AJLex19

I would choose the GS. But, the two cars you are asking about have very different purposes.

The ES is more of a cruiser, its suspension, steering and overall feel is very soft, its FWD and its built for getting from point A to point B reliably and comfortably. The AWD GS is RWD-biased, is more aggressive styling wise, engine wise and tuning wise..its more of a driver/enthusiast car - wanting you to push the throttle, take that turn at a higher speed and promoting confident handling.

The GS is perfectly capable of being a comfortable cruiser and an aggressive sport sedan at the same time. The GS also sits higher along the Lexus food chain as only the LS and LC have higher starting base prices among non F models and non-SUVs in the lineup...which means it will have higher quality finishes to compete in the segment and to justify its price tag.

Drive both and see which one suits your needs best..

bclexus

drgrant

I agree with what AJLex19 said, but here's another way of looking at it.

An ES350 is a (very nice) couch-with-wheels kind of appliance that is designed to get you and 3 passengers from point A to point B comfortably, beyond anything else, and it has enough juice that it's not entirely annoying to drive, outside of the motor though, the handling is really only a notch or two better than a typical Camry is though, there's a fair amount of mush and body roll going on there, and a fair amount of numbness and isolation from the road.... but its a comfortable, reliable car regardless.

A GS350 is a comfortable car for people who like a car that's actually connected to the road somewhat. The ride will be a tad stiffer but the handling of the GS is drastically improved, steering more precise, and tracking is better at high speeds. If you enjoy catching the occasional onramp without having to slow down much, or blasting out at wide open throttle to pass or merge with traffic once in awhile, a car like the GS is much better suited to this kind of thing. The GS, despite clocking in at 3800+ lbs, doesn't "feel" like a boat, and you can walk it around corners with ease. The fact that a GS is AWD (with primarily juice coming from the rear) or RWD, vs the ES-350 being front drive only also makes a big difference. When you "launch" a GS, you're being pushed more than pulled; and this changes the way the car handles, etc. Cars like the ES have a touch of torque steer under heavy acceleration, whereas something like the GS.... its more like "torque steer? what torque steer?". The steering is also generally just more connected to the road and more precise on the GS, too.

Also, in trims from like 13-15 model years, I think the GS is about almost a full second faster getting from 0-60 than the ES is. You're looking at like mid-5s for a GS, and more like mid-high 6's for an ES. This juice difference is pretty noticeable- you're going from like 265ish HP to like 306 HP in the GS. one second might not seem like a lot but its an eternity in 0-60 times.

To put it bluntly a GS350 is infinitely more fun to drive.... but you will pay for it in terms of fuel economy/operation cost (Think premium gas + more like 19-22 mpg vs cheap skinflint gas and 24+ mpg) and sacrificing a little bit of trunk and rear seat cabin space (because a GS is RWD or AWD, so the channel for the driveshaft wastes space in the car)... and also an ES tends to be stretched a bit more... so rear seat legroom is narrower, although I can fit 6 foot 3 adults in the back of my GS no problem....

My mom has a 2013 ES350,, and I just got my 15 GS350 F sport..... having driven both extensively, her car is nice, but there's no way in hell I'd buy an ES... at least not without having the car I have now around.... the GS is just too fun to drive.

-Mike

Reston4GS

There is also the resale factor to consider, not to mention the standardization of higher end features. I recently went through your conundrum of ES vs GS as well, for the price point you will have to get a vehicle a year or two older with a little more mileage, but if it helps, I now am on the GS forum and not the ES. I purchased a mint dealer maintained 2013 GS350 AWD with 70K mileage for $20,000 from a private seller, but had to pay off their lien and deal with the title, but worth the hassle for the reduced price. Be patient and willing to kiss a few toads, and you will not regret the GS.

I chose the GS for the following reasons:
Better looking in my opinion, better resale, nicer on the inside, AWD with Sport mode is really really fun to drive when you want to get out of ECO mode, much less saturated on the road (amount of vehicles you see).