Review: The $55,000 Lexus ES 300 hybrid is all anyone really needs

• The 2021 Lexus ES 300h hybrid sedan starts at $41,900. We recently drove a $55,005 2021 model.
• At first, I thought a silver ES 300h felt too anonymous for $55,000.
• But safe styling, a fancy brand name, and fuel efficiency make it a perfect choice for many.

A funny thing about driving and reviewing cars regularly is that it can make you a little jaded. To me, a silver-and-beige sedan like the 2021 Lexus ES 300h is a dealership special: a car whose colors and specs match the ones most people will buy, mainly because people are boring. No matter how good or comfortable or refined a silver Lexus sedan is, it still feels anonymous.

But then I drove a silver ES 300h, and as I passed a person getting into their Mercury Grand Marquis, they flashed a smile and a thumbs up. I returned it.

It reminded me: Most people - the people who matter, because they're the target audience for these cars - are not jaded like me. A Lexus is never anonymous because a Lexus has a Lexus logo. Who cares what color it is; the Lexus is fancy, and that's what matters.

That's why Lexus manufactures cars and I don't.

The 2021 Lexus ES 300h: unassuming hybrid luxury

The ES 300h is part of Lexus' ES series, which gives buyers a choice of a traditional gas engine or hybrid power. There's front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, and people typically prefer the latter for rougher road conditions and terrain.

"ES" stands for "executive sedan," and the 300h comes with a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine and a hybrid system. Together, the system makes 215 horsepower and comes with a continuously variable transmission.

The 2022 ES 300h comes in four trim levels, including the $45,450 F Sport edition with a few performance upgrades and sporty looks, all with front-wheel drive:

• Lexus ES 300h ($41,900): has 10-way power-adjustable front seats, 17-inch wheels, a 10-speaker audio system, an eight-inch infotainment display, voice commands, automatic high beams, and driver-assistance features
• Lexus ES 300h Luxury ($47,300): adds or upgrades to a 14-way power-adjustable driver's seat, 18-inch wheels, heated and ventilated front seats, a telescopic steering wheel, a power rear sunshade, rain-sensing windshield wipers, and other features
• Lexus ES 300h Ultra Luxury ($50,910): adds or upgrades to ambient lighting, power-folding outside mirrors, a 12.3-inch infotainment display, a three-month trial of in-car WiFi, and other features

Our tester was a 2021 Ultra Luxury model with about $3,000 in extra features: a $75 wireless charger; a $500, 10.2-inch head-up display, which shows speeds and vehicle information on the windshield in front of the driver; $1,515 upgraded LED headlights; and a $1,080 navigation and audio upgrade.

With upgrades and fees, the total price came to $55,005.

What stands out: reliably refined

Lexus shines where it knows what it's doing, which is pretty much everywhere.

From its brown headliner to its back-seat window shades and Lexus logos that light up blue, the ES 300h feels polished. It anticipates your needs and response to them: A surround-view camera pops on if you approach a big dip in the road, both front passengers get seat heaters and ventilation, and its on-demand 360-degree camera - common on new cars with its price - means you'll never second-guess your parking job again.

Even the staple Lexus touchpad controlling the ES 300h's infotainment screen, which the company is phasing out of its models because touchpads are generally not great, has a lot of feedback, as if someone is tugging at the end of a user's finger every time they touch it to select a new option. That prevents the user from getting lost and helps them know if they've actually selected the wrong control or moved their finger inadvertently - something that happens to me frequently with Acura's touchpad system, which doesn't have the same tangible feedback.

Physical controls also allow you to ignore the touchpad completely, which I did. Sorry, Lexus.

The ES 300h's ride feels as elegantly anonymous as the car. There's not much road noise at all. You can hear it faintly on rough surfaces, but the insulation is so good, it's more just a feeling of sandpapery friction than any audible sound.

What falls short: lackluster styling

The first thing I noticed about the ES 300h was that its silver paint was paired with chrome wheels and accents. It was not a good thing to notice.

It felt like a crime against both silver Lexus owners and anyone who has to look at their silver Lexuses. (Lexus says the plural of "Lexus" is "Lexus," which is also a crime. We should have seen this coming.)

It's hard to pinpoint what, exactly, is so disturbing about pairing silver with chrome. The blue tint of the silver paint almost makes the chrome accents look a shade of yellow, as if they haven't held up to the sun nearly as well as the paint.

The moral of the story here is that if you want to get a silver ES 300h with chrome accents, first: reconsider. If that fails, at least apologize to the rest of us.

There are a few elements inside the car that could've been done better. The ES 300h, like many cars with push-to-start buttons, lacks a dedicated place to put the key. A simple rectangular hole goes a long way when the key doesn't go in the ignition, helping drivers not fumble around every time they reach their destination.

There's also the wireless charger, which is tucked into the center console and has a button to turn it on and off. That means not only does a person have to open up the console to put their phone in - and either leave it open to keep an eye on it or shut it away - but they also have to remember to turn the charger on. Close the console without switching the charger on and your phone is tucked into darkness for no reason at all.

Audio quality for back-seat passengers is fine but not great. The music sounds one-directional, as if it's coming from directly in front of you, hitting you straight on, instead of surrounding you.

What sticks out the most in the ES 300h, though, is that it doesn't feel as modernly high-class as it should for $55,000. The dashboard felt dated and not fancy, the door handles felt cheap and plasticky, and it just felt like a $35,000 car adapted to cost $55,000 - not in a cool way, like how the Dodge Challenger has models ranging from $29,000 to $100,000.

A $100,000 Challenger is respectably vulgar. An ES 300h is just respectable, so it shouldn't feel like a $55,000 car parked in the body of a $35,000 one.

Our impressions: the safe, fuel-efficient choice

When reviewing cars, there's always a delicate balance between your own jaded nature and doing what's best for the reader on the other side. It's a nice challenge sometimes.

For the reader on the other side, the Lexus ES 300h is great. It's easy to work, it's not too out there, it has that fancy Lexus logo, and it's a hybrid - the glorious step between our gas-powered past and our electric future, allowing us both the comfort of being able to stop at a gas station whenever we need and the comfort in knowing we don't need it nearly as often. It's a great and practical car that attracts just enough attention to get a "Hey, nice Lexus" nod but nothing more.

The ES 300h is safe, both for potential owners and for Lexus' odds at making a sale. Sometimes that safe choice is the way to go, even if it comes with clashing silver paint and chrome accents.

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