mmarshall

They are both smooth...as was the IS300 inline 6. The IS350's V6 was extremely smooth at idle, but a slight amount of NVH was
present as revs increased. Part of that was probably the sports-sedan exhaust....the engineers obviously didn't want to make the car
like an LS460.

MD350

Have you reviewed the ES350? Was wondering your thoughts on this car.

DonP

nice review, i love the 350 personally.

mmarshall

Yes I have. I found it disappointing in several areas. The superb, full-dash and door panel wood trim of the old ES330 is gone, the new interior, despite surface glitz, is too plasticky, there were dash creaks and small rattles in the one I drove, and the nice smooth ride of the old car has been marred by lower-profile tires and a stiffer suspension on the new car....in a car that did not NEED a firmer ride; it's supposed to be a luxury car.

But the superb Toyota/Lexus paint job, noise control, and powertrain smoothness remain as before...it still is quiet on the road.

Here is the full review:
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...07+lexus+es350
My reviews back then were somewhat shorter and less comprehensive than they are today.

MD350

Thank you! Nice write up. As a 16 month 22K mile owner, I can agree the car has been a huge disappointment. When the car was new, the dealer had to take the front dash apart and align it with felt due to rattles. Same on the front/right door panel. the car still rattles under the headliner and dash. It is a rattle box. Not to mention the transmission issues on this 6 speed automatic, the car has some issues.

On good notes, the mpg is fantastic on this powerful engine. About 33 on highway. I like the size of the rear seat, good for the kids. I love the glass roof on the UL package, which I have.

However, I did expect much more from Lexus. Thanks, again, for digging up your review!

mmarshall

I assume you mean the IS350, not the ES or GS. The GS350 is nice, but the ES, as I outlined in other posts, IMO was disappointing.

LexBob2

On the other hand - I have an early build (4/06) ES350 that I bought when they first came out in late-April/early-May '06, and to date, it has been flawless and completely problem free. The performance, mileage, ride & handling (no, it's not a sports sedan) makes it a great value for the price. Could it use more wood interior trim -Yes, but for me it's not a problem. IMHO it has a more contemporary look vs. the heavy use of wood in previous models.

It's definitely a car with a real love-hate relationship with a lot of owners on this forum.

mmarshall

Do you find the ride acceptable? The ES330 had a proper luxury-car ride, at least for a car of its size. The ES350 exchanged that for a slightly more sport-oriented suspension and tires (which, IMO, was unneeded, as there are already plenty of sports sedans on the market, including its own brother IS). Of course, it's still not Miata or S2000-stiff, but I felt that they should have left the chassis and tires the way they were.

LexBob2

My car has the Michelin all-season tires so they may ride and handle differently than the summer tires. I find the ride very comfortable and the handling pretty good for a car like this.

My previous car was an '03 Avalon XLS, similar to the previous gen ES's, and while the ride was soft, the car was too floaty for my taste. The handling IMO was not very good. The steering was numb and it was hard to keep the car between the lines on any stretch of road with curves. Overall, I liked the car OK but traded it in after 3-4 years any only 21,000 miles. I will say that its trade in value was very good!

mmarshall

Yes, the Avalon, like the Camry, has relatively low depreciation. Its numb steering was not so much a factor of the suspension as much as the way Toyota engineers designed the power-steering pump. It is not exactly BMW-like in road feel.

But you have to consider that the Avalon and ES are not meant to be sports sedans.....in the Toyota/Lexus lineup, that is what you already have the IS250/350, Camry SE, and, to a lesser extent, the GS350/450 for. Avalons and ES models are SUPPOSED to be cruisers rather than bruisers.

Kamikaze2b

Very good review as always!

Nextourer

Now that's what I call a review! Thanks mmarshall!

I also test drove the IS250 AWD and IS350 Sport Package back in 2006. My reaction towards the brakes mirror yours. At my usual 60km/h brake test, it stopped shorter than the IS250 AWD I tested just before. (I had a chance to do a back-to-back test drive that day). Keep it mind the road was wet and it was pouring for the 5 mins on the highway. That's west coast weather for ya. Oh and the tyres were nearly bald from the launch event the Sunday before.


I agree with the automatic transmission. It shifts sooo quickly and so smooth. But I disagree with the manual mode. There's a lag between when I click up and when it shifts. The guy told me to shift earlier (I was shifting at around 4,000 rpm or so.. roughly when the orange ring glows in factory default setting).

mmarshall

Thanks.....but it is not anything unusual. That is the way I do all of my full-length reviews. I don't skimp on them.

The IS has always had excellent brakes. It was one of the features on the old car as well, although mine had very slight rotor runout by 30,000 miles.

The shorter stopping distance of the 350 you drove, however, compared to the 250AWD, could have been tires rather than brakes......the 350, especially with the Sport package, sometimes has more aggressive tires than the 250AWD. In my reviews, Im my reviews, do a couple of moderately strong brake tests, for both pedal feel and response, but I don't panic stop....you never want to do that with new or almost-new cars unless you really have to.

Again, if you were manually shifting at over 4000 RPM, you may have gotten a slightly different response than I did. Since most of the cars I review are new or almost new, I usually don't take them much over 4000. In fact, my reviews are done mostly to evaluate the cars more in normal driving conditions that in extreme situations at or near the limit....for that it is best to consult an "enthusiast" publication like Car and Driver or Road and Track.

Now...if you were shifting right at 4000, (as you indicate) and your response was still a little different then mine, then it could have been one of several things, including slightly different transmission fluid or additives in the two cars, slightly different computer programming, or the way the transmission itself was set up.

geko29

It will. The overall gear ratios on the MT are much deeper than the automatic, even though the automatic comes with a deeper rear end (4.10 vs. 3.727). For example, overdrive is 0.59 on the auto (resulting in a 2.419 total reduction), but 0.786 on the manual (2.929 total reduction). First gear is an even wider spread, at 2.04 on the automatic (8.364 total), compared to 3.791 on the manual (14.129 total).

STIG

Great review MM!

I have been away from home lately, boy do I miss my IS350!!