed style that suits the car, the engine is
commendably quiet and refined; it’s only when you try to put on your boy racer
cap that it becomes a bit vocal and thrashy.
Among the many features in this car is a knob that allows you to
choose between eco, normal and sport modes. I would like to suggest that the “s”
in sport could just as well stand for “superfluous”. Yes, you can hurry royalty,
but why on earth would you want to when the interior of this compact executive
is such a pleasant place to be.
I found that I drove most of the time with the conscience-salving
blue eco logo lit up in the instrument panel and never felt any urge to change
it for the passionate red lighting of sports mode.
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| Don't touch anything! |
Which brings me to this car’s raison d’être — its sumptuous,
supremely comfortable, cosseting interior. Although the big saloon has plenty of
kerbside presence, it’s the roomy leather-clad interior that really grabs your
attention. The test car used gorgeous cream hide — not very practical if you
have dogs or children — but oh so beautiful to look at.
Once the driver’s seat has memorised your favourite position,
you’re in for a splendid bit of motoring indulgence, as indeed are your back
seat passengers, who will have more room to stretch their legs than in a
Mercedes S-class.
Excellent sound damping means that the engine is virtually
inaudible at all but high revs and the ES250 comes with special low noise tyres,
which help keep the rumble of our coarse South African aggregates to an absolute
minimum. With its excellent audio and Bluetooth systems and efficient dual zone
climate control, we found being stuck in heavy traffic an unusually pleasant
experience.
Dynamically this is no sports car but neither is it the great
wallowing barge that some large saloons tend to become once they’re on the move.
The steering is accurate and well-weighted and the ride eminently composed and
planted. In fact, get in the mood for a low-stress drive and you’re going to
love this car.
The ES250 has been compared to maker Toyota’s Camry. While this
does not exactly delight the people at Lexus, there is something about this big
roomy saloon that does bring to mind the virtues of the old Camry, albeit in a
much more luxurious guise. At its present price of R435 900, it’s something of a
bargain if you’re in the market for a spacious, comfortable cruiser.
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| Blink and you will miss it: the tiny blinking car symbols in the side mirror is supposed to warn the inattentive driver of a car in the blind spot. |
As a trucking scribe, I
was keen to try the lane change warning system that comes standard in the Lexus
E250.
Expecting the vibrating seats of a Citroën C4 or the muted siren of an
Actros truck, I did not even have to blink to miss the little orange symbols
blinking on the side mirror. These tiny symbols are not just discreet, they
verge on subliminal.
The family also did not react kindly to “the beige barge”,
with the boy barred from touching the upholstery and the petite Testarossa
having to move her face into the airbag’s danger zone to get close enough to the
pedals.
Not a car for the young dad then, but his tall father-in-law will like
it.
The eight-speaker audio system did pass muster with flying colours, however.
