When I wrapped up the 2008 Lexus ES350 a couple of weeks ago, I alluded to replacing it with a Lexus that virtually no one wanted. Several commenters quickly zeroed in on the HS250h as the potential culprit, and most comments were some variation of the title of this post (hope you didn’t buy one of those!) Well, I did lease one, and had my reasons for doing so. Ultimately, though, I did draw the same conclusions as many people did about the car and shuffled it off for something more interesting.
The basic reason for considering the HS was that I wanted a hybrid (I actually liked the Prius) but wanted something in the Lexus line. At the time, the ES hybrid hadn’t yet been introduced so the only hybrid was the GS450h, which was a bit pricey. (OK, it was shockingly expensive, for what you got.) When Lexus announced the HS hybrid as a stand-alone model that was at a price point around the regular ES that I was currently driving, that got my attention.
The Lexus HS shared a platform with the Japanese domestic market Toyota Sai, although the Lexus reached the market first in Japan. Toyota believed that there was a market for a dedicated hybrid sedan in the luxury market, as my desire for one proved. However, the car that Lexus introduced was perhaps not the most suitable for this market. The car was relatively compact, being somewhat larger than the (admittedly small) IS but not as large as the ES. The car was a bit taller than the IS or ES, which made interior headroom quite good but contributed to the oddly-proportioned styling. Overall, the styling was relatively conservative (especially when compared to later Lexus or Toyota models) but was still not what one would call attractive.
The HS hybrid drivetrain was based on the Camry Hybrid system with a 2.4 liter Atkinson-cycle 4-cylinder engine and electric motor producing a combined 187 horsepower. Acceleration times were listed in the brochure as 8.4 seconds to 60, but the car provided much slower seat-of-the-pants acceleration times. Fuel economy wasn’t that amazing, either, especially considering what a current hybrid or downsized turbocharged engine can do, at 35 mpg combined. Handling was safe and unexciting, as well.
Interior fitments were certainly typical for Lexus, with high-quality leather seating and soft-touch surfaces all around. HS Premium models received a special interior leather as well as walnut wood trim, heated/ventilated memory seats, and 18 inch wheels.
I made my purchase of the HS not long after it was introduced in August 2009. It appears based on information online that the vast majority of people who were looking for a unique Lexus hybrid sedan like the HS bought one in the first year, as roughly 11,000 were sold in 2010 and less than 3,000 in 2011. It also appears, based on those numbers, that there weren’t really that many buyers overall that wanted an oddly-styled hybrid that cost as much as a more conventionally-styled sedan. By 2012 the HS was discontinued, replaced by the smaller, cheaper, and more efficient CT hybrid and the ES hybrid. I recall wondering at the time the HS was introduced why Toyota didn’t simply put the Camry hybrid system in the ES instead of creating a separate model to use the same system, since the ES and Camry were closely related. Apparently a number of other potential buyers asked the same question and waited for the ES hybrid. (I suspect that it had to do with the specific platforms being used and their compatibility with the hybrid system.)
In my case, I wasn’t looking for an enthusiast sedan, which might be obvious since I’d been driving Camrys and ES sedans, but this car really didn’t meet even the relatively low performance expectations I had. Acceleration was pretty slow but fuel economy wasn’t that good, and handling was safe but somewhat ponderous. I certainly didn’t expect BMW M3 dynamics, but had expected something a bit better than this car provided. Part of the problem was that the car was smaller than the ES (7 inches shorter and 2 inches narrower) but weighed about 200 pounds more (just over 3,700 pounds for the HS).
The HS that I leased was a Premium model with navigation. I would have liked to have the car in what Lexus called Matador Red to give it some visual excitement, but there weren’t any in stock at the time so I chose Smoky Granite Mica (gray) instead. As the photos show, the gray color made the car blend in with its environment a bit better than red would have. The navigation system was very good for the time, with sharp graphics and extensive databases of points of interest on a screen that swiveled out of the top of the dash. On the downside, this was one of the early Lexus vehicles that used the haptic feedback mouse for controls, which I found somewhat difficult to use as the mouse pointer was quite sensitive especially when trying to hit small buttons on the screen. A touch screen placed closer to the driver would have been better, I think.
The navigation/infotainment system also included iPod connectivity, something that previous cars in my fleet hadn’t offered (most came with just the 3.5 mm headphone jack). The Lexus system was advanced enough to be able to catalog and work with my iPod Classic with 15,000+ songs on it – other iPod interfaces could only handle music players with 5,000 songs or so. Unfortunately, accessing any of those 15,000 songs required using the touchy mouse and the USB connector was placed on the center console in clear view instead of being hidden in the center console bin.
Lexus dealer support was still amazing, though. The HS sedans were recalled in early 2010, roughly 4 months or so after I bought the car, for a software update related to blending the hybrid regenerative braking and the conventional brakes. Since it was a software upgrade, the dealer came to my house to reprogram the hybrid system computers instead of making me travel to the dealer, and they gave me a nice box of chocolates as an apology for the inconvenience. The Lexus dealer experience still remains as the best service interactions I have had in my car-owning career.
So, a quick summary – I rushed myself into buying an HS that I didn’t like for reasons that didn’t make that much sense, replacing an ES that I did really like, and being disappointed almost immediately because the car didn’t perform as I expected. My disappointment with the HS was magnified when I changed jobs and two things happened: 1) I spent a lot more time driving the car as my old commute was 5 miles one way and the new one was 25 miles one way, and 2) my wife and I began commuting together as our offices were now closer to each other and in the same direction, so I began driving her car more frequently (and wishing mine were more exciting). I managed to keep the HS for about two years despite not liking it that much (I was at least smart enough not to make another dumb car move like I did with the 2002 Camry that cost me a fortune). Even so, I did take a financial hit in getting rid of the HS and replacing it with what would turn out to be my last Lexus, at least for a while. At least it was sportier…
I’ve been saying for what seems like forever that there should be a hybrid car that doesn’t look like a teardrop. This is not what I had in mind. In the U.S. market this was eventually “replaced” by a sporty LOOKING hatchback, the CT200. It was marketed in Europe as a sports car that was also a hybrid. The British magazine CAR tested it (something they rarely do to a Toyota sedan)….and roundly panned it.
I don’t want to speculate as to why dedicated hybrid models have failed at Lexus, but it would seem that in both cases the cars somehow promised something to potential buyers that car magazines declared the manufacturer didn’t deliver.
The HS failed because it was an insult to anyone who bought them. The OP thinking the interior is high quality makes me think he has the rose tinted glasses on. The leather was a partial trim, and if you looked, it was sad how little of the seat was actual dead cow. The plastics were mostly hard. The wood trim was obviously a very thin veneer, and there was not much of it.
And the handling was not safe. I know understeer is preferred among those who can’t be bothered to learn how to drive a car and merely wish to steer it. That’s fine- it probably makes them less of a menace. But that is not what I’m talking about. Increasing throtttle in this car while on a turn at any speed sends the vehicle off the curve tangentially.
This car was Incapable of accelerating from a stable 25 to a stable 35 when going around a curve. Any curve.
If you’re pushing the car to the point you describe, on public roads, you are being the menace.
Well the current EU Toyota Avensis (which is NOT offered as hybrid) looks like that too. But then to me the whole Toyota line appears to have been designed by aliens.
That is a huge and immediate sales slide. Wow.
What I don’t understand is why the US doesn’t get the current IS300h. I wouldn’t buy a CT or an ES300h but I would be tempted by a hybrid compact sport sedan. And I’d say half the IS models I see in Brisbane are the hybrid… Only really distinguishable by badging, I might add.
In Portugal, pretty much 99,9% of 3rd gen IS are the hybrid. And the styling actually grew on me. Still prefer the second gen IS220d though
Simple answer- gas is $2.38/gal the last time I filled up. Right now,a lease on a Rav4 Hybrid is actually cheaper than a standard Rav4 because of the higher incentives Toyota’s throwing on the hybrids at the moment. That tells a story in itself- I remember when there were zero incentives and discounts for hybrids not too long ago.
William Stopford:
It’s a guess, but I imagine the U. S. doesn’t get a hybrid IS because Toyota/Lexus believes that buyers in this country see Lexus as a luxury brand…that sells sports sedans. They try to keep the vehicles limited to one or the other category. Yet, that doesn’t explain why we get a hybrid version of the nearly invisible GS.
I wonder if these (erroneous?) marketing decisions come from the U. S. management or from Japan.
Is that a blanking plate for a manual shifter in the console? Oh, wait, there’s buttons on it. Sure looks like a blanking plate, though.
nlpnt:
I believe that this car “shares” it’s platform with other Toyota models, models sold in Europe but not the U. S. and some of those cars may have had more conventional shifters. The “shifter” for this car is barely visible on the left side of the console, just under the bottom edge of the dashboard.
Are you referring to the controller for the screen at the top of the center stack that is (not) shown in the closed position?
Looks like all your new neighbors favor Nissan Pathfinders!
Why so much replacing of Toyota products? My 50+ pal still drives the ‘92 pickup that he bought new.
I was always kind of mixed on the styling of these. On one hand, it is somewhat attractively done, but on the other hand it has definitely got the tall-sedan look and looks a lot like a tarted up Corolla (even though I know it’s not). However, I guess it does have the distinction of being one of the last sanely styled vehicles to come from Lexus.
Why doesn’t Lexus sell more Hybrids in the US? I have a simple answer to that question. In 2017 Mercedes took the luxury car sales leader board, with BMW in second place, and Lexus a distant third. They didn’t get there selling Hybrids. The HS, to me, answers the question no one asked “I want a Prius, but I want to spend a lot more money for one.” I will say our local Toyota Dealer Service Dept. has been absolutely stellar. Current experience with our Camry says there isn’t any need to upgrade to a Lexus for that reason. Taken one step further, after 26K miles not the tiniest thing has gone wrong with the car, so it hasn’t needed much in the way of dealer support other than timely service intervals. They’ve consistently gotten the wife in and out in under a half hour, and the car’s washed and vacuumed when they hand the keys back. What else can you ask for?
*My Charger, on the other hand, goes to Jiffy Lube. That’s one part of the ownership experience FCA hasn’t addressed yet- although I love the car.
I always really liked these, for some reason. I walked all around and admired one in a parking lot recently. In person, I don’t find the proportions to be that bad, though it is a little upright. I like the dark gray on yours a lot.
I’ve been working on a COAL for my mother-in-law’s 2012 CT200, so maybe I’ll get it wrapped up in time for tomorrow!
I’ve noted a marked difference between her haptic mouse controller and mine in the 2016 ES. They must have refined it or the software, or both. Hers seems to go everywhere EXCEPT where you are trying to point, but mine seems pretty easy to use. It feels weird the first trip or two but I quickly grew to like it.
In looking at your pics, one’s arm would be unsupported when using the haptic mouse, and that would make it harder to use I think. There is a full center console in the CT200 as well as my ES, and the mouse and cupholders are arranged so you can rest your arm while using the mouse.
I barely noticed these when they were introduced and forgot about them immediately after. After reading, this seems to be one of Toyota/Lexus’ pure flubs.
All new to me, but it certainly reminds me of the contemporary Toyota Avensis we had here. This third generation of the Avensis was introduced in 2009 and it’s also built on Toyota’s New MC platform.
To this day the Avensis (a D-segment sedan and wagon) never had a hybrid powertrain.
Its interior, this one with an automatic transmission.
They updated it slightly recently. The most glaring point though is that the Avensis – when fitted with the 2L diesel motor – provided better mileage than the HS. Lexus wisely refrained from offering the HS in the EU, it would have totally bombed.
The sad thing about the Avensis is that its sales numbers decline with the introduction of each new generation or update.
The current Avensis, as pictured in your comment, might as well be Toyota’s last D-segment sedan / wagon in Europe.
It’s not a bad car actually now they’ve sorted the diesel engine issues…
I’ve seen prettier cars, but y’ know what makes this one work?
It doesn’t have that goddamn angry catfish front end that every single new Lexus has.
When I saw this on the street, I thought it belonged to a small company making hybrid sedan out of unlicensed Toyota Corolla and it was driven for testing purpose ( as in Michigan the concentration of prototype cars is probably the highest in the world )
Camry hybrids are popular as taxis here Toyota offered an amazing warranty with them putting Fords factory built LPG taxi basically off the market, not sure Ive noticed the Lexus version but not doubt some are around.
The hate for this car I feel is somewhat unjustified. High quality reliable semi luxurious economical Lexus? It’s hardly a Cimmaron. The ironic twist I will say regards the cheap interior finish for the US. The Toyota Sai equivalent had a much nicer interior upon release:
Gotta agree with this. In the CT thread I did compare it to the Cimarron, but the HS seems more “honest” and the platform sizing between Corolla and Camry makes more sense than a squashed Prius with a spindle grille. Sort of a hybrid Toyota Jetta …
I don’t consider it hate on the scale of the Cimmaron. I do think a lot of the hate or disinterest in it is because it is a pointless car to have been made. It is a car that is for a market that does not exist (the Luxury Hybrid ). Why buy a Lexus Hybrid when you can get a fully kitted out Prius or Toyota Camry Hybrid for less? One of Lexus biggest issues is that it has to compete with it’s parent company Toyota. It is very acceptable to the well healed monied folk to own a Camry or a Prius. I live in Howard County MD which is in the top 10 wealthiest counties in the USA. If you drive though one of the neighborhoods that have million dollar houses(like in Clarksville MD), you will see a Camry, RAV4 or a Prius in front of a lot of the homes. In fact a large group of owners of those homes also own a Toyota(not Lexus)product or an F150.