Lexus 300h is a hybrid with quiet luxury

The new-for-2013 Lexus ES 300h is the automaker's first resident in the entry-level luxury hybrid subdivision, a growing community. To do this, it substituted a four-cylinder gas engine, two electric motors and a 36-module battery pack for the V-6 in the conventional ES 350. In the process, it came up with a midsize entry-level luxury sedan with an EPA city mileage estimate of 40 m.p.g. - almost twice what the ES 350 gets.