YOU CAN SAVE THE PLANET
2015 Lexus ES 300h
By: Melanie Droz Shawcroft
In the spirit of giving, my employer has partnered with St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance to raise food for those in need this holiday season. To encourage participation, a friendly competition was established. As a serious competitor myself, I would be driving all over town collecting canned food from my neighbors and finding the best deals at the local supermarkets. 
Luckily, I would have the 2015 Lexus E5 300h to make the trek – not only would I be working to give back to families in need, but the Lexus would be giving back to planet Earth.
With a fuel economy and greenhouse gas rating of 9 out of 10, the ES 300h gets 40 miles per gallon city and 39 miles per gallon highway. I barely put a dent in the tank driving all over town collecting cans. We went house to house in multiple neighborhoods and drove all over the city trying to double and triple our coupons at various grocery stores. Although the Lexus has plenty of power with its 2.5L dual cam in-line 4-cylinder engine with high output permanent magnet electric drive motor, not to mention 200 horsepower, it is the ECO Indicator that let’s drivers know when they are driving most efficiently. As I was going place to place, the 300h provided a visible alert when I was driving most resourcefully –a blue light illuminates right above the speedometer to let you know you are being ecofriendly.  I wish there was a similar alert above the front door of the houses I visited for canned food donations. It would have made it much easier if I knew from the street if they were friendly.
With a fuel economy and greenhouse gas rating of 9 out of 10, the ES 300h gets 40 miles per gallon city and 39 miles per gallon highway. I barely put a dent in the tank driving all over town collecting cans.
This is just of the many technology features on the 2015 Lexus ES 300h that will blow your mind. The Lexus Enform, made available as a mobile app and displayed on a high-resolution 8-inch color LCD display, can be accessed inside the vehicle with the remote touch device (perfectly placed on the center console) or with voice recognition. You can do just about anything with the Enform – access your favorite mobile applications, stream music, make dinner reservations, receive navigation directions, remotely start the engine, lock and unlock the doors, check your fuel level and so much more. You cannot, however, put other people in the holiday spirit of giving.
It was imperative to drive around town safely since my 3-year-old son would be tagging along. After all, he needs to learn that we always give back – we have been blessed with many wonderful things like this Lexus to drive, so we always encourage him to share the wealth. With an overall vehicle score of 5 stars from the Government 5-Star Safety Ratings, the ES 300h was worthy of my son’s company.
As a mom, I also appreciated the smart stop technology, 4-wheel anti-lock braking system, front and rear outboard seatbelt pretensioners with force limiters and theft deterrent system since we were in and out of the car all day, leaving it on the street in various areas. It also came in handy that the sedan comes with a first aid kit. After my son attempted to open a can of green beans because he claims they make him strong, he cut his little pinkie finger. Although the Band-Aids did not have Captain America on them, he appreciated the aid.
I especially appreciated the seat memory – the seat would move back to allow me to comfortably exit and enter the vehicle, and then it would move forward to my previous seat position
I, on the other hand, appreciated some of the numerous luxuries in the 2015 Lexus ES 300h. Since I had to get in and out of the car so many times, it was nice to have a backup camera, the SmartAccess with push button stop/start, the one touch open/close power tilt-and-slide moonroof and the 10-way 
driver and passenger power seats. I especially appreciated the seat memory – the seat would move back to allow me to comfortably exit and enter the vehicle, and then it would move forward to my previous seat position. We also enjoyed the Lexus premium audio system with MP3 player, 8 speakers, Bluetooth, USB audio plug and Sirius XM. Maybe the neighborhoods could hear us coming down the street and locked their doors and shut their windows.
Thankfully, we also had plenty of cargo space for all of the food we collected. It wasn’t $40,430 worth of food for the St. Mary’s Food Bank Alliance which is the MSRP for the ES 300h, but what we did raise will make a big difference in the lives of others. Just like this vehicle has a made a big difference in the survival of Planet Earth and in my life, helping me to win the competition at work and donate hundreds of cans to those in need.
