Endzone

I drive a 2003 Toyota Avalon, but when I went back to visit the home folks a few weeks ago, I had a chance to ride in my brother's new 2016 Lexus ES 350. He is 58, and this was the first new car he and his wife ever bought in their lives. It was a beautiful car. The ride was good, but in all honesty I don't think it rides any better than my 2003 Avalon. The Avalon takes divets and cracks and bumps in the road just as well as the ES 350 does. My Avalon is really quiet on the inside. Also, I just put a new set of Pirelli tires on my Avalon, and there is no road noise and it takes bumps and cracks in the road good. It is really quiet. BUT, the ES 350 is amazing! The dash looked more like an airplane cockpit than the dash of a car with so many indicators and switches. Also the 3 presets for 3 different drivers is amazing to me. The GPS system is also amazing. I don't have a GPS in my Avalon. All my brother had to do was say the address he wanted to go to, then confirm with a "yes" or "no", and in about 5 seconds it started the routing instructions! The GPS display was front and center and easy to see. Also, here is a direct quote from a friend of mine who is the GM of a dealership in the state of New York. I told him about my brothers new ES 350. This guy has been working at dealerships since we both got out of high school in the mid 1970's, and he has driven MANY different cars over the years:

bostonsnow

I agree with everything that you have said.
The new features are great to have, especially the safety electronic features.
But yes, the ride is not floaty and soft like the Avalons and ES's of past decades.