RobertH

I got an unexpected surprise a few months ago when my map display started to show realtime traffic conditions on nearby freeways. The roadways would display green, orange and red, depending on speed, very similar to what Google Maps shows. (In my opinion, this is far superior to the XM Traffic app, which sucks.) Then suddenly this week, this functionality has disappeared, and the freeways just show up normally. Has anyone else had this experience? Why has it been discontinued?

I have discussed a shortcoming with my dealer, and he was stumped as well. It seems impossible to turn off the A/C with voice commands. The only thing you can do is turn off the entire climate control system. But if you have been in hot weather and turned down the temperature to, say 70-degrees, and now it's nighttime and you want outside air at 70-degrees, you cannot make only the A/C turn off with voice commands. You must go into the menu system with the joystick, find "Climate" and then click on the AC tab. This is really a shortcoming, and I cannot understand Lexus's thinking behind it.

In a word: "yes" -- almost identical to the ES350.

We have had our ES300h for about a month, after trading in our 2007 ES350. The nav system voice sounds the same, but seems to work a bit better. It occasionally doesn't understand my requests, but generally does well. One thing I like is that the nav directions now include actual street names, instead of just "Turn left at the next intersection."

I drive Eco in the city where I won't need rapid acceleration and Normal on the freeway. Getting 38.5 mpg.

I'm getting about 38.5 with mix of freeway/city driving. Usually have AC going. Regular grade gas (even the dealer recommends NOT using premium gas.) I drive cautiously and usually coast to a stop sign. Drive in Eco in city, regular mode on freeway. Service advisor says it takes a while for the car to settle in to a higher mpg mode. My mileage went up nicely after first gas fillup. Just be patient.

About a month ago, we went to our local Lexus dealership to buy a new battery for the fob that starts our 2007 ES350. On the way out, we stopped to look at the new 2013 version. The very low-key salesman asked us if we were interested in buying a new car, and we said "No, just checking the differences between our car and the new one." He suggested we might also want to look at the hybrid version. Long story short... a test drive and trade-in discussion later, and we drove home with a new ES300h. We love it and all the strange sounds it makes. We're getting about 38.5 mpg. My 2007 had 98,900 miles on it and never had a problem, so I agree with your assessment of Lexus reputation for longevity. Good luck with your hybrid.

I've owned my '13 ES300h for about a month now. For the first tankful of gas, I averaged only about 36mpg with a mix of city/highway driving and AC on. My second tankful is now up to about 38mpg. I asked my dealership service advisor about this, and he said the car needs about 1,000 to settle in. I'm not sure what that means, but I'm going to wait until then to see if my mileage improves. But even 38.5 ain't bad.

It's great! My special order took five months due to dealer screwup. The dynamic radar is wonderful. I commute 35 miles each way, mostly on the freeway. The cruise control really works well, although you have to remain vigilant in case someone crazy cuts in front of you and you need to hit the brakes quickly. The only weirdness was when we were driving on a city street with a 25 mile speed limit. Lots of radar cops on patrol. The cruise control only kicks in when you get to 28 mph, not slower. So there I was, driving carefully, and suddenly there is a loud beep and the message center goes nuts. It turns out the radar got confused by one of those warning signs posted in the middle of the street, that warns drivers that pedestrians have the right of way. The car thought it was about to crash into a big inanimate object that wasn't moving. Other than that, I love it. It was a worthwhile investment.