Hello folks. Haven’t been logged in for a while. I decided to pass on the 2018 model year as I felt it was a big outdated and long in the tooth. 2019 design is nice. I seen a base model the other day while sitting in traffic. It looked very nice and well equipped. I currently own a new Honda Civic sedan. Great car just a little too small for weekend road trips and not very roomy. Anybody own a base model 2019 Es? If so, please give me you’re opinions.

 

The base ES comes decently equipped but you should at least add the Premium Package ($1175) to make it feel more like a luxury car due to features like heated/ventilated seats, memory seats, power tilt/telescopic steering wheel, and rain sensing wipers. I think adding blind spot monitoring/intuitive park assist ($1065) is also a must; can’t ever see myself owning another car without BSM. I also think adding wood trim ($360) is worth it too since the base trim comes with black plastic trim, which isn’t very luxurious in my opinion.

Adding Navigation Package isn’t necessary since Apple CarPlay is standard, unless you want the bigger screen (8” vs. 12.3”).

It should drive similarly to most ES, with the exception of the Ultra Luxury (performance dampers) and F-sport (performance dampers + F-sport tuned suspension), which is a nice, quiet, very comfortable ride. It will feel much nicer than the Civic, no matter how you equip it.

 

Tag for info. Thanks

 

Don't forget the base Avalon too. In terms of quietness, seat and ride comfort the 2019 versions of the base Avalon XLE with 17" wheels and tires and base ES with 17" wheels and tires are virtually indistinguishable. Avalon has better dealer rebates & financing. In fact, the 2019 Avalon is Consumer Reports top rated sedan for 2019.

 

I agree with the above.

Even if moving up to a Premium ES and adding a few extra options adds a couple of thousand dollars to the price of the car, a large part of the extra expense will come back to you in the form of higher trade-in or re-sale value. Used car managers at the dealers have little interest in adding a bare bones base ES to their used car inventories. They know that such a car is likely to sit on their lots for an extended amount of time and that they may end up having to sell that car at auction. Thus, their trade-in offers for a bare bones ES will be much lower than they would be for a better equipped car that is likely to sell faster and at a greater profit. Similarly, even in a private party sale, there will be much lower demand for a bare bones ES than there would be for a better equipped ES.