I don't think we will ever we stop looking and concentrating on the grill, because it detracts from everything else. IMHO.

 

this is a nice review coming out of the L.A. area..finally a real video of one...enjoy....

 

You'll get used to it.

Everybody in the 5ES forum said the same thing about your ES when it came out about the spindle grill, now it doesn't look dramatic at all. Lots of people said they would never buy a 2013 ES because of the grill. Lots of them own the 6ES now lol.

 

Chris, I have not seen the new ES so am not sure how much has changed with respect to lower plastic door panels, lower console panels, etc. I agree that the door console panel would look better with wood inserted instead of black plastic but may be hard to match color since the door control panel would need to be a faux wood plastic due to wear. However, the 2015 plastic looked really cheap and all car reviewers noted same in their articles. One would not find that in an Audi or any other luxury sedan! The 2016 may not be perfect but certainly an improvement. My opinion on the embossed seats is better because of your comment on dirt getting caught in the grooves. The embossing eliminated those groves. The grooved seats look plush but seats are for sitting on and resist wear. Am not defending this car, just putting forth my thoughts.

 

Just FYI, the LS has real wood window trim panels as well as door trim. The window switch panels in the ES are not wood to save cost, plain and simple. My 2010 ES had real wood window trim switch panels, but then it didn't have any wood trim on the door anywhere else.

Remember...the ES is the entry level car...there will always be cost cutting. Mt 2013 GS didn't have wood trim window switch plates either, it had a glossy piano black trim there.

My LS door panel:



2010 ES door panel:

 

I acknowledge that many fans of the ES dislike the new grill. I will buy this car because of the improved interior, not because of he grill. I live inside the car so the upgraded quality of the interior is what matters to me. I do not stand outside and concentrate on looking at the grill, although I do happen to like the looks. For me ,it makes a "Statement", but I also happen to like the way the Audi A6 looks! As they say, "Beauty is in the beholder". There are many Lexus owners who appreciate what is called "understated quality", which I agree, the new ES is a departure from this concept.

 

I think the Audi A6 is a great looking car...

The more I see it the more I like it. I love the color of the one in that video posted above, inside and out.

 

Very nice car! In a LS I would not expect anything less. The ES looks to be more of an arm rest with possible more wear? My 1997 ES has, what looks to be faux plastic wood inserts on door and console. It's hard for me to tell the difference between real wood and plastic wood. Real woods are so improved that its hard to tell the difference.

 

Thanks!

Its not for wear, an armrest is an armrest...its not wood to save cost thats all.

Your 97 ES also had real wood. Every Lexus has real wood, they don't use fake wood.

 

Thanks LS15 for the info on the wood of any Lexus car. If it looks like wood, it is wood. Maybe thats why the ES kept the door inserts black plastic and not a fake plastic wood grain that matched the interior?

 

Absolutely, if it's not going to be real wood in a Lexus it's not going to look like wood.

 

I personally question if the "real wood" portions of the ES are actually real wood.

The steering wheel mostly....in a car I would prefer to see a matte type finish on real wood....gloss makes it look fake to me, but again I was never able to find a car with the bamboo interior.

 

Technically, bamboo isn't wood. So that would be an example of them not using real wood in an interior.

 

They are definitely real wood, its well documented. In fact, the steering wheel is the only part that is semi-solid wood. The rest of the trim is a wood veneer that is bonded to a plastic backing.

Matte trims are coming into fashion now, lots of open pore really attractive matte wood trims with exposed grains.

As for the bamboo, it was not matte in the ES until this 2016 refresh, the ES had a glossy bamboo trim while the LS and GS had matte bamboo.

 

In my GX, at least some of the "real wood" pieces are actually a thin wood veneer laminated onto a plastic base. If you look closely, for example, at the pieces around the center vents, on the sides of those pieces, you can actually see the seam where the veneer has been glued to the plastic base, and, while the plastic base is colored similarly to the veneer on top of it, that plastic base has no grain. Also, on the GX board some time ago, someone posted a picture of one of the "wood" trim pieces that had been removed from a GX and cut in half, and, when you could see the cross section, you could clearly see that the wood veneer was mounted on top of a plastic base.

I can't tell for sure whether all of the pieces are made from a veneer laminated onto a plastic base, but, at least, some of the trim is that way. I also can't tell for sure whether the same is true for the "real wood" on my ES because you don't get the same cross section view of the pieces, but I would suspect that some or all of them have the same kind of veneer laminated onto a plastic base.

I've attached a picture of the trim around the vent on the GX. Again, on most of the pieces you don't see a side view/cross section that would show the veneer layer as clearly as it does on this piece.