I very much like my 350 (having owned an '02 300 prior) but I must say the interior on the 300 was much "richer" looking and more elegant. The 350 just doesn't have anywhere near enough wood trim....especially on the passenger side, above the glove box.

 

A 2005-2006 ES330 with the updated interior.

The nice rich birchwood (I think it's Birch.. might be Bird's Eye Maple) with a touch of chrome and the satin finish matched with the beige (cashmere?) interior colour is one of the best ES interiors imo.

 

Nice! I didn't know too much about the previous gen interiors, but I do like yours. The wood is just right, a very good color and not too overdone.

 

330 gets the thumbs up for me.

 

i said the ES350. now give me time to explain decision. in the previous gen ES, the wood was a lot nicer, but the overall center console didnt include the new lexus theme, which was having the nav in the middle and the buttons on the side (a theme that i really like). so to conclude, it wasnt modern enough to todays standards.

however, the ES350 wood just looks really fake by the shifter, its like its plastic, and probably is. lol

 

Another change from the ES330 to the ES350 is that Lexus went from discrete push buttons on the steering wheel to a membrane type of button. I like the early style push buttons.

 

It's not my car but I wish it was

Yeah the nav system does look out of place and I prefer the integrated look of the newer ES.

really? I like the membrane type. The push buttons aren't bad either esp. with that satin finish

 

I never owned a 330, but I must say the 350's interior is the best interior of any car I have owned. The quality is superior to my previous Acuras.

 

lol you gotta own other lexus cars man. the ES350 is the base lexus, materials arent as good as the other models lexus make.

for example (and not to scrutinize your car), the shifter and the wood around it, as well as the "wood" where the ash tray is. if you open it, you can see in between the lid, there is a reddish material they use which looks really cheap. Also, note the black plasatic around the shifter, that looks cheap too. and finally, the fake leather map they use for the upper dash....lexus did something like change the material, but it used to feel a lot more leathery. thats my rant. none the less, the car still looks great.

 

Yeah, I guess I need to take a look at the GS's and other Lexus models' interiors and compare.

 

The 300/330 was an overall better package of a car, the ES has a nice performance upgrade but Lexus seems to be increasing the price of the cars and not doing a whole lot to justify that price, soon as the lease is done I'll be going German.

 

That's your opinion......I traded in my '03 ES300 with extremely low miles because I hated the tranny! After owning 4 ES's since 1991, this ES350 is the bestest!

 

as much as I like the car I don't, the 03ES300 we had, had the relaxed trans that just felt like it did not want to shift but it was never a problem, the flare that has plagued the 350 is what I would consider a problem, odd how I've read the new Accord 6speed transmission has a similiar spike in the rpm when shifting, it may just be all the 350 I see everyday, this new generation of Lexus vehicles is just not really doing it for me

 

Well, at least I had a good laugh with your remark about the "relaxed trans".
In fact the transmissions from "02 thru "06 were so "relaxed" that it created 668 replies about the danger of this "relaxed" shifting in another forum. The flare that some people have on the ES350's is NOT nearly as dangerous compared to the previous generation ES's.
If you have some time read some of these posts> http://us.lexusownersclub.com/forums...showtopic=3584

 

I feel for you. My wife has an '04 ES330, and that car had an awful delay between when the gas pedal was pressed hard while coasting and when the engine would finally rev up and the transmission would engage. I assumed it was designed so the engine wouldn't rev up until the transmission's mechanicals had engaged the proper gear. I nearly got T-Boned driving it when new. Toyota finally came out with a firmware update that obscured the problem somewhat, but it still was unpleasant to drive due to its unpredictability. The ES350's flares are annoying but at least the impact on the car's ability to get going is minimal, unlike the '330.

Looks-wise, the '330 looks much more luxurious with all of the beautiful wood, chrome, and carpet on the lower edge of the doors. Plus, the plastics (e.g., door sills) don't flex/come undone as easily. It looks like it's better quality, with the exception of the cheesy 1980's era low-res navigation system. The '350, on the other hand, looks much more modern, and is quieter inside. Although the materials appear a tad cheaper, they're still of acceptable quality IMHO.