funcrusher

Is the cup holders. One sharp turn or slam on the brakes and the wood grain is getting sticky! They should of made them where the drinks are more secure and held in place.

user420

I have no issues with the cupholders in my ES. I have used them a couple of times to hold a bottled water. I really don't drink or eat in any of my vehicles.

Different people-----different circumstances-----different decisions-----different outcomes.

crwys

Yea it's definitely a problem often talked about.

BDSL

I had the same problem with my 97 ES300. My 2006 ES330 is better.

varuscelli

The cup holders in my 2005 ES330 are nothing to brag on, either. I figured their low depth was a result of limited room in the center console with the CD changer. Prior to the ES330 I drove an '04 Avalon, and while the cup holders in it were not that great, either, they seemed to be more effective at doing the job than the ones in the '05 ES330 (one of the few less-effective items on the ES330 I've noticed when comparing the two vehicles).

Capped water bottles or other drinks don't concern me much, but once in a while I'll drive with an insulated coffee mug that even with the top on (and closed) could potentially leak if it came all the way out of the cup holder. While it has never come completely out of the holder, it has gone into a semi-radical "tilt" mode a couple of times (far enough that it worried me about potential spillage).

808mcv20l

I think any car designed in the late 90s early 2000s have this issue. In my Family we've owned, a 96 Acura integra, 96 Camry, now we have a 98 Camry, 99 Camry my 2000ES, 01 Odyssey and they all have pretty crappy cupholders or not enough of them.

But on my 2009 Fit, by far the 2009 fit has way more and useable cupholders.
Even the 2008 VW R32 I owned had some pretty decent cupholders.

With that 80s cars had the worse cupholders that I've noticed at least in my lifetime.

funcrusher

I pretty much drive with my hand on the cup when i have a drink

varuscelli

And you're right, of course. Not that many vehicles have what you could legitimately refer to as great cupholders. I'm sure there are some out there, but they would seem to be the exception rather than the rule.

wise2k

I disagree; I believe the 98+ GS300/400/430 cup-holders were well designed and very effective; they were practically a 'pit' in the console but in addition to that the dividers actually had spring loaded 'baffles' that 'hugged' your drink container keeping it in place. And that was a Lexus. The ES cup-holders mimic the LS cup-holders, but the ES console is fairly small in comparison. I think that's the primary reason they don't work well and/or fail early. They were trying to go for a 'clean' console but sacrificed practicality/functionality. I guess we shouldn't be drinking in luxury cars

808mcv20l

There's always gonna be exceptions, just making a generalized statement with that, most car manufacturers didn't really put too much importance of cupholders in the overall design till the last 5+ years.

The other thing to keep in mind, these cars are designed in Japan, while the cars we get are made for export, the original japanese designs don't aways consider the larger bigger volume cups we have in the USA, at least what I'm thinking.

On my visits to Japan, all the portions are smaller, their Large is like our medium. there's no XL sized drinks...

speedkar9

I went from a Gen 5 Camry to my ES330, which is based on the same platform.

Right away I noticed it was missing 3 practical things that the same year Camry would have had: Auxillary input/ MP3 playback, no one-touch wiper function and 2 12V outlets instead of 3 in the Camry.

Not to mention the lack of space for a purse, or phone or a wallet in the ES330's console, compared to the huge compartment up front and along the console in the Camry....all while fitting useful cupholders!