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The drive
The Arkana offers a decent view of the road ahead thanks to a reasonably high-up driving position. Our S Edition E-Tech Hybrid 145 test car felt sprightlier than the cheap and cheerful TCe 140, with 143bhp on offer from the 1.6-litre petrol engine. However, it actually has a slower 0-62 mph time of 10.8 seconds, compared to the TCe 140’s 9.8 seconds.

The Hybrid relies on a couple of small electric motors for less strenuous forays, and the combination works well. Your journey begins silently in EV mode, with the petrol engine kicking in when more power is required. The My Sense, Eco and Sport drive modes automatically tailor the setup to the conditions and your driving style.

As is frequently the case with an automatic box though, there can be periods of mildly frantic engine revving, especially when you push on something like a motorway slip road. Nevertheless, the Arkana is pretty good once it gets going. Stopping again is easy enough with the impressive brakes, which have greater regenerative properties if you select ‘B’ rather than ‘D’ from the shifter options.

You’d expect the high-rise driving position to make the Arkana rather skittish on looser surfaces, but it does hold its own. The car is also pretty good fun on B roads, once you’ve settled into its charms, though the ride is quite harsh. Parking is less fun if you’re reversing into a tight space due to the slimline view out the back.

Lexus ES300h F Sport verdict
Like so many cars fitted with an E-CVT, driving the Lexus at any kind of pace is slightly disappointing. There’s a decent amount of power, but the delivery feels troubled and inspires anxiety in the driver. Driven quietly, the Lexus ES300h works a treat, especially on long motorway hauls and even around backroads thanks to the taught suspension – part of the tweaking that comes with the F Sport edition.

The hybrid arrangement works well enough, and excels as you waft around town, but we got miles-per-gallon figures in the 40s. Something not helped by enlisting the help of Sport and Sport S+ drive modes in order to coax more performance from the 2.5 litre lump.

That’s okay as this is a bulky saloon, but it isn’t going to be enough to persuade folks away from the three German badges we mentioned at the top of the page. Even more so when you consider the model we drove costs way over the £50k mark. Lexus has a sterling record when it comes to reliability, but that only goes so far. While the Lexus ES300h F Sport is good, it’s sadly not great.