yESman

I know this subject may be obvious to us but some friends of mine are arguing that the ES is just a glorified Camry. What argments would you make to change their mind (small as it may be )?

I suspect some of the platform may be different but isn't the transmission different these days?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts...

badgis

Just have them drive the two cars. Have them sit in a camry, and then sit in an ES. If they cannot tell the difference they must be drunk. I could be wrong about the excact figure, but i read somewhere that the ES shares less than 8% of the components used to build the camry. While they share the same platform, that's about it. The interior materials used in the ES is far superior. The suspension is different. The ES has more, and better sound insulation. The ES is more quite, more refined, and has better resale value. Many car companys use the same platorm to build cars. For example, The Acura TL is built on the Accord Platform, but they are very different. Here are just a few examples.

Paint- Look at the paint job of a camry vs ES. The painting process used on the ES is not only far supperior, they use several coats to give it more durability and Luster.

Leather- The ES uses the same Regency leather used in the LS

Guages- The ES uses Electrochromic Gagues vs the Camry's traditional guages.

Wood- The camry uses fake wood and the ES uses REAL Maple or Walnut

Stereo- Mark Levenson option in ES vs JBL in camry. Enough said.

Whipers- Rain sensing auto whipers on ES, not available on camry



A car platorm is basically like a skeleton. Its basically a steel shell. Most everything else put on the ES is Different from the camry. The camry is a good car, but nothing compared to an ES. Well that's my two sense. There are a lot of members smarter than I who can probably tell you more than i have, but i sure most will agree that the two cars are vastly diffferent.

Dont forget you also get the lexus name, and lexus service. There may be people that dont want to admit it, but you feel a little more special driving a lexus, and that cannot be ignored.

If any of my Points are wrong im sure one of the other members will correct it. Thanks, and i hope this helps.

Pheonix

Camry's have not been imported built from Japan in over 10 years AFAIK. The last were the '96 Gen3's. ES's are built exclusively in Japan, buy people that actually know what they're doing & get paid extremely well to do so.


Drivetrain component wise they are the same.

The main differences is 100% different body. They share no body parts. ES's are frameless windows, shaved handles. Body wise, nothing is shared but the bolt pattern for the wheels.

100% different interior parts - while looking similar - have little in common other than they bolt in the same places. Leather & ammenity qualities used on said parts are not in the next league, they're three, or four higher. Considering Camry XLE leather is always higher quality than any ever used in an American big iron lux car, or any german car costing no more than twice the price - leather in an ES is second only to leather in an LS. Yes... It is that good. It is not fragile either. It is some of the msot durable leather you will ever find.

The audio is the exact same thing for the most part. The ES jsut has more & different stock speaker sizes. I don't give a F what sticker they put on a head unit. They all use the same crappy 5-10-15 watt speakers, the same amps, wiring, etc. on down the line. I just don't consider audio when buying cars. If audio really matters, stock anything isn't half the quality mid level aftermarket is.

The ES's have atleast 100-150 lbs of nothing more than sand dampening on ever single year.

The suspensions are generally the exact same thing, but they do differ with options/certian years.






They drive completely different. The steering rate, exponential, and power steering assist are completely different parts. When you sit in an ES, you can see the Camry lines in the intirior, and when you repair an ES, you use Camry parts. Driving wise, they honestly are not similar.

yESman

Very helpful. Thanks!

yESman

Have there been any articles or web sites who have done research on this?

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

This is a much discussed subject over the years and there are several very long posts on CL about this topic that I suspect will cover the subject in greater detail than any short article.

Searched for "camry' in title of posts for this small sample set, there are many others
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ighlight=camry
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ighlight=camry
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ighlight=camry
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ighlight=camry
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ighlight=camry
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ighlight=camry
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ighlight=camry
https://www.clublexus.com/forums/sho...ighlight=camry

ArmyofOne

not in 05, my moms XLE I4 has electrochromatic ones

JJG2005

Another main difference is digital climate control... After the SC and the ES, I never want to own a car with ugly manual ***** and dials. That and no frame around the door glass is enough in itself to make me chose an ES over a Camry, even tho there are so many other differences.

3000

Why the ES is not just a Camry (just a thought and a personal experience)

1) Lexus: The name just makes you think of Luxury, toyota camry just sounds like a family car.
2) ES300: It may have the same motor, but a different body. (I think it looks way better than a camry)
3) Durability: When I got into a bumper 2 bumper, my car sustained the heavy damage that was implimated on the car behind me. There was an suv in front of me, no major damage there. The car behind me was a camry, it rear ended me and it had it's hood F***ed up pretty bad. My car on the other hand had dents about only 1-2 inches deep on the bumper(s). (maybe the ES300's frame is stronger than the Camry's)
4) Take it to Toyota, and they will say it's a LEXUS and charge more than the "Low model" camry.
5) The paint that Lexus uses is high quality non rusting etc. etc. Read the owner's manual and it will say something like that. Most older Lexus paint finish still shines better compared to most older camry's.
6) Just because it has the same motor, it does not mean it's the same car. Example: 92 N/A MR-2s used 3SGE motors, and so did the i-4 92 Camrys.
7) I'd say that the braking to the ES300 is superior to the camry.
8) There is no Lower model of a ES300. Unlike the camry: LE, XLE, etc.
9) The headlights look nothing of a camry.
10) The ES is NOT a camry.

Trexus

In the U.S. it is called the ES 300/330. In Japan it is the Windom. They are the exact same car. There is a Camry in the U.S. and in Japan. Yes they share platforms but as other member pointed out they are different cars.

Pheonix

The frame & construction is identicle. A Camry would have done jsut as good in a wreck.

What the hell. 3s-fe / 3vz-fe. Even the AWD M/T Camry's used the 3s-fe/5s-fe/2az-fe.

Motors were identicle back in the day, as the 3vz-fe was only built in Japan. Now we build the i4's & v8's here in the US.


The ES/Windom/Japanese Camry (For export) all use JD built engines. I'm sure there better. Everything else is.