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New ES 350 Owner Reports

116 messages,  Last post on Dec 06, 2008 at 2:32 PM

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#2 of 116 Initial impressions of my new ES 350 by bwolf Jul 30, 2006 (3:34 am)
I picked up my new Ruby Red with Navigation yesterday after driving an Acura TL for the last 3 years. The Lexus handles better than I thought it would. The steering doesn't feel as good as the Acura's but the ride is much smoother without feeling too "luxury" if you know what I mean. The car's styling is awesome. The Ruby Red in sunlight is gorgeous and I also got the 10 spoke chrome rims which I think look much better on this car than the standard 7 spoke. Hooked up my IPOD and it sounded great, even in the standard stereo. Haven't called XM yet to swithch my account to the ES. The dealer installed the XM antena inside the car and you can barely see it, it is so small. The keyless entry and push button start is awesome. Acura's navigation is much better, however. The screen is bigger on the TL and you can input addresses while driving. I know Lexus is trying to be safe, but you can change all sorts of views on the ES and mess with the display, all of which take your eyes off the road, so why not just be able to input addresses as well? The voice commands work great for phone numbers but work terrible for addresses, especially cities. Also, on the Acura the radio is switched to the back speakers when route directions are given, but on the lexus if you have your music turned up, you won't hear the navigation voice. Using the phone automatically turns the radio off so I don't know why they didn't do something similar for the navigation voice. My Blackberry 8700 from Cingular hooked up no problem to the Bluetooth. Finally, and I know this is stupid, but I can't believe lexus uses the cheap camry green backlit dash controlls. The speedometer/tachometer look so great in the bright white led, why didn't they make the rest of the car match? The stereo and AC controls, etc. look like a cheap Chevy Malibu at night. Anyway, these are small things and I definitely love the car! I'll post some pictures in a few days. Replies to this message: cablondeblue (Jul 30, 2006 9:38 am) bwolf (Jul 30, 2006 10:44 am) elwoodmoraga (Dec 30, 2006 7:15 pm) colorfulyears (Dec 30, 2006 8:04 pm)
#3 of 116 Re: Initial impressions of my new ES 350 [bwolf] by cablondeblue Jul 30, 2006 (9:38 am)
Replying to: bwolf (Jul 30, 2006 3:34 am) Nice to hear that someone is comparing the new ES to the old Acura TL. I currently have an Acura TL and am waiting for my ES to come in. I know that the ES will have a different feel than my car, but am hoping that will have the same immediate rocket-thrust (lack of a better word) as my current car does. I am aware that the steering may not be as tight, but I can adapt. I am buying a more luxury vehicle, after all.   This thought came to my mind as I just got back from a road trip up North. As I was passing trucks and slow cars on two-lane Highway 1 on the coast, I was thinking to myself I hope the ES will be as responsive and powerful when I need it. Replies to this message: bwolf (Jul 30, 2006 10:44 am) elwoodmoraga (Dec 30, 2006 7:15 pm) colorfulyears (Dec 30, 2006 8:04 pm)
#4 of 116 Re: Initial impressions of my new ES 350 [cablondeblue] by bwolf Jul 30, 2006 (10:44 am)
Replying to: cablondeblue (Jul 30, 2006 9:38 am) The acceleration is more subtle than the TL. It doesn't throw you back into the seat, but it also doesn't jerk you. The power is very, very smooth and at first you won't think it has the power that the TL has, but as you're thinking that you're passing people. Also, when I stepped on it in my TL the car would almost always want to veer left or right. (Front wheel drive oversteer) The ES seems much better at this even though the steering is looser. I liked that the Acura feels the road, especially when taking tight turns, but I don't miss going over pot holes and speed bumps. I think Lexus did a great job because you get to drive a luxory car but they made the new interior more sporty and the exterior is definitely more sporty, so you still feel like you have a sports sedan. I had my Red ES parked next to my Gray TL and the Acura looked so dated and cheap compared to the Lexus.
#5 of 116 Little problems by alien2 Aug 06, 2006 (3:50 pm)
We've had our 350 for about a month. It's a very polished car with a few exceptions. I wanted to see if anyone else has experienced a unique condition of the windshield wipers. If you try to clean the windshield, you can not lift the blades away from the windshield. If you try, you will probably chip the paint on the hood. The blade assembly does have a hinge that normally is there to allow you to raise the wipers so you can clean the windshield. Lifting the hood does not help. Anyone else experience this? Thanks, alien. Replies to this message: joede (Jun 30, 2007 12:55 pm) jaspalb (Jul 30, 2007 7:42 pm) tdoh (Aug 13, 2007 4:08 pm)
#6 of 116 Just got our Ruby Red with Grey Interior - Wow.... by wireguy1 Aug 12, 2006 (1:52 pm)
Well, 8 weeks of waiting and reading these forums. Finally, we got the call. Picked it up on Thursday and we are extremely happy with it. See photos:http://www.carspace.com/wireguy1 We had the spoiler added along with the Sport Wheels. The wheels give the car a great look. For now, we have lots to learn. So far, this has exceeded our expectations.   MSC Replies to this message: vluu (Aug 12, 2006 6:35 pm) wireguy1 (Aug 12, 2006 7:20 pm)
#7 of 116 Re: Just got our Ruby Red with Grey Interior - Wow.... [wireguy1] by vluu Aug 12, 2006 (6:35 pm)
Replying to: wireguy1 (Aug 12, 2006 1:52 pm) Great looking car! If you don't mind me asking... how much did the dealer charge for the spoiler and sport wheels? thanks Replies to this message: wireguy1 (Aug 12, 2006 7:20 pm)
#8 of 116 Re: Just got our Ruby Red with Grey Interior - Wow.... [vluu] by wireguy1 Aug 12, 2006 (7:20 pm)
Replying to: vluu (Aug 12, 2006 6:35 pm) The spoiler was added at no charge. The wheels were $1,250. Seems like a lot, but we think it really gives this car a unique look.   MSC
#9 of 116 My new ES350 trumps my 2004 Acura TL !! by hammer4995 Sep 08, 2006 (12:25 pm)
Should have stayed with Lexus and never leased the TL, but the car looked so good and I did'nt need another large one, my 2006 GS was used mainly by my wife - great car BTW - anyhow, the TL was a major piece of lemon junk and after suing Honda, I took a small settlement and put it down on the ES350. The car is great overall, I have an issue with the transmission - intermittent hesitation changing from 1st to 2nd. Other than that it's great so far. I have'nt played around to much with the NAV system and voice commands other than Bluetooth Replies to this message: ray_h1 (Oct 01, 2006 10:02 am)
#10 of 116 Re: My new ES350 trumps my 2004 Acura TL !! [hammer4995] by ray_h1 Oct 01, 2006 (10:02 am)
Replying to: hammer4995 (Sep 08, 2006 12:25 pm) )) "I have an issue with the transmission - intermittent hesitation changing from 1st to 2nd." ((   Your car shares the new 6-sp. A/T with the 2007 Camry. Might wanna log onto the Camry discussions and read the archived 6-sp A/T "snap-ring" posts if you haven't already. (Some units self-corrected in the course of normal operation with the snap-ring finally popping into its retaining grove on the gear carrier shaft, thereby locking the gear into its intended position on the shaft. Others weren't so lucky and the fix required replacing the entire transmission under warranty.)

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