Just wanted to ask folks if they had any 'speculation' on the next generation ES 350? Let's hear your thoughts & opinions. Personally, I'm getting impatient here as I want to see pics or at least spy shots!

My guess is, the car will be launched in mid to late spring of 2006 as an early 2007 model (same goes for the next gen Camry). AWD has a good chance of being offered, but I think it will be some time after the launch. It will most likely have the same 3.5L V6 as the new Avalon, but with a bump in horsepower & torque over the Av with a 6 speed automatic with improved fuel economy.

Appearance & size wise, the car should look like a cross between the new GS & IS? That's about as far as I'm gonna go Anybody have any opinions or actual facts?

 

I think a thread started by Longo Lexus stated that the new ES350 will have a totally new bodystyle, however it will keep the same headlights. I dont know how true that is, but coming from Longo, there has to be some truth behind it(I just dont believe that Lexus would do that, it however is still early and it might change).

Anyway, I personally can see the ES still being based off of the Camry platform(not the stretched Avalon platform), with more standard features and a price increase of about $1,500(to about $33,000, I think thats right, I dont remember what the current starting price is). Definitely going to have a L-Finesse style to it. But more on the conservative luxurious side. This car will have an even greater emphasis on Luxury. And thats all I got to say about that.

 

Fair enough magneto..... I wondered about the platform myself. Would Toyota just use the new Avalon for just that one car (seems like a lot of cash spent on a new platform to underpin one vehicle, and a fairly low volume on all things considered) or perhaps it will be a modified version of the new Avalon platform to spawn the new ES & Camry.

 

If I remember correctly, the Avalon's platform is based on Camry's. It is basically a stretched Camry. Correct me if I am wrong, the Camry platform serves as the basis for several vehicles: Avalon, Highlander, ES, RX, and Sienna.

 

The question is, will the ES350 have the 280hp/260torque port-injection 3.5 GR in the Avalon or the 300+hp/275+torque direct-injection 3.5 GR in the IS350?

My guess it'll be somewhere in the middle, like 290hp/265torque. Still a lot of power for the ultimate Japanese Buick.

 

Well imagine it will be even more luxurious than it is now with more power. It will continue to be the or one of the best sellers. With the IS, Lexus can continue to make the ES one of the most luxurious cars for the price.

 

I'm hoping the exterior design will be striking and that it'll haul *** like the Avalon/IS350 (the new IS maybe too compact for me). We all know the features will be plentiful, especially since the IS is receiving them (power tilt/telescoping wheel, SmartAccess, push-button start/stop).

 

Yeah, this car will probably get every feature that'll be available on the IS, which means that it'll get every feature that' is available on the GS.

The main difference between the ES350 and the GS350 will be that the ES350 will be FWD with a softer suspension and based off the Camry platform. They'll be about the same size, about the same power, and virtually the same features in loaded form. The ES, of course, will be substantially cheaper.

 

I wonder if they will still offer the AVS suspension? I love that feature on my ES.

 

Me too. I use it all the time (sport for freeway and comfort for local driving) and the difference is very noticeable.

I believe the next ES will be equipped with just about the same feature set as the new IS, with the only differences being a more comfortable FWD ride, a more luxurious-looking interior, a sedater exterior design, and very probably more luxury items for the rear seats such as reclining rear seats, rear reading lamps and rear roof vents. After all, that's what ES is, an entry-level luxury car in the same price range as the IS.

 

So this ES350 will still be the current one, just have the new 3.5L V6 engine? Would that make this the third engine changes in this generation of ES? ES300 -> ES330 -> ES350? Wow, Japanese rarely do that.

 

Do you guys think the AVS is really worth what it costs? I ask because I have never test-driven an ES with it that I can remember....so I have never experienced it first-hand. Consumer Reports advised against it.....they said that it basically stiffened up the ride without noticeably improving the handling much.

 

I hope not. The ES is a great car in just about everything else, especially now that they finally got the transmission ECU right, but the headlights in the current-generation model are a real eyesore. They look like something Chris Bangle would have come up with.

 

Hope this ES350 will be out within a year

 

Yup...exactly what I said when Liz first told us about this info. If there's one thing that could be improved, it's the headlight styling. I love everything else.