Like the upscale setting of Old Town Scottsdale, the Lexus ES300h Hybrid has the fashionable and artistic style that makes it an attractive option for luxury car buyers.

Up front the Lexus spindle grille wraps down into a deeply creased front fascia. LED jeweled headlamps are sharp with signature daytime running lights.

The overall silhouette of the Lexus ES300h is crisp and simple, using sculpted creases and artistic twists for its design detail.

While shared mechanically with the Toyota Avalon in chassis and power-train, the Lexus ES300h has a body and interior all its own, sharing no visual cues.

It’s very much at home here Old Town Scottsdale but it’s time to gas up and reset the odometer for our MPG road-trip challenge.

While the dashboard trip computer can tell us the instant and average fuel economy, we always measure fuel used against real miles for our challenge. So we top off the tank before we got underway.

Under the hood is Toyota and Lexus’ well proven hybrid drive system which starts with a highly efficient 2.5 liter Atkinson Cycle four-cylinder engine. It’s mated up to a constantly variable transmission with two electric motors for a total system 200 horsepower.

The power-train can power the Lexus ES300h on electric or gas power, or both for maximum output. The EPA rates the Lexus ES300h at 40 mpg city, 39 mpg highway, and 40 mpg combined.

Our Lexus ES300h was optioned with the Ultra Luxury Package which brings the interior to an even higher level of comfort and appeal than the standard ES.

In addition to the aforementioned leather and bamboo, the front seats are both heated and ventilated. They both offer power adjustments and memory too.

A power tilt and telescoping steering wheel, sunshades for the rear passenger windows, and ambient lighting come along with that package as well. Topping it off, ours was optioned with the heated leather and bamboo steering wheel.

While we always recommend the top-end Mark Levinson sound system, our tester didn’t have it. The optioned HDD navigation and audio system did however sound good. Its 8” screen was easy to see with menus easy to navigate while on the road, with the console mounted puck.

Rear seat room is generous as the Lexus ES300h has a relatively long 111” wheelbase. Trunk space for luggage is generous as well despite some of the cargo area taken up by the hybrid battery.

As we roll into Kingman, the city is alive with the International Route 66 Festival. The annual event held in Kingman this year celebrates the Mother Road with car shows, exhibits, concerts and vendors. There was even an electric-car show at the old powerhouse.

Our 2014 Lexus ES300h used 4.5 gallons over 193 miles which gave us an average mpg on our trip of 42.88 mpg. For more news and test drives of hybrid or electric vehicles see our partner channel Motoring2.com.