rxovermdx

I test drove ES twice before going for 08' new RX 350. Here were my reasons from someone hwo owned 83' RX7, 86' Accord hatch, 03' Camry LE and 06' Pilot EXL.

1. ES was very smooth and luxurious but I wanted something less 'senile'. I am 38 y.o., and I will reserve luxurious sedans for when I am 65. It did not ride or sound any better than used 07' Avalon Touring (12 speakers w/o ML). That;s why I traded in my Pilot for 08' RX350 with Nav(ave mixed MPG=26-27).. and I love its versatility and don't have to worry about flooding risk--see below for sedan flooding risks.

2. With recent flooding in midwest, I was unfortunate enough to have ran my beloved 03' Camry over a partailly flooded street (maybe 8 inch accumulation of water), and eventhough I drove through it VERY CAUTIOUSLY, since then there was raspy machine noise from my otherwise serene 2.4L motor that served me so well for 135K original miles. Water probably went into my muffler and/or radiator. It was time for a decision, whether I should trade-in my 'beater/commuter car' Camry for another one. I looked at new Accord, Civic (all Honda dealers are thieves by the way; 08' new Civic had $3500 'Market adjustment mark-up!!!). My conclusion was either 06' BMW 330i ($28K), used 07' Avalon ($22-24K) or spanking new 09' Camry. Well, it was no brainer for me. I paid $18300 for CE model automatic 5-speed with 3 miles on it. The new Camry is a big improvement over 5th generation Camry, most importantly in the interior feel/quality and tighter suspension (no more floaty buick-like ride!!!). Best of all, for the price of 08' ES, you can get TWO 09' Camry CEs. I got $5000 for my 'well-maintanied' 03' camry. ES is nice but you should consider the flooding and the the risk of becoming dormantly demented prematurely.

I say get 09' Camry and save $15K for your kids' college money, or get 330i!!!

ISF_GG

iTrader: (2)

I've driven an ES350 as a loaner while my car was getting my it's 5k service. It is a great car, very smooth, luxurious, with plenty of power. I liked it very much, and this opinion is from a IS350 guy.

LexBob2

I got an RX350 loaner with 2,400 miles on it when my ES350 was in for detailing. I'd never driven one and it was nice. I prefer the ride and handling of the sedan, but I can see why the RX sells so well. If you need the hauling capacity of the RX it makes sense. I don't worry too much about flooding, but senility is another matter!

Luvmy350

iTrader: (2)

Do you think it's worth switching to the ML? Do you think the cost would justify it? (do you have any idea what it would cost?) If I would switch would Bose be better? Does that include the quality of the speakers also?

Jfhardwick

I bought a loaner 07 ES350 with 16m miles in Nov 07. Unfortunately, this car was produced in mid 2006 and had a defective tranny. After replacing the tranny twice, the third one seems to be working ok. This tranny stills "flares" occasionally, however. The dealer has been very responsive, but Lexus Corp. says that the present tranny is working the "way it was designed". I like the car very much otherwise, especially the excellent gas mileage. Would I buy another Lexus? Questionable at this time. I have 24M miles on the car now.

LexTund

Since you are a Florida guy, I'll share this with you: I too was a Toyota owner and when my Solara went over 100K miles, I decided to get a new one. I was having problems getting a decent price from the dealers in my area and they were all adding options I didn't want; they were unable to get options I wanted; they added fees and other costs to the car. After protracted negotiations, I just couldn't get the price much below original MSRP......and then I discovered that ALL the Toyota dealers in the southeast US are held by a single franchise holder. This franchise holder allocates cars to the individual dealeships and the dealership has no say in what cars come in. Also, I'm convinced the prices are fixed. After months of shopping around, I gave up and walked into a Lexus dealer and bought my car that day.

clarky86

Here in Jersey, I had two Lexus dealerships lowering their price and competing against each other. When I got to a price the other could not beat - by a large margin, I took it. Later, the salesman who did not get the business was angry as they were owned by the same company. I think if a dealership has larger volume, they can lower the price more.

AlexusAnja

Just had a loaner for two days and here are my 2-cents worth:

1. If I could take the performance of this vehicle and put it into the previous ES330's exterior and interior, I would take it. I still feel the overall quality of the previous ES was better and more luxurious. From the more abundant use of wood in the ES330 to the better fit-n-finish. This loaner only had 7K on it, but some areas like the AC vents were already showing some misalignments. There are just too many hard, cheap, lightweight, plastic surfaces, from the glove box, to the lower door panels, to the top part of the dash which is just TOO much plastic. The latter being nice first plastic, but just too BIG !!!

2. Push-start I think is just too gimicky. Step on the gas, then hold the push button for about 3 seconds and car starts. After using it two days, I see no advantage of the push-start to conventional turning the ignition. I think the Smartaccess in the LS430 is the perfect mix, you keep you fob in your pocket, hit the little button to open and close the door, and you TURN the ignition as you would any other car.

3. We went through some traffic circles and this thing rolled pretty excessively. I feel it leaned even more than my RX and it's almost 10 years old.

4. Power is good, especially 55-80 passing. There is the usual slight "lag" before the transmission downshifts and kicks down, but once it does, it pulls real nice. 0-60 was far better than the ES330 and you can FEEL ALL the extra horsies.

5. The ES350 is supposedly about the same interior dimension as the 1G LS400 and it feels it. The rear leg room was plenty... and I'm 5'9" and usually adjust by seats in a further than usual position and the rear seats still had plenty of room.

6. Highway speed and even local driving, the sound isolation in the cabin was very good. Not LS good, but very close. This may be the LUXO twin of the Camry, but I can't imagine the Camry being this good...

Anyway, is this something I would buy? No, because of the lack of a luxury feel inside. And the performance was not enough where I could overlook those things. Given the choice, I would probably go with a GS350 instead for the additional performance.

superchan7

With regard to luxury feel, the front seats are fine, but the rear seats have a pretty bare door panel (the extra speakers of the ML package don't help much, either). The rear A/C vents and the rear fold-down armrest come straight out of the Camry XLE, and they look a bit low-rent.

I miss the padded door panel trim of older cars. Even my family's 2002 Toyota Previa had gathered leather on the door trim. But when they got a 2006 Previa, it became hard plastics everywhere. Same change with their Mercedes-Benz ML350. Yuck!

In terms of design, though, the current ES really has an edge with all the flowing curves inside. It's just the materials that went the other way, especially for the rear seats. Same goes for the Previas and ML350s...lines and curves came before trim materials for the newer cars.

Tarkio

I would think it was gimicky too if it really worked that way, but it doesn't. You must have been driving something other than an ES350.

Stepping on the gas does nothing towards starting the car. Stepping on the brake pedal is what activates the system. I timed my start button after reading this post, it takes .09 of a second for the car to start after touching the start button. If the loaner you drove took 3 seconds of holding the button something was very wrong with the car.

Also with the ES, you keep you fob in your pocket, hit the little button to open and close the door, and you TOUCH the start button as you would any other Lexus. I find pressing a button for less than a second much more convenient and luxouorious that turning the ignition like I did in 1962.

I guess we all have different tastes in convenience features.

LexBob2

Unless I'm missing something, I've never experienced anything too traumatic on using the keyless entry/start.

After over 2 years of ownership, it's one of my favorite features on the ES. Grab the door handle, get in, press the brake pedal, press and release the Start button, car starts quickly, and you're on your way. Very convenient IMO.

Like with most things though, it's subjective. Not everyone is going to like it.

AlexusAnja

DOH, I typed too fast, and I should have proof-read my post first. I am wrong, it was not the GAS, but the brake pedal that you have to press and then the "start" button. Maybe it's a personal setting that dealer set to be this way, but when I got in (keyless, left key fob in pocket) and then stepped on the brakes, I pressed and held the start button until the steering 'adjusted' to it's original position, and then the starter kicked in and engine cranked over. This is what the dealer told me to do, but perhaps stepping on brakes and just pressing the button once will go through the routine above and start the car. Whatever way, if it goes through the steering wheel setting and then starting, it would take more than 0.9 seconds from hitting the button.

Like I said, I don't find anything wrong with the LS430 Smartaccess from leaving fob in pocket, getting in and cranking the car over. Just curious, if someone the fob on the ES350 losses power at some point, how do you get into the car and start the car up, or you can't? I did see a "key" that you pull out of the fob, but is there an opening on the door to insert this key and then inside? I would imagine so, just wondering how and where it's done.

superchan7

RFID smart tags are powered by the reader...if the ES350 uses a basic RFID tag system, then the car powers the key...the battery in the keyfob should only be for the remote lock, unlock and boot-open buttons.

Tarkio

Maybe the car you drove had been "customized", in my ES350 I merely step on the brake pedal and tap the start button quickly (a fraction of a second) and the car does everything else. The computer knows how long to crank the starter, etc. No need to keep the burton pressed until the engine starts.

The key fob does have a removable key that slides into a hidden slot under the outside door handle in case of battery failure.

The ES knows when the key fob is nearby and turns on the puddle lights at night while you approach the car, and it knows when it's been left in the car and won't allow you to lock the keys inside by accident. It's a very seamless system.

jcg

The fob contains a key that will slide out of the fob. You use this key to pry off a cover on the right edge of the door handle. This exposes a slot for the key which will unlock the door.

If the battery in the fob is dead it will not start the car if it is in your pocket. What you have to do is hold the fob next to the START button and push start.
Besides the signal the fob sends out (which it won't do with a dead battery) the fob has some sort of magnetic property that will be picked up if held next to the start button. Hitting start now starts the engine.

This is all in the owners manual if your inclined to read war and peace size novels.

Good luck.