Okay, I went and test drove the 2020 ES300H and RX Hybrids today and this is how it went:
Pulled into dealer, parking lot layout very similar to corporate Toyota. I walk around and everything is dark, metal, bronze, night type theme. Older frail seeming hunched gentleman asked what I was interested in, took a copy of my license and off we went.
First was the ES. Paint and final assembly looked very good, much better than the Volvo dealer I just visited. I turn on the car for air conditioning and the AC compressor was freakin quiet. Hopping in, the graphics look pleasing, layout is traditional. Lots of space taken by the tunnels of these gassers. Feels real solid and looks nice. Just old. Setting off, there is very little perceptible low frequency rumble. Noises from bumps are soaked up and muted. Suspension feels surprisingly firm but luxurious still. And the breaks feel really good honestly. Great feel and again surprising coming from a lexus. Around town this thing is a really nice ride. Using wide open throttle on the onramp, the thing was weaker than I expected. Felt like a "normal person" car with an average CVT. Punching it from 75MPH on the highway resulted in me looking at my wristwatch for 0.87 seconds before the power kicked in with the weird rubber band sensation. I surprisingly noticed a bit of wind noise in the typical A pillar area. And it was higher frequency, so more noticeable. The infotainment systems were generally frustrating to interact with and have a learning curve so I didnt bother spending much time, nor do I care as much nowadays.
RX Hybrid: First thing was the visibility was way better than ES, and much more practical obviously. The AC compressor was louder and it fired up the V6 right away and made the typical old school grumbling noise around the parking lot. With the ES, I honestly didnt even notice the EV to gas transitions until I drove the RX! A bit louder around town on the bumps. More floaty, less comfortable. I feel like a fun, rugged soccer mom. It actually felt a little quicker to 60 but just as unresponsive when you punch it. Less wind noise that the ES on the highway. I honestly dont see the appeal to the crossovers as they cant do any serious offroading, they drive like crap, and you pay more in fuel. With performance hatchbacks (such as Model S), you get a perfect balance of everything.
The salesman mentioned that they still certify models from 2014, under 80k miles, with 2 year unlimited mile warranties. The whole Lexus experience feels straightforward. He didn't pressure me to buy a car and it was really corporate/safe feeling, and products very conservative. I can see why they appeal to your average consumer who drives timidly or who just sees it as transportation and wants a premium build quality and dealership experience.
At the end of the day, I think I'll just wait until they come out with an EV, or atleast PHEV with some responsiveness. All the big autos are stuck with that old internal combustion crap or have bargain basement toy EV's. Really sucks ass when you have a 2014 Model S beta tester at 100k miles, just out of warranty, waiting to self destruct at any moment.