PsychDoc

You gotta be kidding me. The M looks way too tall and narrow. Actually, kind of ungainly. And the wheels are way too small for a car it's size. By comparison the ES looks sleek and muscular. There's simply no comparison from the outside.

Now admittedly, when you get inside the story changes dramatically. The M is much more spacious and far 'richer' looking. But then I feel the ES350 gave up a lot in the interior from the ES300/330. The M drives better and is faster but gets positively horrible gas mileage.

And (if I'm not mistaken) the M has no touch screen NAV, a positively deal breaking oversight. Who wants to use those horrible scroll wheels when inputting data?

calmondo

A photo comparision may be made at this web site:
http://autos.msn.com/research/compar...&v=t102681&r=1

LexBob2

Thanks. Both are nice looking in different ways. IMO the M seems to have more of a presence on the road - But does look tall and narrow from the rear. Also, IMO, the styling of the ES will hold up better over time. It's smoother and more understated.

codex57

Have they changed the interior materials? I looked at used Ms before I bought this ES350 (06 or so). While the interior looked gorgeous, touching the stuff reminded me of the bad parts of a Hyundai. Either that, or they just wear horribly. I doubt it's wear though since they all looked like they were in great condition. I mean, how much wear can something like the roof of a car get?

I was seduced by the space and looks of the M, but couldn't get over the interior materials.

jgtile

I looked at both the ES350 UL (which I bought) and the M35X. Both are great cars. I drove both and this is what I found (and this is just my opinion of course):
1. The M35x external styling did not appeal to me like the ES.
2. The M35x internal styling appealed to me better than the ES.
3. The M35x internal nav and voice recognition was comparable.
4. The M35x had a Bose system which appealed to me better than the ES (I ended up getting the Mark Levinson systems which I believe is comparable to the Bose).
5. The Main Thing Though was there was alot of engine noise that passed into the cabin from the M35X. The salesman said that this is what most sports cars do. After reading several articles, this appears to be the case. However, I wanted a quiet, luxurious ride not a sports car....even though I would not classify the M35x as a sports car!
6. Also, the M was about $10K more than the ES with the ES providing the luxury and quiet ride I desired with better external styling with the internal styling that I was OK with.

Just a summary of someone that just did alot of research before he purchased the Lexus.

CRB

To me the ES350 is far in away the superior looking car, in my opinion. The FWD nature of the chassis and the fact that it isn't recommended by Consumers Reports due to quality "issues" might give a person pause.

psp

In my opinion only, the Mark Levinson is superior to the Bose system. The only Bose system I ever liked was the Bose Beta system in some high end Benz's but my experience with them was limited. While the Bose sounded good at first listen, over time the sound ultimately ranged from rather "blah" to downright fatiguing, depending on the source material (CD, satellite, FM). I would not place the Bose system in the same league with the Levinson especially after having lived with both systems for over a year.

(Bose experience: 95 Maxima, 97 Maxima, 04 Quest; Levinson experience:
07 ES)

AJL0365

Well with the refresh of the M-series from Infiniti, The interior has been undated and the NAV screen is now touch screen. and the lighting is now like the same color as with the G its not longer orange.

jgtile

crb and psp, I agree with you both! The external styling of the ES definitely got my attention over the M (I actually liked the GS350 styling better than the M and ES but the AWD made the driver's position uncomfortable for me and made the trunk smaller). Also, the Levinson system is nice!