Oh boy this thread again! I get to do some more boo ES yay GS banter

The doors might be the worst part!

They're simply mid grade in terms of material quality

Lexus should be ashamed though, entry level or not some of the material quality is not worthy of Tier 1 status or the L badge. Granted Euro's are the same but there's where they need to take advantage. Lexus's are already cheaper to buy than the extra premium you pay for a similar Euro. Simply increase the quality and you have a far superior car.

ML is far more luxurious inside and out. Just look at that ambient lighting, and the exterior rear has a high grade polished chrome. The RX is a great all arounder but still pales to reach the really luxurious status it deserves.

It is, but cost cutting is evident in anything slated under the GS so it shares some merit.

It's not terrible but it's not stellar either. Lexus needs to push the envelope, forget about trying to be on par with their competition, exceed it!

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Back to the OP, ES vs GS. No comparison. GS won one of Wards Top 10 interiors for the year and the ES has several major interior issues

- Super hard plastic on center console + rough
- Hard rough plastic bezel around analog clock
- Thinly padded doors
- Doors don't have that nice Lexus "thud" anymore and don't close properly
- Super thin glove box door
- Terrible hard plastics around the memory seat buttons
- Cheap lock/unlock switch + window switches vs nice ones from GS, RX, GX, 3IS
- Poor version of Remote Touch - controller is tiny vs RX, GS
- Cheaper feeling/looking Drive Mode Selector vs GS's

The new IS suffers from many of the above too, and quite possibly the worst plastic ever used in a Lexus lies as the steering wheel control bezels. RX center console, bezel around shifter, and lower door is cheap, hard, scratchy plastic.

 

Next generation RX will def need to step up the luxury.

New X5 interior is AWESOME.

 

I'm no fan of the RX interior. But them BMW & Mercedes interior are nothing special. To me they look like random bits n pieces with no coherent design flow. And the leather they use is not nice. Very hard synthetic leather.

The Mercedes looks rather drab and they just put that piece of wood there to distract you from the flaws.

Besides equivalent BMW & Mercedes vehicles cost more than Lexus anyway..

 

Beauty is mostly in the eye of the beholder when it comes to these discussions.

 

Loaded ML and X5 surely look better than RX, but:
a. RX interior is now 5 year old.
b. X5 and ML loaded like here are +20k more than loaded RX350.

So yeah, 20k more expensive car has nicer interior.

As to the ES and IS and GS, they all have better interior's than BMW/MB/Audi at same price range.

 

I understand that you'll never admit your original statement was wrong, but seriously. I can guarantee you that X5 above and the designo ML is not "very hard synthetic leather." The designo leather in my car is very high quality and quite soft.

This all to say, while Lexus certainly knows how to do an interior (I love the LS/GS), calling them the "gold standard" is a stretch. The world is brighter when you take brand bias sunglasses off.

 

And cheap interiors look brighter when photographed in soft lighting. Go sit in a car with a dusty black interior on a hot sunny day, and you quickly realize who makes the grade. After spending time in the 328i and c300, and I ran back to my is250. The a4 is half decent though. Personally I think the ATS blows them all away in interior aesthetics.

 

I don't think the last-gen IS250 is anything to brag about either. The B9 A4 isn't a step ahead of its competitors anymore, although I think it's the best of the bunch. I'm no fan of Cadillac's interior design so no comment, but the materials appeal to be nice. I haven't sat in an ATS or new IS yet to comment first hand on the experience.

 

I thought the 2IS had one of the best interiors. 8yrs later and it still look classy and nice. Show us the equievelant German 3 series or C-class of 8yrs ago?

 

 

You should pay attention to what I was responding to. When the 2IS debuted, yes I agree it was one of the best interiors. When it was new, it competed well with Audi and has undoubtedly proved to be the more durable choice.

However, I was responding to someone saying he ran away from a current C300 and 328i and back to his 2IS. In the the current context, no I do not think the actual materials of the 2IS stand out. That should be expected, given the IS's age. The 3IS debuted with an intriguing design which looks promising. Can't wait to sit in one. The design of the 2IS is certainly still nice to look at but that's not what I was discussing.

 

center console/hvac/nav part is outdated in 2IS... of course, it has been long time... materials are better than new BMW's though.

 

Leaving the design element out as it is subjective (and yes the 2IS interior is of an older generation), the 2IS has nicer materials than the 3IS or 6ES. As I listed in the top #91 post many of the cost cutting flaws that plague the 3IS and 6ES

The 2IS is a better luxury sedan and the 3IS is a better sport sedan - plain and simple

 

Yeah 2IS interior is nice. The one big aspect, if not the only aspect of the 3IS that bests the 2IS are the seats! The F-sport 3IS has amazing seats. Nothing like I've ever experienced before..

 

That's not the only aspect though. Overall the 3IS is a good improvement like the technology, flexability (60/40 seats), space, and handling prowess. Design is subjective so we have to leave that out. But the major downgrade is the material quality (not to be confused with the assembly). Essentially it boils down to this: The 2IS is the better LUXURY SPORT SEDAN, the 3IS is the better SPORT LUXURY SEDAN.