is there studies or review articles showing differences in build quality and QC checks on the different Lexus models?

 

 

Build quality should be similar. Material quality is where the difference is.

 

Have you taken a look at them? For those models, I think most dealer showrooms would allow you to sit inside them. From what I can tell the assembly quality is similar among them, but no doubt the LS is better overall. I'd say my initial interior impressions on the others are not too much different. I'm not a fan of the ES's door panels though - they just seem busy and a bit plasticky.

 

No studies that I'm aware of. I'm convinced that build quality and QC checks are similar between all Lexus models. What is different is the level of luxury inside the cars. The ES to meet its price point, has much more hard plastic inside than the others. The GS has more luxurious interior materials and the LS has the highest level. For durability and reliability I don't think you will find much difference.

 

Truth on both sides. Yes, that the LS would generally be the best overall is pretty much a given, but it is also true that you will probably find more difference in the interior trim/materials, sound insulation, and overall driving feel between the three than between their "quality" in terms of reliability, where all three are well above the industry average.

 

thanks for all the replies
is there more sound deadening in the GS vs ES?
the 5th gen ES isn't much quieter than an Avalon at windy high speed drive, is the GS? LS I am sure is because glass i think is different

 

 

not trying to start any arguments and not sure what trolling is

 

 

I remember getting in a 3rd Gen GS and 2nd Gen IS at the dealership, then I got in a ES and there were some cost cutting that were pretty evident in the ES like pieces that were plush leather in the GS and IS were hard plastic in the ES though they looked basically the same until you touched them, the close of the door sounded and felt more solid in the GS and a few other things but they also felt pretty similar like using the same switch gear and controls, etc. The LS obviously had more features, door sounded and felt more solid, it had some unique switch gear too like the seat memory buttons were different in the LS then they are in the IS, ES, and GS, seat heater/cooling controls were different in the LS, more seat adjustments in the LS, overall felt more solid and substantial but still had a similar theme.

 

 

Having had all three cars, Mike is correct. Initial build quality (as in the precision with which the vehicle is assembled) is the same, what differs is the quality of materials used, and the care given to the finish of those materials. That obviously goes up with price. GS is better than the ES and the LS is better than the GS.

Solidity is also a difference. The ES feels light and almost "tinny" compared to the GS and certainly the LS. You feel that in the heft of the doors and how they close, as well as the doors and cubbies etc within the car.

The ES basically is an Avalon, so thats not surprising. Now, to be fair the Avalon is a very quiet car, and so is the ES. The GS is quieter at speed, at least mine was but it was a Luxury model with laminated side door glass. The LS is again another level quieter. To make it even more complicated, my LWB LS460 is quieter than my SWB L460S was. Why? I would attribute it to more laminated glass (all side glass on the LWB LS460 is laminated, only the front glass on the SWB is), rear wheels being further from the driver? My 17 LWB also has more sound deadening at least in the doors than my 15 SWB, not sure if thats a year thing or a LWB vs SWB thing. I've had the door panels off of each and there is definitely more deadening in the 17.

Where the GS is louder than the ES is in engine sound, which is deliberate. The GS has an intake sound generator and the engine is significantly louder at throttle, and the direct injection sound means its louder than the port injected only V6 (they're derived from the same engine) in the ES.

 

Looking at the back of the door panel tells the story about sound deadening.

This is the ES:



The GS:



The LS:





Whats different in my 17 LS is that styrofoam insulator area is much larger...

But as you can see the difference in sound deadening in the door panel between the ES and GS is dramatic (the ES basically has none). The LS you can't really tell but there is a dark fibrous coating to the panel beneath those grey blanket sheets that isn't there in the GS, and that styrofoam insulator isn't there in the GS.