Dude, you're seriously digging yourself a hole in the "perceived knowledge" department.

He's talking about the AWD GS and power distribution... not the forthcoming RWD GS350 or GS460.

As far as the ES goes; I saw one for the first time about 2 weeks ago. That car is pimp! I'd love to have one as a daily. I'd honestly take it over the IS350 at this point even though its slower. My Nissan is my fast car now... parts are dirt cheap and it weighs 1000lbs less.

 

The ES is sweet, several times I have seen them on the road and thought, nice IS and then realized it was the ES, since I currently have a Maxima and an ES Im lucky but I'll most likely upgrade the Maxima for a RWD GS350 long as the price is not crazy.

 

That is great acceleration numbers for the ES350. I'm impressed. I like the exterior styling as well. The only thing I don't like about this car is the interior center dash area that looks by the vents. I hate the bubble rounded look and rather have a more squared look.

 

I'm sorry if I offended anyone and apologize for my mistake.

I'm just not a fan of the redesigned GS....I used to think the 2GS was like an E-Class for smart people, but now that they're trying to make it closer to BMW, it just seems like they made something in between with no real identity.

Anywho, as far as the new ES goes.....

 

I recently reviewed this car and here are my comments on it:


Not quite. The last generation ES330 WAS a near-perfect cruiser, but, like many other manufacturers nowadays, Lexus didn't recognize a great thing when it had it, so what happens? This year we get lower-profile 55-series, rougher-riding tires, a " revised " suspension, and a cheaper-looking interior than the last car, with much of the superb wood paneling removed, in an effort to make it more of a "sports " sedan. The ES is not SUPPOSED to be a sports sedan. It WAS one of the world's best cruisers for the price and, while still not a sports car, is just not the same car anymore. In addition, build quality and workmanship appears somewhat lower on the new one as well.




The new engine DOES have more power than the old one, but from what I noticed, the smooth, fluid-filled transmission filters out a lot of that torque steer.


Handling was definitely not as sluggish as the 2006 on the one I test-drove....an obvious result of the new tires and suspension. Ride quality, however, not surprisingly, as suffered as a result.....very significant when you consider there are very few, if any, truly smooth-riding cars anymore.

 

I drove ES350 a while ago and it was significantly slower than IS350. I think it's a great car for right people.

 

The ES was pretty much the only luxury oriented vehicle in a sea of sport oriented vehicles. Paired w/ the IS, it gave Lexus nice coverage over a wide array of customers.

Then came the HP wars ...

 

The 03 ES300 my father had was an excellent vehicle, not really impressed with the quality but it was nice, his 07 ES350 is of far greater build quality and I think Lexus recognized that and made a big improvement, ride handling/tires was soft on the 02-06, the 07 is soft but firm, but if C&D can't tell the difference between the 2 then I don't take them serious as a magazine, it would be like eating a frozen lasagna dinner out of the microwave and then eating at a great Italian restaurant and saying their is no difference

 

I hope we'll see the build quality of the New ES 350 hold up well over time. Having sat in an ES 350 recently, I felt that it looked and felt fine inside. I thought the interior design was on par with Lexus standards. Although there was a significant absence of wood compared to the previous model, I felt that the interior still exuded a strong sense of luxury, in a more modern and futuristic design than the previous model. And overall, the car looks very visually arresting from the outside as well.

I'm also not sure if adding a little sport to the ES 350 feel is bad either, although C&D felt they could not tell much difference. But I agree that ride quality should remain the top priority, I'll have to wait and see on that. And as the driver vs. the rear seat passengers is another thing.

 

as if they know what they are talking about :-).

 

They usually know (or they think they know) what they are talking about when they are covering the BMW and Honda, plus occasionally the Ferrari, and their noses are all brown...

 

I know the TL is sportier than the ES but I wonder if TL buyers are jumping ship to this car instead of the IS? Many TL owners swear by FWD and need/want the size of a large car in its class.

 

With the ES350's new engine I think so. I would be tempted if I were looking for a car in that segment. It is the first time where I actually think the ES looks really nice comsetically.

 

at most the ES could use a wider tire, my old man drove his 03 ES300 like most teenagers drive, hard and fast and he eat through tires on turns, sitting in the passenger seat hitting off/on ramps with him is fun and scary

I have not had much seat time in the ES350 but the few times I ran it at 1000miles it felt good but I'll do it again at 10k when the car is fully worn in and good to go