tompass

Having the recall done on GS and was given an ES. Interior a but busy but not bad. Seats were good. Ride and handling acceptable. Biggest surprise was straight line performance. Had a lot more zip than I expected. I have seen 0-60 numbers from 5.9 to 7.1. Seat of pants tells me somewhere in middle of that range. Really nice car for he money and it is a Lexus.

sick21

Yeah the first thing I noticed in my ES loaner was that it was zippy. It had a touchy, jumpy throttle response. I didn't care for the seats or the leather. The leather was so hard (explains why they were cracking so badly) and slippery. And they looked extremely worn.

JDR76

The ES is a better car than it often gets credit for.

This was probably more about it being a loaner than an ES. I just had an RX loaner with 7k miles on it. The leather was hard and cracked and very disappointing, yet my RX with the same leather and 18k miles still looks practically new. Those loaners have a rough and abused life.

SW17LS

The ES is a good car. My issue with it is the quality of materials inside. Over the years that has declined significantly, and now the ES is a car inside that no longer feels luxurious, which is what made me upgrade to the GS in 2012.

The refreshed 2016 ES looks to have improved in this department, I look forward to seeing one in person.

Im2bz2p345

I recently had an ES Hybrid as a loaner and the lady goes.. "so this loaner is a hybrid; let me explain the basics to you so you're not confused or shocked on the road." I let her go on for a bit, but since I was in a hurry, I was eventually like "Ma'am, I drive your top of the line GS Hybrid, I think that I can figure it out."

That thing really flew (especially from 0-40 mph).. I would say it picked up insanely quick, faster than my GS Hybrid (weight difference is huge). It was bloody painful when trying to accelerate above 55-60 mph (i.e. when trying to enter a highway or trying to pass someone) though.

First thing that I did when I got my GS Hybrid back was floor it on the highway and that put one of these on my face ->

Excellent car for the value though! The GS is a step above in just about every way, but our cars target a different demographic too.

~ Im2bz2p345

chromedome

Watch out, some of the ES crew might drop in

I'm surprised you think the ES300h has good low speed acceleration. I thought it was only me and PirelliES who felt this... It's heavy at 1700+ kg with two up front but in Sport mode, it takes off with a lovely Tesla-like whine. I agree on highway overtaking needing some time, you have to floor it and wait for the engine to catch up.

If the GS450h really weighs 1900 kg, that explains the difference in acceleration. The ES has less weight for the electric motor to move from rest whereas the GS has more power at the top end from the engine.

dchar

I also enjoy getting the ES as a loaner, so much so that when my mom needed a new car I suggested the ES. She likes those bigger sedans, but doesn't care too much about performance which makes the ES perfect for her. She was pleasantly surprised by the performance though. I think the FWD makes it feel faster than it really is. I do agree that some of the interior pieces feel kinda cheap due to the rough plastic, especially the ones on the center console. I guess they had to save some money somewhere. But on a positive note...the back seat space is a hundred times better than our GS.

tompass

Of course getting back into my GS today put an immediate smile on my face. They are indeed two different cars. ES is a bit numb and disconnected from the road but not terribly so. Not much if any torque steer. I am only 72 so when I get old......I may consider an ES.

James4GS

They dealership also gave me a 2015 ES300h as a loaner while the GS was in for the recall. I was really not impressed with the interior at all. It seemed very busy and about 10 years old in styling. The interior color was also not to my taste so maybe subliminally that played a role in my dissatisfaction.

I could not wait to get my GS back.

chromedome

The ES interior is a copy of the GS interior but with cheaper materials. I'd say the ES looks good inside, much better than the previous bulbous design, but the plastics and hard bits let it down. But with an ES300h costing half the GS450h here, I'm perfectly fine with the cheaper option

dwayne4lex

I had the same exact feeling. I ran oversomething that shredded my left rear tire in seconds. I put the spare on and headed straight to the dealership. They had to order my tire and rim after approval from my tire warranty company. So, I got to get a ES loaner for a few days. I agree the interior was lacking and the exterior was very generic but I was really impressed by the quickness of the car. It felt quicker than my GS and definetly rode much smoother than my GS. I do plenty of in town miles over pot holes and the ES seemed to glide over them. Whereas, I would normally cringe awaiting the loud bang when driving my GS. Right when I really got comfortable with the ES, my GS was ready for pickup. As soon as I saw my car I fell back in to GS heaven.

sick21

Sums up my feelings as well.

SNiiP3R

iTrader: (3)

after the LS, nothing in the Lexus lineup will ever feel luxurious.

SW17LS

Haha, there's a valid point there.

You'd be surprised though. Remember I came from being accustomed to my Dad's LS to buying an ES of my own. I was very happy with both my ESs and my GS. The key is not comparing them to the LS. When you go from the LS right into one of the other cars you immediately notice the differences but when you get used to driving them, they too are very nice refined cars. Just different.

If you take that 2003 ES, there were things about that interior I thought were better than his 98 LS. Design, more wood, leather was really just as good. A lot of the materials were as good. But, if you compare the current LS with an LS430, there's absolutely no comparison.

tompass

Does anyone have accurate 0-60 times for the new ES?