ES 350 is the ‘Gold Standard’ of Luxury, Declares Times Free Press
Thirty years after it arrived in America, the ES still is the gateway to all things Lexus.
What happened in 1989? The Berlin Wall fell, for starters. Taylor Swift, Cam Newton, and James Harden were born. Lucille Ball, Sergio Leone, and Ted Bundy died. The Oakland A’s swept the San Francisco Giants in the World Series (and an earthquake swept through Game 3). And, of course, Toyota’s luxury brand, Lexus, debuted at the Detroit Auto Show with its first two cars, the ES and LS.
Today, the ES is still the gateway to all things Lexus, and can be had as a hybrid or an F Sport model, as well as in standard spec. Chattanooga, Tennessee newspaper Times Free Press recently drove an ES 350 around town to determine if the line was still “the gold standard of entry-level luxury vehicles.”
The Times Free Press had access to the Ultra Luxury trim of the ES 350 in Matador Red Mica, which the paper found had “a calming effect” after a long day of writing and editing articles. Their tester had nearly every option available, from 17-speaker, 1,800-watt surround system, leather seats, and a hands-free trunk lid for easier loading of groceries.
The paper ultimately declares the ES 350 “a car that lowers your blood pressure and soothes your evening commute,” with a more youthful charm that will give life to “more conservative, older buyers.” Lexus definitely knows what their customers want, which is why the ES is still “the golden standard” 30 years after it saw the spotlight for the first time in Detroit.
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