Lexus ES 300h Sports Luxury 2025 Review

Despite being officially classed as a mid-size sedan, the 2025 Lexus ES 300h Sports Luxury is anything but medium in proportion – c’mon, it’s almost five metres in length.

This is important when it comes to price. The ES technically fights against venerable Germans like the Audi A4 (soon to be A5), BMW 3 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class. Yet, the Lexus’ dimensions have it lining up with the likes of the BMW 5 Series.

In this regard, the Lexus ES 300h Sports Luxury’s price tag of $80,170 plus on-road costs (ORCs) makes a lot more sense. And it also helps to quieten the naysayers branding the ES a ‘tarted-up Toyota Camry’. If this isn’t the specification for you, then there’s the $74,920 plus ORCs 300h F Sport and the $65,540 plus ORCs 300h Luxury.

If you haven’t already worked it out, the ‘h’ in the nomenclature stands for hybrid. Choose against electric assistance and the ES 250 variants comprise the $62,140 plus ORCs Luxury and $71,380 plus ORCs F Sport.

The Lexus ES is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty with the traction battery attracting an eight-year/160,000km plan. Dealership visits for maintenance are every 12 months or 15,000km (whichever comes first), while the NX gains five years of capped-price servicing at $595 a pop.

For aftersales care, the Lexus Encore program is one of the best. You get three years included, which offers benefits such as discounts on travel and hotels as well as fuel. Most importantly, it also includes DriveCare, a service by which a Lexus representative will drive a loan car to your residence (and collect it) for you to use while your car is being serviced.

Launching in 2018, the shock value of the seventh generation’s styling has had more than enough time to subside. In the current market, the 2025 Lexus ES 300h Sports Luxury still cuts through with a striking and distinctive exterior design – just look at that grille.

The Sports Luxury gains 18-inch alloys, BladeScan tri-beam adaptive LED headlights, LED daytime running lights, LED taillights, electronic boot release with kick sensor, sunroof, shark fin antenna, acoustic glass as well as keyless entry and pushbutton start.

Inside, the top-spec ES gains leather upholstery and bamboo ornamentation. The front seats are electronically operated (14-way driver and 12-way passenger) with four-way lumbar adjustment, memory function as well as heating and ventilation. There’s also heated and powered rear seats, an electronically operated and heated steering wheel, tri-zone climate control and an electric rear sunshade.

The only option available for the Sports Luxury is premium paint, which is a bit steep at $1750.

The 2025 Lexus ES 300h Sports Luxury does not have a current ANCAP safety rating as it was last tested in 2018. Under a laxer scoring regime, the ES range did hold a five-star grade until December 2024.

The Sports Luxury is fitted with 10 airbags as well as two rear-mounted ISOFIX points and three top-tether anchorages.

Lexus Safety System+ includes autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and daytime cyclist detection, active cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, lane-keep assist, rear cross-traffic alert, safe exit assist, front and rear parking sensors, road-sign recognition and fatigue sensors, surround cameras and a digital rear-view mirror with live vision.

Appreciably, all Lexus ES variants are fitted with this level of safety gear, but the Sports Luxury adds adaptive high beam assist with BladeScan, parking support brake with pedestrian detection and a panoramic view monitor – essentially a 360-degree camera with a see-through mode.

Overall, the systems are fairly well integrated and, compared to other modern examples, aren’t overzealous or too intrusive. Even the speed-sign recognition manages not to emit annoying warnings. The reversing camera quality could be better, though.

The formula hasn’t altered too much for the big Lexus for quite some time. However, the last update it received in 2022 was all centred around what needed to change the most – the technology.

Now, the 2025 Lexus ES 300h Sports Luxury stands up with its modern counterparts. As mentioned, gone is the overcomplicated and fiddly touchpad. Instead, the 12.3-inch infotainment screen has been brought closer to the driver to make use of its touchscreen capability. Voice control – activated by saying, “Hey Lexus” – aims to help fill the void, too, by allowing you to carry out various tasks previously accessed via the touchpad.

What’s more, the ES now features wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. The Sports Luxury also gets an excellent 17-speaker Mark Levinson sound system that pumps out premium audio. Bluetooth, DAB+ digital radio, USB-A and USB-C ports, native satnav and a wireless charge pad also feature.

The ES can also now receive over-the-air (OTA) updates, while it comes with three years of complimentary Lexus Connected Services. The Lexus Connected smartphone app allows access to things like vehicle status, odometer readings, range levels, trip information and the last known location of your vehicle.

Under the bonnet of the 2025 Lexus ES 300h Sports Luxury is Toyota’s proven hybrid powertrain. That means a 2.5-litre Atkinson cycle four-cylinder petrol engine that’s tied to two electric motors and a 1.6kWh battery pack.

The traditional internal-combustion engine musters 140kW and 239Nm, while the e-motors generate 134kW and 270Nm for a combined 160kW. Like Toyota, Lexus doesn’t disclose the total Newton-metre count. The ES 300h is front-wheel drive (FWD) no matter which grade you choose.

With such a big body and adequate performance (0-100km/h takes 8.7 seconds), progress in the ES 300h Sports Luxury is rather sedate. And, in truth, for the price point and luxury focus, the hybrid powertrain isn’t effortless enough to meet the requirements.

The eCVT doesn’t help the situation, either. Rustling up speed for highway on-ramps or overtakes places revs towards the redline, resulting in unsatisfying engine acoustics. There are stepped ratios you can entertain via the steering-wheel-mounted paddles, but there isn’t much benefit in doing so.

This is where the decades of proven hybrid efficiency come to the fore. The 2025 Lexus ES 300h Sports Luxury is objectively frugal for a full-size sedan.

Lexus officially claims that the ES can return an average of 4.8L/100km on a combined cycle – which is ultra impressive given it doesn’t have the ability to run long distances purely on electricity. We saw a figure of 5.5L/100km in real-world testing.

While we didn’t achieve the claim, this is still very respectable given the drive loop predominantly encompassed country roads and highways where the hybrid system isn’t at its most efficient. The ES 300h can run solely on EV power, but only up to speeds of around 50 to 60km/h.

There’s no need to charge the 1.6kWh nickel metal hydride battery pack, either – the Toyota hybrid system does all the work. You can even see exactly what the powertrain is doing via various in-cabin displays. There is a dedicated EV mode for very short distances, but you require a very light right foot to keep the petrol engine dormant.

The ES 300h Sports Luxury accepts at least 95 RON unleaded petrol and houses a 50-litre tank.

Forget the second last word of the 2025 Lexus ES 300h Sports Luxury’s nomenclature. By and large, it’s merely there for show.

The Sports Luxury misses out on the Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) fitted to the F Sport. Therefore, the passive spring and damper combo is tailored more to the comfort side of the equation. While this results in a less tied-down approach when cornering, the reality is that this type of driving isn’t the big ES 300h’s remit – being comfortable is.

In this regard, the Sports Luxury lives up to the second part of its name. At speed, there’s a cosseting side to the ride quality, one whereby it almost wafts along like sedans from the class above. Yet, despite only running 18-inch alloys, the ES 300h can struggle a little more with sharp, city-based potholes and craggy surfaces.

Oddly, there are drive modes. And they’re accessed by possibly the coolest but most redundant dials in the business. Twist or push the horn-like control for Eco, Normal and Sport modes. Essentially the first two are all you need, with the steering feeling the best in Normal – although it remains numb in all three settings.

There isn’t any torque steer or overt loss of traction from the front-wheel-drive layout, mainly because there isn’t enough power to trouble the Dunlop Sport Max tyres. Even in wet conditions it remains planted. At the other end of the spectrum, the brake pedal is positive and doesn’t reveal the ill effects of regenerative braking too much.

While the Camry is often unfairly brandished as a cardigan-wearing product despite displaying surprising dynamics, the story is similar but different with the ES. Lexus is all about indulgence and its handling focus reflects that aim.

This must be the selling point. If it wasn’t, you’d save yourself the cash and buy a Toyota Camry – job done. Luckily, the 2025 Lexus ES 300h Sports Luxury proves to be an inviting place to be. It manages to mix traditional analogue luxury with current technology.

There’s an analogue clock and myriad physical buttons. If the Lexus design team’s brief was to make it approachable for any customer demographic, it’s a job well done. Because of the old-school approach to parts of the cabin, ergonomics are sound. Apart from learning the operating system and the unique gear lever, the rest is straight forward.

With swathes of semi-aniline leather, mood lighting, bamboo ornamentation and a generally high standard of fit and finish, the ‘Takumi’ ethos is apparent. And not to bring it back to the Camry reference, but the ES’s cabin is nothing like its extended family member. It clearly surpasses Silver Top Taxi vibes.

Where the Sports Luxury really stretches its legs is in the back. The electronically operated reclining rear seats (outer) not only offer tangible recline, but the pews themselves are plush. Then you flip down the central arm rest to reveal a control centre for the climate, audio, seat operation/heating and rear blind. Legroom is generous and headroom is adequate, while toe room is compromised under the front seats.

The only disadvantage of the rear seats is the fact they don’t fold to liberate additional cargo capacity – although there is a ski port. The boot is still a decent 454 litres with a space-saver spare hiding under the flat floor.

The 2025 Lexus ES 300h Sports Luxury isn’t going to be for everyone. It’s a bit of an old stager that appeals to a certain audience – one that’s still lucrative enough for the brand to keep investing in the sedan format where other are abandoning the once popular shape.

If the ES concept that was shown at Auto Shanghai 2025 is anything to go by, the eighth generation is proving to be a massive step forward and one that might be worth waiting for. While it remains plush and harbours an impressive aftersales package, there’s no getting around the fact the seventh generation is of a certain vintage.

As it stands, you have to really want an ES 300h Sports Luxury to choose it over the segment rivals. Still, for those who see value in its appeal, this Lexus is ageing gracefully like a cab sav.

2025 Lexus ES 300h Sports Luxury at a glance:
Price: $80,170 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric hybrid
Output: 131kW/221Nm (engine), 88kW/202Nm (e-motor)
Combined: 160kW
Transmission: Continuously variable automatic
Fuel: 4.8L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 109g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested

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