When Lexus launched the eighth-generation Lexus ES sedan roughly a year ago, they opted to launch the full electric versions, the ES 350e and ES 500e, first. At the time, they said that the familiar hybrid variant would come a bit later. Roughly a year later, the ES 350h has been officially launched in one of its first global markets: the United States.
The Lexus ES 350h highlights Toyota’s “multi-pathway approach” in offering various powertrain options depending on what suits the customer. In fact, the self-charging hybrid uses the very same platform and even share the same overall design save for some model-specific details.
Diving deep into the powertrain aspect, the ES 350h uses Lexus’s sixth-generation hybrid with a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder, an electric starter-generator, and a motor-generator integrated into the E-CVT. While it comes standard with front-wheel drive, an all-wheel drive option adds an additional rear electric motor providing enhanced traction on demand.
As the first Lexus model to use the newest hybrid system, the ES 350h delivers more total output. The net output is up to 244 horsepower (186 horsepower from the combustion engine and 201 horsepower from the motor generator). For the all-wheel drive variant, the rear motor provides 54 horsepower of thrust, but total output remains the same. But while the all-wheel drive system doesn’t provide added thrust, it gives additional traction allowing the ES 350h AWD to split its torque from 100:0 up to 20:80.
The sixth-generation hybrid features tons of improvement include a simplified cooling circuit for the CVT, which also adopts a new multi-axis layout of the front starter-generator and motor generator. This results in a more rigid and compact transaxle casing. The motor generator is also larger and more powerful.
In its blending of gas and electric power, the sixth-generation hybrid system favors that larger and more powerful electric motor more than before, keeping engine revs lower and quieter during everyday operation. A microfiber sound absorbing material has been added to the engine’s air intake box to help quiet the engine’s higher-frequency noises at higher rpm. Similarly, the exhaust system adopts a larger muffler to further quiet the engine, while a flexible coupler between the exhaust manifold and the front exhaust piping suppresses the transmission of vibrations from the engine to the exhaust system itself. Active Noise Control in the cabin uses the counter frequencies played through the audio speakers to suppress engine booming sensations.
The A25A-FXS 2.5-liter engine also benefits from increased block rigidity, as well as a new multi-hole direct fuel injector, which expands the fuel spray area in the combustion chamber and works with straightened intake ports for a cleaner and more efficient air/fuel mixture and combustion. A new variable cooling system enables precise control over cooling pathways based on the engine’s running condition and ambient temperature, improving cooling efficiency by prioritizing or blocking coolant flow to the heater core and metering the electric water pump’s flow rate and the opening or closing of the thermostat. The oil pump, too, is an electronically controlled, variable-capacity unit, which helps reduce engine friction and improving fuel efficiency.
True enough, the estimated fuel economy of the ES 350h is nothing short of impressive. The front-wheel drive variant ups it to 19.55 km/L combined city/highway, while the all-wheel drive variant is close behind at 18.70 km/L. Even the all-speed adaptive cruise control adds a clever “Eco-Run” mode to help improve energy consumption by smoothing out acceleration.
The Lexus ES 350h is already on sale in the United States, with other markets, including the Philippines surely to follow. For now, however, Lexus Philippines has received a DOE recognition for the Lexus ES 350e which goes on sale in a couple of months.
Bulletproof quality 6th generation hybrid system
ReplyDeleteEveryone says that , just wait for the recalls or customer satisfaction call which are one and the same.
Deleteit also shows that you’re ignorant about how automotive worlds work 😅 recall is always part of the system. Unless of course if your car is a Chinese brand that never issued recall and just let car buyers fend for themselves or worst don’t bother if it’s customer can meet an accident that should have been avoided by them issuing recall.
DeleteBakit mo tinira ang Chinese car, nanahimik, Medyo malabo yung logic mo. Have you read some recalls with Mazda, Honda, or even Mitsubishi, none right unlike Toyota slot has been happening lately. Read and understand and not write with nonsense.
DeleteHave you read Chinese brands here issued any recall??? so far none, it’s deeply anomalous isn’t it? They just let car buyers fend for themselves , very irresponsible car companies.
DeleteYon nga nananahimik, after a decade here Chinese brands never issued recall. Tapos makuha pera mo bahala ka na sa buhay mo. Dapat nga tumulong ka mag usisa bakit di nag i issue recall mga china car brands dito para makatulong ka rin sa mga car buyers.
DeleteI think there's an article before, stating that the parts supplier of Toyota have been screwing up lately, and Toyota themselves acknowledge that and the need for improvement.
DeleteElegance is thrown out the window with this one.
ReplyDeleteWill we be receiving both the hybrid and full electric power trains?
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure what those black lines and stuff are there for what
ReplyDelete