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Lexus ES350 & GS450h Preview April 2006

As a special guest of Lexus, please join us for a celebratory champage brunch...Partake in fine chocolate tasting. Participate in wine classes with a master sommelier. Discover the all-new ES and preview our newest hybrid, the Lexus GS 450h

Dana Point, CA April 2nd, 2006 - Already full but you can try to be put on the waitlist.
Houston, TX - April 7th, 2006 -
New York - April ?, 2006 -

(888) 747-4504 to register. This is a very small and exclusive event and was sent to my co-worker that has a 2006 ES330. There is no online registration. They will not be allowing walk-ins.

jeffofla

Did anyone attend the preview event at the St. Regis in Dana Point and if so can you share the experience?

ariana8

We called about the New York City event and were told that the ES wasn't going to be there <sigh>.

knolex2001

I hate to post this this without pics, but I had to let you know... I was just at the Knoxville, TN autoshow, and they had the 07 ES350 roped off on a pedistal. The L-finesse translates perfectly! It doesn't so much look like a GS as it does a big IS.

The best news is how Lexus packaged the interior and trunk. I was lucky enough to hop over the ropes and get to sit inside, and even though I'm 6 foot, 8 inches tall, I could get comfortable in the front seat, get out, and had more than enough room in the back seat! Back seat comfort is great! This one had the Ultra Lux pkg with dual sunroofs and Pre-Collision, so the sunroof in the back seat cut into about 1 inch of head room. I'd buy one without the dual-sunroofs. The trunk is deceptively deep, with a larger opening than the GS.

Wait until you see how the guages light up! It's similar to the GS: you can see the outline and needles through the dark glass, then the needles come to life instantly, then all the other gauges FADE UP into full bright. UNBELIEVEABLE DETAIL!!!

The floor in the back seat is almost flat, so someone sitting in the middle seat won't have to straddle the bump.

It's an amazing execution, and I can't wait to drive one.

GFerg

Cool, sounds like a great car to me.

imherenow

sounds gr8 but unfortunately i cannot make it...however whoever is going to bring back plenty of pictures for everybody to see. that would be gr8.

Badman Forever

i just got off phone w/ a rep at the 888 number.. she said the houston event was on 4/5/06 (today), so i just missed it. ny event in on 4/7/06.

mhc0725

It wasn't one of the 'preview events' listed, but Warnock Lexus in Livingston N.J. had the ES350 preview middle of last month and I attended. It was open to everyone and the dealership showroom floor was cleared just for the ES. They had drinks and snacks for people who went. It was quite nice.

Pictures didn't serve the ES350 justice. The car is lovely. They had the 'sand' color one on display with all the trimmings. HID lights, panoramic roof, keyless entry... the works. At that time, no one knew the pricing so they were throwing around estimates of $35 base to fully loaded of about $43K.... which as it turns out is pretty much in line (Toyota announced $33,170 base on April 10th). I'm only 5'9" and the rear seating was more than adequate. The front seats were very plush and with them set to my 'normal' driving position, the rear passenger approximately my height would have more than enough leg room to spare.

The trunk space is huge, with the trunk arms now fully conceiled inside a cover so nothing will come into contact with the arm, and vice-versa, the are won't hit anything. The hood was total opposite, totally covered with plastic covering. The only hood component visible was the top of the engine where the manifold cover with the Lexus emblem and displacement marking were visible. Then of course the various openings for all the fluids. I can see getting all of the coverings off a hell of a job for the DIY people, but then how many Lexus owners are DIY people.

There wasn't any test drives of course, but you can imagine what 3.5L and 270+ Hp would drive like. Just on looks, it's a lovely vehicle. I would add class and luxury to anyone's garage. Very enjoyable just being able to see, touch it, and sit in it. I'm sold just by the looks. I plan on buying one in about another two years or so. When the initial craze dies down and the pricing levels off and the new Acura TL comes into town to give the ES some competition.

dp5

Thanks for all of the details. I can't wait to see the car in person. I'm planning on buying one immediately and am in the process of choosing colors. There was a light color (sand?) car in a video that I thought looked really nice and would be easy to keep clean. Do you know the official name of the color that you saw?

mhc0725

DP5, honestly, I couldn't give you an answer because on the color sheet they had on display next to the ES350 on display, the color of the display vehicle didn't match any of those colors. The salesperson told me it was 'this color" and pointed to it. I think the name did have 'something... blah blah - Sand' in it. Anyway, I saw the vehicle twice. Once during lunch time in the sunlight and it looked a cream color, which my wife loves. Then I went back that night and under the indoor dealership lighting, it became a darker sand color.

Anyhow, now idea, but it was a nice color. I'm sure Lexus will be posting the color schemes soon, or it might just be a carry over from one of the existing ES330 colors.

Rockville

and there is also a much deeper gold called Amber Pearl. The Royal Ruby, Moon Shell Mica and the very rare Aquamarine Pearl are all new. The Tungsten Metallic and Smoky Granite Mica are popular colors borrowed from the IS palate. The ES holdover colors are Crystal White, Black Onyx and the popular Blue Onyx Pearl. Traditional California Walnut gives the interior an elegant finish. The wider stance is elongated by the now familiar Lex-finesse mirror housings which are offset to make the wind noise non existent to the driver. This car has manners but is not subservient....

Rock