Team-BHP - Lexus ES 300h launched in India at Rs. 55 lakh

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Originally Posted by androdev (Post 4173462)

This is just casual internet banter, don't read too much into it. We would all be cheering for Lexus if it had followed the same price positioning on par with what it does in other markets.

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Originally Posted by dark.knight (Post 4173607)

I for one shall await your review, as I said before its each person's personal choice and at times I've also experienced exactly what you've experienced, for I own one of the most hated brands (by a particular section) in India - Hyundai. I accept what some people have to say about it without arguement, comments on it being bad to drive, poorly made, and unreliable - I accept it because I cannot overrule personal opinions and judgements, its how they feel and I'm more than okay with it.
Likewise I'm sure the Lexus, it doesn't compete at all with the BMW whose niche is in great driving cars, but it has its own charm of being a capable, comfortable, plush ride - I know that's exactly what you wanted so any and all opinions by us are moot. The way I see this forum, I welcome all opinions, hate and criticisms of any brand, even those which are truly contradictory to my own experiences. I however, can only share what I've experienced and what I've felt. Discussions can go on and on until our internet subscriptions run out, but in the end reality is in putting the money down on a product with full conviction.

Gentlemen, thank you for your wise words and advice. Relative to you I am a newbie to the world of social media/forums/chat rooms et al. TBHP is 100% of my social media interface - no whats app or FB. Now that you are being nice to me I will come and play in the park and let you ride my new bicycle.:D

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Originally Posted by The Brutailer (Post 4170062)

Lol.
Does Lexus cost 2 and 3 times in USA at the cost at which it is sold in India?

Does Lexus have the same brand value as a Mercedes Benz and BMW in India?

Will Lexus offer the same experience which they offer abroad? Heck, I've heard that servicing will be done in the same place where other Toyotas are done.

Our Indian market is very different from the one abroad. Here, manufacturers charge the Indian rip off tax and even after that provide sub standard product. This Lexus is a car which can't even hold a candle to the C Class, let alone compete with the E Class.

Lexus is a success abroad because of VFM angle compared to it's competition.

Clearly they are targeting the chauffeur driven by offering CVT but step into the E Class and I'm damn sure the customer will not leave the Merc Showroom.

For Lexus it is too little and too late.

I agree completely about the rip-off tax!! My brother is about to buy a Volvo XC90 Inscription in the US for 85k (55 Lakhs approx). We pay double here and we wouldn't even get all the semi-autonomous driving features (Not that they'd work in India, but still). This is just plain wrong!

:OT But i was talking to my brother the other day and i had told him, in addition to a weaker currency we need to earn twice as much to afford half the car(spec and choice wise) that people would get in the US.

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Originally Posted by venom_op (Post 4173792)

This is actually debatable. :thumbs up
The extreme tax is imposed in order to shoo the automakers from bring in direct imports, and encouraging them to manufacture in India (create jobs, investments etc). This benefits both the economy and the population in the long run. :)

Autonomous driving has some legal hurdles in many places of the world.
Even in the EU, fully autonomous driving is not allowed yet, as far as i know.

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Originally Posted by GTO (Post 4174077)

Thanks to the Team-BHP fan (he prefers to remain anonymous) who sent these images in. Heartfelt gratitude for sharing it with other enthusiasts

Pretty sure this is at the Taj Santacruz airport hotel. This was the Maserati showroom till very recently. Great showroom interiors but the location is crap, it is barely visible from the outside. Only someone who is especially coming to visit showroom will be able to locate it.
IMO, Lexus needs brand presence and good showroom visiblity and locations is a must. Getting a main road facing location like Rolls, JLR and old Porsche showroom in Mumbai are great locations for Lexus

Autocar India has come out with their first drive review of Lexus ES 300h.
Their observations:

Although a Camry underneath, there is enough differentiation as a Lexus.
Quality is good, however not as good as Germans.
Hybrid power train is the differentiating factor. Styling too is unique.
A quirky mouse and enter button arrangement to interact with multimedia system.
No working navigation, though system is capable. :Shockked:
Handling, power is decent and not as sporty as it's German counterparts. CVT gearbox doesn't help either.
Pricey at 55 lakhs (fully imported), though the novelty, badge, reliability and lower cost of ownership might attract customers.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cf0eBSqPkbk

@PraNeel; I will like to take up the issue wrt to quality as compared to the Germans. I am willing to be the Lexus will have a far lower breakdown rate, than the (imho) over rated Germans. What I know of Toyota as a whole is that they have one of the best reliability figures. Right now they may have a problem of service, and also many of us may be inclined to wait for local manufacture and the consequent drop in prices.

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Originally Posted by PraNeel (Post 4198004)

Autocar India has come out with their first drive review of Lexus ES 300h.
Their observations:[list]
[*]Quality is good, however not as good as Germans.[*]Handling, power is decent and not as sporty as it's German counterparts. CVT gearbox doesn't help either.

Thank you for sharing the Autocar views. My response to their views below.

1. Speaking from ownership experience the quality of the interiors and paint work matches the German III one for one. I evaluated the E-class Merc LWB and the Lexus and the Lexus ES300H is as good. The quality of material and colours and the way things are put together is more muted in the Lexus compared to the E-LWB. Of course these are subjective assessments ultimately beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.

2. With regard to handling & acceleration the Lexus is designed for driving comfort of the driver and rear seat passenger. It addresses a different segment. In this it excels and only Mercedes can be a worthy comparison -Audi and BMW do not even get to table stakes. It is not meant for those who want to vrroomm around corners. I read this often times in car reviews in magazines and T-BHP - about the drivers car bit. I wonder where in India do you go speeding and racing around corners without putting yourself and others in harm's way.

The acceleration is more than adequate for anything you need in city driving or our highways.

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Originally Posted by funkydevil (Post 4198906)

The Lexus site is up. Also they are offering something know as Lexus protect which I think is similar to BSI packages of BMW.

Website - www.lexusindia.co.in

Lexus Protect - http://www.lexusprotect.co.in

No pricing for Lexus protect is shown on the site tough.

Attachment 1639140

No, Lexus Protect is not similar to BSI packages. It is just an insurance policy which offers multiple add-ons, most as standard and some as optional. Giving it the Lexus name would enable dealers to overcharge their customers for the same. It would be better if a person directly buys insurance from some company and adds all the add-ons he/she would need.

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Originally Posted by V.Narayan (Post 4198161)

I wonder where in India do you go speeding and racing around corners without putting yourself and others in harm's way.

Well, the possibility of speeding around roads with fast corners and minimal to zero traffic is present much more in several areas in India than one gives credit for. It's not about "wonder"ing to find such places, but to think outside the usual driving roads of the metro cities and nearby getaways or the popular tourist towns of India.

For one, there is plenty in the North East (several areas of North W.Bengal, Sikkim, Meghalaya, etc). We frequently get to drive to roads that have really smooth tarmac with fast corners on the Himalayan mountain roads, even ones that aren't highways or major roads.

Such roads are much more readily available in the hilly roads of North East as compared to North India (J & K, Himachal and Uttarakhand) as the former sees much less tourists and is generally less populated.

Our country is extremely vast and varied. Speaking generally, what may seem unthinkable at one place may actually be an everyday occurrence in some corner of India.

On a public road it is always going to be a risky affair to speed, or test the limits of your sports car. That is always there, no doubt. But to say such roads aren't there at all is not true. If one is armed with good reaction times, matured driving behavior, and familiarity with driving in the hills, he/she would never complain. Just my two cents.

Apologize for speaking out of context of this thread.

Mod Note: Our Lexus Review has been taken live at this link. Please continue the discussion over on the new thread. Thanks!

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I am willing to be the Lexus will have a far lower breakdown rate, than the (imho) over rated Germans.

Possible, but from my own experience of combined driving of more than 3,00,000 KM on different BMW's, I was stranded on road twice only. Once it was due to a flat tyre as RFT got a big cut and another time something went wrong from rear axle apparently they had a maintenance bulletin to change that small part. Most of my losses ( expenses) on these have been on the re-sales only as you lose a lot no matter how soon or late you sell these.

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Speaking from ownership experience the quality of the interiors and paint work matches the German III one for one

Hello Mr. Narayan, Hope you are enjoying your Lexus. I will agree with your view on interiors, I found the one on RX-F to be better than it's peers but their problem is the price levels. Even if we add Maintenance costs as well the difference in depreciation, hypothetically considering that Lexus gets a better resale by 20-30 % it will be too difficult to convince someone to pay such high premium.

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I wonder where in India do you go speeding and racing around corners without putting yourself and others in harm's way.

I believe it's a combination of both, age as well deteriorating road conditions in India. I remember doing so many things 20 years ago in my Old Maruti which I can't do in any of the BMW's now. Same goes for the wheelies that we used to do on my dad's Vijay Super Scooter, I can't drive any Harley or triumph like that scooter. So perhaps young guys can or will find something, somewhere for the faster BMW's and stuff and we can settle with Camries and Lexus as we grow old.