Cannoli

What cars did you look at when you bought your ES? Why did you choose it? Would you do it again?

bc6152

I looked at a turbocharged Buick Lacrosse. Looked nice but the power, even with the turbo, was lacking. Thought the Buick was not as high quality as the Lexus either. I also considered the Acura TL but couldn't get over the Batmobile look. I then contacted Costco, get the price on an ES and here I am...Yes, I'd buy another. Like the look, the prestige, the handling, and the 267 HP engine.

irishbrahm

I chose the '16 ES UL for its comfort, refinement, reputation, reliability, and cheap maintenance costs.

I also briefly considered:

GS 350 - Considerably more expensive; rougher/firmer ride; direct injection engine is relatively noisy; a bit too sporty; requires premium fuel

Acura TLX - Less refined; quasi-luxurious; noisier and busier ride; fewer bells and whistles even on the top-of-the-line trim level; more maintenance required

Maikerusan

Considered the Hyundai Genesis (Canadian version with AWD). Decided against it and got the Lexus which was about 6 grand cheaper (and yes, I acknowledge the version of the Genesis I was looking at had some extra features).

I went back and looked at some Hyundai Genesis forums-lot of complaints about vibration and some other issues.

Glad I went with Lexus.

TomMartin

Pretty much what he said...I considered the 2015 GS F Sport. Wife's car and when she test drove she preferred the ES....and we went ES 300h...partly because they had no '16 ES 350 in stock in Matador Mica Red...which is wife's "requirement"...and partly because she liked the extended tank range...between fill-ups. Also, we were very pleased with the ES ride, etc.

If the car was for me I might have weakened and gone for the extra sporty features. Also, I decided my GS 350 preference would likely be a Luxury version with most of the extra F Sport features but with 18" rims and some other nice luxury add-ons.

Kind of decided we would be OK with ES 350/ES 300h'or GS 350 F Sport or Luxury version...just went with wife's preference. TomMartin

TomMartin

bc6152

Been there... Happy wife - Happy life...

Ken7

The only car I considered beyond the ES was the Q50. The problem there was that to get the safety equipment I wanted, you had to go with the Infiniti 'Direct Adaptive Steering'.

We test drove both and I didn't like the Infinite steering which felt dead, especially on center. The ES had a much better feel to me.

With that said, I really liked the look of the Q50 both inside & out.

Cannoli

Thanks, interesting responses so far. Irish and Tom like you I looked at the GS350. I bought the ES and I really like driving it. I was driving an LS430 so this was quite a change. I strongly considered getting a Honda Accord EX-L, but just couldn't pull the trigger.

I still wonder if I should have bought the GS but it doesn't really matter. Like I said I like driving the ES more than I thought I would. I usually buy recent model used cars and the delta between an ES and a GS isn't huge, maybe $5-6k. Resale on GSes must not be very good.

Tom and BC I'm with you on happy wife - happy life. My wife is only happy with a Porsche 911 Cabriolet. She had had 3 of them. Her current is a silver one.

Cannoli

I was tempted to look at these. The only thing that stopped me was concern that they may not be as trouble free as my old LS, which I guess I think is typical for the brand.

irishbrahm

I too was driving a LS430 until recently. And like you, I bought the ES and love driving it (even more so now with the Pirelli tires).

Another reason why I didn't go with the GS is because there is a LOT of discontent on the GS forum.

I think the Q50 is a nice-looking car but the reviews aren't that good. I think that Infiniti, like Acura, has lost its way.

Finally, I'll admit that the new C-Class is a beautiful car. But I more or less swore off Mercedes after my brief ownership of a S550. Around here it takes about a month to schedule service at the Merc dealership because the service dept. is always inundated.

pab12

Came off a Buick LaCrosse, bought the ES for my wife. Also looked at the Avalon.

Case closed... ;-)
=================================
My karma just ran over your dogma
Current Hers: '13 Lexus ES350
Current Mine: '08 Jaguar S-Type 4.2 "Satin Edition" (250.06 whp / 259.67 torque)

AdamKralic

I considered a lot of cars. I was a train commuter for a looooong time and my wife and I were able to get away with sharing a car. With my new job...train commute is impossible so...

Considered and test drove: Jeep Cherokee. (Liked the looks but the ride was rough and the acceleration was weak) Ford Fusion (liked the looks but "meh" plus Fusion is what my wife drives...who wants two of the same car?) Ford Mustang GT (idk I love the looks and the acceleration is of course fantastic...but they depreciate so fast and are worth like 15 cents when you trade them in)

So then I turned to my friends for advice. One auto mechanic buddy said anything Toyota. Another buddy who writes car loans for a living said Lexus ES 350. He just bought one and he took me for a spin. I liked it.

Test drove the IS 250...thought it was non-luxurious feeling. Then I test drove the ES 350...bought it.

Fillykonk

I had a 2010 TL coming off lease. Would have liked to buy it but Acura wanted 3k more than it was worth and not willing to deal. Also not willing to deal much on new TLX or RLX so they lost my business. I considered the Genesis but as it was a new model at the time they also wanted too much for it. Because the Acura dealer also owns a Lexus dealer 1/4 mile down the road I decided to look at Lexus. I test drove both ES and GS and settled on the ES due to incentives and use of regular gas. It also was an easy swap-off in turning in the TL for the ES. I do not regret my decision as the ES has been flawless for 1 1/2 years and gets great gas mileage for its size.

Eolafan

My wife and I just retired and purchased a 2015 ES350 with Luxury package. We looked at BMW, Mercedes, Infiniti, Hyundai, etc. and narrowed the choices down to the ES and the Hyundai Genesis. The Lexus reputation for quality (in particular the Consumer Reports and J.D. Power rankings) helped us decide along with the fact that a comparably priced Genesis cost about the same as our ES350. Also, the Lexus dealer provides free unlimited car washes (I am quite **** about keeping my car clean) and our service advisor (who recommended the car in the first place) is a personal acquaintance of mine. We only have 165 miles on the car (remember, we're now retired) but so far we love the ES350.

McCoy64

Wife wanted to replace her 2008 Cadillac CTS with a newer used one. We looked for a few months but couldn't find one we wanted in our price range. Looked at the Buick LaCrosse & Chrysler 300 - nice cars but didn't feel right for one reason or another. Then I suggested the ES350. Lots of them to choose from in this area. Drove it, loved it, bought it. Got all the options & color we wanted in our price range. 2013 model with 22k miles on it.

The CTS had great fit & finish & we never had a problem in the 5 years we had it. But the ES350 is more comfortable, quieter, smoother on the road and also has a comparable fit & finish. The Lexus is about 350 lbs lighter so I expect we might get slightly better mileage as a bonus.