ES350 Prototype in person
02-18-06, 03:20 PM
#1
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: New York
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
ES350 Prototype in person
Anyone else see the ES350 today? Rallye in Glen Cove NY had a little "party" with mimosas and asian food today to introduce the new ES.
First impressions:
Center console didnt look that bad in person. Better than it did in the pictures for sure, but not great. The top is not as it seems in the pictures, where the console meets the upper portion of the dash, there are two sort of crease lines that pull around the top from the middle, asymmetrically. It looks OK.
The lack of wood is overwhelming, and the passenger side portion of the dash is minimalist, in a bad way. The door panels inside were also very boring. Overall the materials used on the dash seemed kind of cheap, especially compared to the materials used in the GS.
The seats seemed more comfortable and deeper than the last gen ES, but I noticed the leather (which was in a light tan, nice color) was already getting really dirty on the lower portion of the seat, which hopefully has something to do with cheaper materials in the prototype, but it looked dirtier than the seats in my 97 ES.
The taillights looked better in person than in the pictures, but as far as the front is concerned, the emblem looks really tacky. Its inset and covered in a lucite sort of clear plastic, not an exposed chrome emblem like any other IS.... it reminded me of the fake designer labels you see on handbags, a weird knockoff almost. Probably will get really clouded and pitted after highway driving I would think.
The panaramic roof was nice but a little overhyped - inside it isnt very dramatic, just the same as having a sunroof in front, and sunroof in back, theres no sort of all glass roof feeling once you're inside the car.
The back seat was very roomy even with the front seats back, but the carpets seemed askew on the floor, since there is no big bump in the middle of the floor on the back seat like in my 97, the floorspace is much larger, but the mats didnt really fit well. Again, hoping this is a prototype issue, they looked like a cheap aftermarket floormat set.
Overall, buy it for the performance / reliability aspects. The exterior lines were nice in person, better than I expected, but the interior is certainly a botched job.
First impressions:
Center console didnt look that bad in person. Better than it did in the pictures for sure, but not great. The top is not as it seems in the pictures, where the console meets the upper portion of the dash, there are two sort of crease lines that pull around the top from the middle, asymmetrically. It looks OK.
The lack of wood is overwhelming, and the passenger side portion of the dash is minimalist, in a bad way. The door panels inside were also very boring. Overall the materials used on the dash seemed kind of cheap, especially compared to the materials used in the GS.
The seats seemed more comfortable and deeper than the last gen ES, but I noticed the leather (which was in a light tan, nice color) was already getting really dirty on the lower portion of the seat, which hopefully has something to do with cheaper materials in the prototype, but it looked dirtier than the seats in my 97 ES.
The taillights looked better in person than in the pictures, but as far as the front is concerned, the emblem looks really tacky. Its inset and covered in a lucite sort of clear plastic, not an exposed chrome emblem like any other IS.... it reminded me of the fake designer labels you see on handbags, a weird knockoff almost. Probably will get really clouded and pitted after highway driving I would think.
The panaramic roof was nice but a little overhyped - inside it isnt very dramatic, just the same as having a sunroof in front, and sunroof in back, theres no sort of all glass roof feeling once you're inside the car.
The back seat was very roomy even with the front seats back, but the carpets seemed askew on the floor, since there is no big bump in the middle of the floor on the back seat like in my 97, the floorspace is much larger, but the mats didnt really fit well. Again, hoping this is a prototype issue, they looked like a cheap aftermarket floormat set.
Overall, buy it for the performance / reliability aspects. The exterior lines were nice in person, better than I expected, but the interior is certainly a botched job.
02-18-06, 03:21 PM
#2
Driver School Candidate
Thread Starter
Join Date: Sep 2003
Location: New York
Posts: 48
Likes: 0
Received 0 Likes
on
0 Posts
Oh, and I asked the dealer about hybrid possibilities - he said expect the LS to come out hybrid anytime before this one does, no news on the forefront.
Also said to expect probably about $42,000 totally optioned out, with radar and pcs.
Also said to expect probably about $42,000 totally optioned out, with radar and pcs.
02-18-06, 07:54 PM
#3
Originally Posted by hubjunky1
Oh, and I asked the dealer about hybrid possibilities - he said expect the LS to come out hybrid anytime before this one does, no news on the forefront.
Also said to expect probably about $42,000 totally optioned out, with radar and pcs.
Also said to expect probably about $42,000 totally optioned out, with radar and pcs.
if wut u say is tru about $42k with radar and pcs then definitely a very very good deal!
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post