toneman

LOL--perhaps, but in my area I think I've seen more ES 350 than IS 250...which used to be strange in itself because back when I bought my ES in mid-2006 I saw very few other ES 350 for nearly a year wherever I drove (and the ones I did manage to see out on the roads weren't even ULs).

...and just like the Lexus ES 250, no longer offered (and I believe, haven't been for quite some time now)--ha ha! I tell ya--if I didn't know any better, I would have said that the G20 was simply just a slightly-larger and more luxurious/powerful version of a Nissan Sentra.

Wonder if either Lexus and/or Infiniti would ever consider reintroducing those models (or something similar to them), given this day and age of high fuel prices?

codex57

Where do you live? Just an approximate area (like nearest major city). The reason I ask is I always hear that the ES is one of Lexus biggest sellers. Even my sales guy claimed it was so. It's the ES and RX.

Well, that's all fine and good and sounds reasonable to me, cept the ES is still such a rare sighting, it still causes me excitement when I see another one. Yeah, the RX is a constant presence, but it seems like the IS is the best selling Lexus sedan. At least from the rough numbers I happen to see on the road. I even seem to see more LS sedans than ES ones.

So, it's just bizarre to me, and the only way I can rationalize it to myself is that the IS250 has a much lower base price so is more attractive to more people. Maybe it is the modern day equivalent to the G20. I mean, compared to the also "entry level" ES350, it's a lot smaller and has a lot less horsepower.

LexBob2

I live in the Chicago area and see ES's everywhere, all the time. They're everywhere! It is indeed Lexus biggest selling vehicle next to the RX. They sold about 85K of them last year alone and 46.6K thru Aug '08. Thru Aug the IS sales are 37.3K.

MARINE

I still think they should have offered the lighted sills

codex57

That's what I thought! I must not go out when the other ES drivers are around. I live next to this monster retirement community too. Yet I've only seen about 2 ES's around (other than mine), yet there's like 4 or 5 IS's. When we get into the nearby big city, the ratio jumps to like 7 IS's for every 1 ES seen.

toneman

LOL--just this morning on the way to work, I saw two ESs...one driving right behind the other! Neither was a UL model like mine though...

Don't get me wrong--I see plenty of ISs...but mostly of the 350 variety.

And to answer your other question--I'm in the Sacramento CA area...

codex57

Damnit. So am I. Well, Roseville. Bizarre. I see a lot of the older ES's.

SmokeyES35

Ive been seeing more ES's lately, but definately see more IS's on the road. funny thing is.. the only people I see driving the ES around.. are middle aged ladies... kinda scares me. Makes me glad I have my windows tinted and smoked tail lights.. to separate me from the pack

LexBob2

I wonder if the IS to ES ratio is a CA thing? I see an overwhelming amount of ES vs. IS. Maybe in CA the IS350 RWD is popular cuz AWD isn't required. Most of the IS I see are 250's maybe the AWD is preferred for winter. You are correct, the ES is favored by a more mature crowd than the IS.

codex57

quite possibly. it seems bmw 3 series are as frequent as hondas. Domestic sedans are quite rare, especially those 3 yrs old or newer. CA just has very different buying habits than say the midwest.

Today was a high ES sighting day for me. 2 ESs to one IS. Both red, and one was a UL too!

toneman

Probably so, but also keep in mind that Lexus doesn't even offer an AWD version of the IS 350; odds are Lexus probably felt that not too many would sell--look at all of the more-popular modern high-performance (compact) sport sedans...the majority of them are RWD (yes I realize Audi and Subaru--WRX only--are the exceptions to this rule)...and even the few models that also come in AWD (BMW 3-series x, Infiniti G35x)--you don't see too many of them out there on the roads.