boe

Hello,

I'd much much rather have an all leather steering wheel instead of the wood option. Anyone manage to get an ES with the all leather steering wheel? Some people say they have on other forums but I've never seen an ES at a dealership with an all leather steering wheel.

lesz

Even though the wood steering wheel is, technically, an option, the production runs for the ES include vehicles with predetermined packages and combinations of other options, and the vehicles that are typically sent to dealerships are vehicles with those predetermined equipment combinations. I just went onto the Lexus site, and it isn't even possible there to configure an ES via the site without the wood steering wheel option.

Some of the available option combinations can vary, I think, from one region to another, but my guess would be that the only likely way to get an ES without the wood steering wheel would be to do a special order. With a special order, though, not only would you be waiting some time for your vehicle, but it is unlikely that you would be able to get nearly the same level of discount as you would be getting if you bought a vehicle out of a dealer's inventory.

boe

Yeah the lack of bargaining would be a big deal for me. I'm sure it would cost a fortune to get it replaced. I see Lexus is planning on offering super deluxe models soon and was hoping that would come with a leather steering wheel but the super deluxe models are going to be white - WTF. Every time I see a white car I think rental because rental places buy the cars that don't sell -namely the white ones.

lesz

Actually, the 2015 ES limited edition, which will be called the Crafted Line, looks like, even though it will be nicely equipped, it isn't going to be close to being "fully" equipped. If you look at the list of equipment, it doesn't come close to being at the level of a fully loaded Ultra Luxury ES or even a nicely equipped Luxury ES. For example, it comes equipped with NuLuxe seats and not even the standard leather. According to the Lexus press release, the base MSRP will be around $42,000, which is about what you would expect to pay for a modestly equipped ES, but Lexus has announced that there will only be 1500 of the Crafted Line ES vehicles produced. Since there are about 7500 Lexus dealers in the US, that means most dealers will not get even one of them. Thus, not only is it a virtual certainty that there will not be any discounting available on them, I would expect that most of the available cars will command a price premium at a level somewhat above MSRP. Even though the vehicle is not something that I'd have interest in, I'll bet that, even with the premium price, people will be lined up to get them.

See included equipment and other details here.

http://pressroom.lexus.com/releases/...+delegance.htm

chromedome

Opposite situation in China, the lowest spec ES comes with a grayscale display, all black leather steering wheel and piano black trim. Only the midrange and top spec models get bamboo trim for the ES300h or dark maple for the 250 or 350.

Mine's the poverty-spec ES300h with dark gray Nuluxe and dark gray dash. It's a bit like the Batcave in there but the dark trim looks classy, and I love the grippy wheel.

Maybe Lexus spec things differently for different markets affording to price, age group, perceived image etc. To me, wood trim doesn't go well with the younger buyers that Lexus is supposedly targeting with the ES.

boe

Agreed - maybe I think the wheel would be more at home on a 1950 chris craft motor boat. Maybe I'm just too logical and want something that can be warmer in the winter and cooler in the summer and more comfortable to grip year round. I'd rather the interior of my car was all one color instead of a hodgepodge, trying to look luxurious.

SW17LS

Could have bought a different car

All kidding aside, buying a car and then complaining that its a "hodgepodge" and "trying to look luxurious" doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Lots of cars you could have bought that would have had a monotone interior and less or no wood trim.

Lexus isn't trying to target younger buyers at all with the ES. The ES is the model left in the lineup for the older set, average age is about 65. Think of the ES as a Japanese Buick, thats really what it is.

The IS is meant to target younger buyers in that price segment. Come to think of it...you could have bought an IS. GS is also more youthful, sportier. 2 out of three trims on the GS have an all leather wheel too.

chromedome

The ES is the cheapest Lexus model (barring the CT200h). Younger buyers definitely appreciate that

I think Lexus themselves mentioned targeting younger buyers with the new ES in their press materials. The harder suspension in the new model compared to the floaty old model and the sportier handling bias for the ES300h all point towards this. I got the ES because it was the cheapest Lexus with the largest passenger space and the most efficient hybrid powertrain. It's a unique combo that no other manufacturer offers, in the Chinese market at least. The IS costs more for less and the GS costs even more for mostly similar features.

jim256

Actually, there are about 234 dealers in the US. 7500 would be 150 per state, and that's just not close. There are only 6 in NC, 38 in CA, which is probably the most active. That works out to about 7 Crafted Line per dealer.

lesz

The number 234 sounds like a reasonable number. When I did a search, I found multiple sources that said around 7500, but I can also find multiple sources with numbers between 200 and 250, which, again, sounds like it should be accurate.

Even with about 7 of the Crafted Line ES vehicles per dealership, I'm still confident in the guess that there will be people willing to pay a premium price to get one.

lesz

Actually, a comparably equipped IS is likely to price out a bit lower than a similarly equipped ES. An IS250 RWD will be a bit less than a fairly basic ES, and even an IS350 AWD will be quite a bit less than a generously equipped ES. On the other hand, a loaded IS350 AWD will price out at a fair amount more than a basic ES.

SW17LS

Sorry, but the ES doesn't have a sporty bone in its body. I had two, extensively drove the new one. It's a great car, but it's not a sporty or youthful car in any way shape or form. If it weren't for the interior of the new ones I'd have a third.

As for the IS and the GS, you're paying for the more sophisticated platform, RWD layout. The difference is substantial. Having a harder suspension doesn't make a car sporty, it just makes it ride rougher.

That doesn't make the ES a bad car at all, it just is what it is. If you think it's sporty or that it's at all comparable to an IS or a GS in terms of handling ability, etc you need to experience some other cars to compare.

LexBob2

I agree. Lexus knows who their target demographic is for each model. The ES caters to a different buyer than the IS and GS.

boe

And yet I kind of want both - ES to get the hybrid, IS to get a leather steering wheel and something that could be more fun to drive. If only I could have both in the US.

LexBob2

Have you considered a turbo diesel? There are more and more of them available and they offer very good fuel economy and performance equal to, or better than a hybrid.