GregCanada

Worth every penny. If i took an ES, added 12k in mods to it, would it be as nice as a GS? Not a chance.

I thought the thing was going to through me off the road around a bumpy curve.

SW17LS

Ugh...Enterprise cars are always so crappy too...

I find the switches all the same between my 2013 GS and those that were on my 2010 ES. The GS obviously has the nice metal around the radio controls and the nice metal radio *****...but the quality of normal buttons is the same.

All Lexus models had mirror buttons located on the dash in that location until the latest round of redesigns. Every Lexus I've had had buttons in that spot.

LMAO...no lol. I've been in a 4 Runner of that generation and you're not being fair. The 2010-2012 ES has some low rent plastics below the wood trim line on the dash, and the console boc below the armrest, but it has padded plastics everywhere else, fully padded doors, even the lower doors. Nice thick padded dash. Felt covered A, B & C pillars. You have to remember its an entry level car...and you also have to remember the one you drove was a 2 year old Enterprise rental.

1989 Toyota 4 Runner:



2012 Lexus ES350:



Your 4Runner is nicer? Really?



Of course its not as polished...the GS is $20k more expensive...and the Genesis is 5 years old.

Having owned two LS's and two ES's and a GS...the gap between the LS and the GS is just as large as that between the ES and GS. You obviously haven't driven an LS, but almost every car feels coarse and unrefined after being used to driving an LS...including the GS. You have to compare the cars on an appropriate level. The ES is not a crappy car because its not as nice as the GS, nor is the GS because its not as nice as the LS. The GS is $15-20k more than the ES, and the LS is $15-35k more than the GS.

You can say cars are worth $12k or $20k more until the cows come home. GS is "only $20k more than the ES and its totally worth it", well....LS is only $20k more than the GS. Well...an S Class is only $20k more than an LS. So on and so on. People have to draw the line somewhere. If you're buying a car a $60,000 car is a huge departure from a $42k car, and am $80,000 car is a huge departure from a $60,000 car. If you're financing the difference is $750 a month vs $1,000 a month, vs $1400 a month. Leasing the ES is a $450 lease now. GS is a $650 lease. LS is a $1,000 lease. Thats not a small difference.

I thoroughly enjoyed my 2010 ES. I have thoroughly enjoyed my 2013 GS. I thoroughly enjoyed my my Dad's LS's. Hell, I rode in my old 2003 ES tonight (its still in the family) and at 11 years old and 175,000 miles it rides like a dream.

They're all great cars in their respective groups. I can tell you right now I would be driving a 2013 ES if I was plunking down the cash, or if it was going to be another $200 a month vs the ES. $70? No brainer.

Then something was wrong with it.

GregCanada

LOL, seems that way.
This one i beg to differ, the GS has a much nicer tactile feel to them.
I'll have to agree with you. The old 99' 4r had them like the GS, i like that. Not a deal breaker tho.
LOL okay, maybe i was exaggerating a bit. But the hard plastic dash and door panels look and feel cheap. I guess they match the C250/350 of the generation. The 89' 4r had fabric panels and a soft touch dash (that cracked if you left it in the sun, but that's another story....)

They are very close to equal priced up here, within a few K. I'm comparing the Genesis to when he first got it. Hyundai only came out with the new model recently.

Obviously Everything is going to be much better. I would love to drive an LS. The GS is 10k more than an ES, and LS is 30 - 70K more than a GS. Wow, i didn't know they were that much.
I understand. The price difference isn't as great in this neck of the woods. I could justify myself an extra few hundred for the GS, so i don't have to buy a weekend fun toy

SW17LS

I've owned both cars...I disagree. They're plastic buttons...how different can they be?

The ES has padded door panels and a padded soft touch dash. The only hard plastics are the lower part of the dash, under the steering wheel and under the wood strip on the passenger side.

One of my salespeople has a 2012 C300, its very comparable inside, a little nicer...but much smaller.

I'm not buying that. The Genesis is a car thats priced to compete with the ES, especially the 3.8 model. A fully loaded V8 Genesis of that era was $45k. Even the all new Genesis is fully loaded at $54k...and thats with a 430hp V8, that buys you a premium package, V6 RWD GS...and that Genesis has equipment that would cost you $65k on a GS...and it would still be a V6 obviously.

Cars in Canada are more expensive than here, but the same gaps in pricing still exist.

The LS is a car you really have to drive, what makes it special is the way it drives and how refined it is in everything it does.

coach1

I was dissatisfied with my 2013 ES350 after owning it for year & half, 10K miles. The front seats broke down, the plastic got louder, the front wheel drive got to me. I took my time and looked at the full line-up....had rule out Mercedes & BMW's (been down that road). The LS is a boat in my opinion, much like a Town Car....The GS had the quality & sporty-ness I was looking for. I'm 73 if age is a factor, so when I'm 93 the LS might appeal to me. It has room for a "Hoveround"

jkeller

I've had 3 ES's, the last one a 2007 that I traded in for a 2014 GS. The ES has had a lot of advances in technology, engines, transmissions, safety as the models have been refreshed. But in order for the latest edition to maintain the same pricing points as the previous generation some cost saving measures had to be made. I was going to buy a 2014 ultra lux ES. But the interior had too many hard plastic surfaces, blank "plugs" for switches, and most of all an 8 NAV screen in a 12 inch NAV hood area. There was no way I could get in that car every day and look at the plastic fillers on each side of that NAV screen. The ES does just what it was designed to do, be an entry level luxury sedan, and it does it very well.


SW13GS- LOL at that 4runner, I had one of those back in the day and loved it..........

1111GS

+1. GS is definitely no Camry but I have to admit, sometimes when I looked at it (non F Sport), I wonder if the look is that much better than the Camry. One has to lower their eye level to be able to appreciate the design IMO. From far away, it's not that much special. This may be why it's viewed as an expensive Camry to some. Once one sits inside and drives though, it's a day and night difference even compared the big guys.

Yes.

ItzFilyO

If we put BMW or Mercedes emblem on the Lexus it'll change people's perspective.

It's just cause Lexus is made by Toyota and people see it as a cheap, economical car maker.

jkeller

Yup is a Porsche 911 just a fancy VW Karmann Ghia?

GregCanada

LOL you couldn't have found a worse pic, here is what it looks like:


Sorry, maybe i just have a hate for hard plastic door cards. The ES interior is just bland with zero "character"

Mine is just a rice rocket

dseag2

Best post ever! You are an inspiration to us all!

GregCanada

For a Motorhead, age doesn't matter

dseag2

True that! Once a motorhead, always a motorhead. I visualize myself at 80 still honking at cars at stop lights, flying around those that are moving too slow and giving them the finger. I'll probably be on Youtube.

SW17LS

LOL...sorry...these pictures are no better. The 4Runner of that era is just a hard, angular, utilitarian truck. Theres very little quality to be found in the interior of that vehicle, and certainly nothing even approaching luxury. Saying that interior is nicer than that of a 2012 ES350 is just absurd.

The ES has fully padded vinyl door cards. They aren't hard plastic. Yes the interior is bland...its an entry level car designed for 65+ year old non car enthusiasts!

GregCanada

The 4r may be utilitarian feeling, but everything is in the right place and was put there with purpose. It's very comfortable (some people say the comfiest toyota truck / suv seats of all time, which have more adjust-ability than my GS). I know i'm not going to convince you, because it doesn't have leather. But you really have to drive one for awhile to appreciate it. Maybe the ES is the same.

The only door part that was padded in the ES that I drove, was where your arm touches. everything else was hard plastic. Maybe they are different north of the border? It reminded me of a GM.

I still feel that the GS switches and buttons are made of higher quality and heavier plastic, and that the buttons have a "tactile" feel to them. The ES switches were the same as my tacoma or 4runner. They still feel better than GM, but, you can feel the class distinction.