I too have had ES loaners and greatly enjoyed driving them. As I get up there in years, I find myself leaning on the edge of sport vs. luxury. I'm still swaying over to the sport side, but I see myself in an ES eventually. It's such a comfortable car and looks great too. I hope the redesign will bring forth an improved dash design, as I feel the last generation ES had one of the best looking dashes of all time.

 

So one might say the current ES is basically a previous gen LS?

 

I wouldn't quite go that far as the LS series, in general, offers quite a bit more than this car has to offer and IMO rides a little better than the ES series. However for the price point, appointed amenities, and styling, it certainly makes for an attractive alternative for the budget minded.

 

This picture was taken at the parking structure of Cal Poly Pomona.

 

The new ES is a beautiful machine. They have always been good looking cars besides the 2002-2006 model ugh, ugliest Lexus ever made IMO.

 

The ES350 has a much smoother ride than my RX350.A bit quieter too.
Nice vehicle.

 

never

an ES will never be in the same league as an LS, no matter the year

 

Ok maybe not the 430 but it is atleast on par if not better that say a 98-00 LS400. It certainly is the same size if not bigger. Its loaded with more technology. Its faster. Looks are subjective but the ride is just about the same. You dont think this ES is better in just about every aspect?

 

Not in this case. Dropping the suspension and using larger wheels can stiffen up the ride...and it's the ride comfort that the OP specifically likes about the new ES. Larger-than-standard wheels (depending on the outside-diameter of the tire) can also throw the speedometer/odometer off and make both read low.

 

True, but even though I agree that the 2006 redesign was a disapointment, the 2010 has received a number of improvements........IMO, it is a noticeably better car, even without a major redesign.

 

I strongly agree that the exterior looks of the '02-'06 ES left something to be desired. But I feel that the interior was the best of all the ES models to date.

 

Well, the new Buick Lacrosse and Regal are actually more sport-oriented (now) than the ES. The LaCrosse, especially, has a superb ride/steering/handling combo....it combines a lot of the traditional Buick ride comfort with MUCH faster, BMW-like, sports-steering. Test-drive one and you'll see what I mean.

The ES, on the other hand, remains a very comfortable but more traditionally-luxury-oriented car, with a slower-steering ratio and a little more lean in the turns. It is, though, IMO, (as I noted above) much-improved in several areas for 2010 (even without a major redesign), notably with interior-trim.

 

The '02-'06 was a superb car in many ways, discounting the occasional transmission-shift quirks and drive-by-wire TSBs/re-programmings. But the stylists, IMO, blew it in one area...those silly upsweep headlights that trailed far back up the sides of the hood.

 

geriatric drivers aren't known for being speed demons.

 

Sales of the current gen ES350 are holding up well considering that it's in it's 5th mdoel year. The new gen will be needed fairly soon to compete with the competition.

Lexus knows their market for this car but I'm sure they'd like to lower the average age of the buyers a bit.