sapd911

This is not an entire list mind you, its merely observations I made today while test driving a 2016 ES350 with the luxury package. I just purchased a 16 ES 350 with the UL/ML with Atomic Silver with flaxen/bamboo interior. I pick it up Monday at Park Place Dominion in San Antonio. 1st 16 UL in; yay, claps hands, lol. Anyway, here are a few things I have noticed that's different inside.

ML stereo stayed the same, the one plus I did see, is I can remote start my ES with Enform remote. At least that what the salesman told me. Also the NAV is version 8 with 3d viewing and more split screens. 8" screen, (was the previous screen 7"?) I didn't have a chance to mess with the NAV. I did notice the reverse camera stayed the same and it does not turn when you turn the steering wheel. I was hoping it did. I did notice a better wide angle as in when you reverse you can actually see your rear bumper and get to within inches of backing into something. Not sure if my 13 had that due to it being white, but it seemed this one is better. Maybe its the same who knows.

The few things I did notice different in the interior other than the new steering wheel and new display.

1. New shifter with a leather boot. Feels very sporty and nice.
2. Leather on each side of the center stack. Was plastic before. Gives it a nice touch.
3. The NAV mouse now has buttons on each side so you can push the side button or the old pushing the mouse down.
4. New redesigned rear view mirror. Homelink buttons are hidden underneath.
5. Front lights where the moonroof operates are now LEDs and are touchless. You waive your hands apparently over them. Again that's what the salesman told me, they did look pretty cool.
6. The USB ports are switched on the inside of the center console. Lot easier now to connect your phones.
7. Lane departure is pretty cool, vibrates on the right side steering wheel or left side steering wheel depending on which side you veer to. Cameras are in the center grill and I think the front rear view mirror, I could be wrong about the cameras on the rear view mirror.
8. Pre-collision works great. Salesman had a female jump in front and the car, it stopped quickly. LOL, I would never try that.
9. Smart cruise is cool, but you still have the bulky cruise **** just like the old.
10. The key fobs now have leather covers not the cheesy rubber ones. $10.00 option, but your salesman can throw them in like he did mine, lol.
11. There is a new button for auto headlights by the parking assist button. I think that's for auto brights maybe? not 100% sure.

I think that is about it. The one I test drove was a demo with 17" bridgestones. Ride was very quiet. I hope my 18" come with Michelin's like m 13. Does anyone know if the wheels are the same as the 13-15? They say glossy version 18"?

Not sure if I love the rear muffler covers. Something just doesn't look right. I know why they didn't put them to close to the plastic rear part of the bumper, but it seems there is a large gap.

Front end, well, you either love it or HATE it. I personally like it, a bit much but all in all it looks pretty good. Love the dual-led's and fog light led's.

Will post a more thorough review next week.

mspearl95

Thanks for all the info sap! Yeah I've warmed up to the front end again, after being a bit taken aback after seeing some photos that were posted of it. I think it may depend on the color a lot- dark colors may make it look way more pronounced.

What I really don't care for are the new wheels; they remind me of something you might have found on a late 80's ford escort.

Mike728

His wheels are the exact same as on my 2013.

sapd911

Yes the wheels appear to be the same as my 13 as well. Oh well. Good looking wheels. I did not like the 17's.

mspearl95

no sorry i meant the NEW wheels(the ones with the weird angles) that the 2016 is coming with, not his personally. I have the same ones on my '13 as you guys, and i like them a lot.

jollick

The 2013 to 2015 had the 8" screen if you had NAV, and my 2015 rear camera view does have the lines that turn with the steering wheel, it may be a setting that turns them on. Congratulations and enjoy!

sapd911

Thanks, I'll look into that. tomorrow is going to be a long day. I am a LEO and get off work at 0230 am Monday morning. Have to drive the LS loaner back at 0730 (3 hr drive), inspect the new one, take a picture with the bow on top of the car, yada, yada, yada, lol. And try and get back by 400 pm when I go back to work. I'm excited way more than the wife. Its going to sit in the garage until Wednesday so I can hand detail it.

LexBob2

Yikes! Have a safe trip and drink plenty of coffee or 5 Hour Energy Drink. Enjoy the new car.

ls430lover

i stopped by largest lexus dealer and saw updates to the 16 some thoughts below
1) the interior upgrades are nice but not what i expected but nice for a 40k car, still one cup holder?
2) the front end is pretty dramatic especially with some colors, like the red color it was pretty aggressive
3) there was a loaded es with nice chocolate brown with tan seats it was a 45000 car and it was really nice
4) noticed they had 10 on lot most had no nav for the 39 k price point was surprised maybe there going to use them as loaners
5) there is a wheel upgrade with grey/black paint on the wheel it was nice car wasn't clean but i bet would look sharp with the car
6) i don't like the steering wheel not sure what lexus was trying to accomplish with material or look

ls430lover

the rear end really looks nice like the new taillights and chrome

dchar

There are 2 cup holders, both have a door over them. One (passenger) is right of the drive mode selector and the other one (driver) is below gear shift.

I'm surprised the dealer ordered cars without Nav first. I would think they'd order cars fairly well-equipped to show off new features. All the loaners at the dealer I take my car to have Nav and sometimes BSM, so they probably won't be loaners.

I quite like the new steering wheel. The current steering wheel is nice but needed an update. The one used on the refreshed ES looks way better than the one they use on the RCF and IS, and uses much better material where your fingers rest for buttons. I'm glad they didn't use that hard, cheap plastic imitating leather like in those cars.

Mike728

You came to IL?

I haven't seen any 2016's out here yet.

ls430lover

jm lexus is largest in world margate fl

Mike728

Not even largest in the US, let alone the world. Arlington Heights Lexus has the US crown for now. They just opened in July.

sapd911

Well I got the car home, no issues. Drives and handles very well.

I do have the 18" Bridgestone tires, ugh. Very quiet ride though.

I also noticed I have a green valve stem cap that says N2 in green lettering. Does this mean Nitrogen? Dealer does not have nitrogen so if it is, it came from the factory this way????

I really love the new center display. Really helps on navigation turn by turn. A lot more features than on previous models.

Lane assist is awesome. You can have the steering wheel vibrate or not and it does pull you back into your lane. Worked well the whole trip home.

I have not experimented with the pedestrian auto stop feature/pre-collision or whatever its called, lol.

Rear park assist does turn when the wheel turns. My 13 didn't have that or I just didn't know how to set it.

Bi-leds and fogs are simply awesome. Haven't had to see them but I am basing this off the 15 LS loaner I drove this morning.

Adaptive cruise is also way cool. I used it a lot when the 80 mph cars were passing me (doing 60-65, lol).

New gear shifter is was better and thought out.

Mirrors do not auto fold in.

New feature of Auto hi beams, haven't tried that yet.

I got 33 mpg in 191 miles of driving, mainly hwy, 2 towns I drove thru.

I'll post more later, but the ride does seem to ride a lot better, who knows, maybe its just because its so new.