ut2sua

I wonder if anyone knows what kind of wood this came from. It seems to be a trade name (not a real wood name). I didn't really like it at first, but this wood is growing on me. The dark, almost black stripes within the wood were quite beautiful. The wood on the steering doesn't have these stripes, however (?)
I noticed that for my car, the wood on top of the driver cup holder is not made from one continuous piece of wood with the other piece on the center console. Small details, except that I got the same continuous piece across the cup holder lid and the console on my 2010 RX (different wood). May be I just got unlucky, but it is somewhat a surprise if Lexus ignores this "custom" touch on the ES given all the talk on the stitching. I wonder if others saw better in their ES.
I didn't have a choice at first because we had to have black leather (where I live, black interior comes with Linear wood), but now I am quite happy with the Linear wood (except for the small hiccup above).

lesz

I have no idea what kind of tree the linear wood comes from, but I felt a need to comment because, had I written a post about the linear wood, it would have been almost identical to yours.

I also noticed that the wood in the steering wheel does not seem to have the same linear grain. I've read before that the Lexus wood steering wheels are cut from a piece of solid wood. On the other hand, the wood used for the dash trim, console, etc. is just a wood veneer laminated to a plastic base. I wonder if that somehow is related to the lack of linear grain on the steering wheel.

I also noticed that the grain on the cup holder cover does not line up with the grain on the rest of the console. Having read about how Lexus supposedly hand picks wood so that the various wood trim pieces in its vehicles is well-matched, I, too, would have thought that they would have made some attempt to have the grain on the two console pieces match.

I also have the black interior on my ES, and my preference would have been to have the bird's eye maple similar to what I have in my GX or the somewhat darker bird's maple that I had in my 2013 ES. At some other point in the 2017 production cycle, the bird's eye wood may well be available with a black interior, but I discovered, as you did, that it appears that, at this point in the production cycle, all black interiors come with the linear wood. I considered getting a car with the gray interior because the gray interior cars now being produced seem to all have the bird's eye maple trim, and, if the gray interior for the ES was a darker gray, I probably would have done so, but, for the 2016-2017 ES, I don't particularly like the lighter two-tone color schemes.

I'm not sure that I'd say that the linear wood is "growing on me", but I'll admit that I think that the look of that wood on the dash and doors is good, but I don't particularly like it on the console. Still, it is a minor point, and, overall, I think that the black interior, even with the linear wood, provides a very classy look.

ut2sua

Lesz, it sounds like we share the same thought. The black leather I have had in my RX looks so good after so many years that I had to have black interior again. I expect that your and my ES interior will look great several years down the road. I do admire some beautiful two tone combinations that others have though

ut2sua

The wood is probably part of an exotic wood family named striped/black ebony. See link

https://www.google.com/search?q=stri...PkGoz_BvgMM%3A

I can see that if the cut is made perpendicular to the grain, it will result in the wood in the steering wheel. That cut direction is needed because the wood strength is stronger that way.

lesz

That sure does look like it. Good find.

I still think it would have been nice if they tried to match the grain of the two pieces on the console.

Also, I found a lengthy thread on the LX forum with an interesting discussion about the difference in grain between the steering wheel and the linear wood trim in the rest of the interior. Eventually, the thread got locked when those with different views took to less than polite discourse in responding to each other.

https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lx-...-question.html

hoosier1

Just purchased a 2017 with the dark mocha wood trim. I noticed the steering wheel has a few small indentations in the clear finish. The car was in the showroom, and the indentations are small. Perhaps when in the hot sun this summer, these will smooth out and disappear. These will not show up in a picture because they are so small. My wife's 2013 ES had the bamboo trim, and the finish was very smooth and held up well. The dark wood does magnify any imperfections.

Maljunulo

That appears to be what I was always taught was Makassar Ebony (Diospyros celebica).

I'm not sure this helps, but there are sources of this wood on the internet.

ut2sua

Thanks for the link above Lesz. I got exhausted reading thru all the messages there. Interesting discusion
I fully agree with you that Lexus can do better by crafting the console using one continuous piece of wood. Especially after all the talk about "attention to details" that Lexus has stressed. I believe that there was an attempt to match the stripes on my console by the team that put the car together (so that the mismatch in stripes pattern is not an eye sore). Maybe I should be thankful for that.
Cheers

ut2sua

Sorry to hear about your steering wheel imperfection Hoosier. It is not possible to see and feel everything receiving a new car, I guess. Maybe a thick coat of wax on the steering wheel will make the indentations less noticeable. Personally, I love my wooden steering wheel, and the indentations caused by me (unintentionally) on my RX still bother me every time I touch the wheel
Congrats on your new 17 ES. I got the same MY, and I am very happy with the car so far.

ut2sua

Maljunulo, I think you are correct. I came across the Makassar Ebony and the scientific name you mentioned in my Google search also. I think "Striped black Ebony" is just another common name.

hoosier1

Thanks. Hopefully these will disappear this summer in the hot sun. I will try some wax as suggested.

There are a few minor defects with the car that are likely due to build quality or incidents at the dealership. I inspected the car very well at the dealership and few will notice the issues. Glad to experience the better ride and room over the previous IS model. Age is starting to catch up to me, and the ES delivers a great driving experience.

ut2sua

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diospyros_celebica
Further search (see link above) showed that this wood is even more exotic than I had thought. This tree species only grows in a particular island in Indonesia and is extremely rare (not a surprise). You are holding something special in your hands driving your car with this wood trim.