Picking up a '25 300H(premium and tech pkg) Trading in a '12 Acura TL. I know there is a engine difference (TL v6) What else will I notice? I'm a middle aged married man, so get offs at the traffic light doesn't interest me. I commute,and do the family thing. This my first Lexus, so I am brand new to the game. Give me the goods please?

 

I've driven that generation of TL. It's a fine car, and more similar to the ES than you'd think given the "sporting" image of the TL and the "old man's luxury" image of the ES.

You'll like the car at first, and with time you'll love it more and more. It simply doesn't demand much negative attention or make much trouble. If you've got the Mark Levinson, you'll love that too (set the fader back two notches toward the rear). You'll also notice you're less tired when you reach your destination after long drives, because it's a very undemanding car to drive in the good way.

Congratulations, and welcome to the Club!

 

Lexus has been ranked by JD Power number one in dependability 24 out of 28 years. Currently number one. The ES every year is rated the most reliable midsize luxury sedan. The car is super quiet and gets 44 miles per gallon. Huge trunk huge backseat and front seat hard to beat. Very inexpensive to maintain.

 

You may notice the seats aren't comfortable - common complaint among ES owners, typically after 6 months of wear in. There was a recent thread/discussion on how to take the seat upstairs into your house so you can modify it with more padding. It shouldn't be that hard honestly, if you are decent with tools and can do some basic DIY steps for the seat removal. The issue is the padding is a bit thin on the bottoms and the seat cushion vinyl/leather develops a "Wave" in it which is the structure of the seat under the cushion contributing to the wear. I had two ESes (new) in a row that after 6 months developed a seat bottom "Wave" and hard seat bottom. You'll notice after a drive after 30 minutes. it's not super terrible but just a bit hard on the bottom.

 

Why doesn't anyone ever begin these threads by saying how much research they've done on this forum and other online sources? I have no way to know if the OP has in fact done that, but it sure seems lazy to say tell me everything without even trying to find out for oneself. That's true on many types of forums, not just car centric ones.

 

Was the TL SH-AWD? If not you will not notice much of a difference in driving dynamics. You will also save in gas as the TL requires Premium vs Regular on the ES.

The 300h is very capable. I'll suggest to drive it mostly in Normal or Sport mode around city and Eco on highway trips. You will notice the difference in throttle response from Eco to Normal. MPG loss in minimal 1-2mpg by using Normal vs Eco; and the response is way much better IMHO.

Finally, there's no comparison in cabin quietness vs the TL; and even the 350 which is very quiet for a V6 engine.

Enjoy your new car!

 

I don't think that fader adjustment works for 2023 and later model year Mark Levinson systems as it does with 2022 and earlier model year Mark Levinson systems.

Based upon my own ears and the system specs included in ilkinandr's ML system works great now! (after replacing all 10 speakers...).... post #82, the 2023 model year refresh included a tweak of the Mark Levinson stereo system.

With the two versions , 2019 and 2024, I've been able to personally compare, the 2024 version has a higher audio volume output for the same numerical volume setting and there's a very noticeable audio volume drop off when you adjust the balance/fader to anything even slight off the default center. I don't have good enough ears to determine if the clarity and quality of the audio output has changed but there's definitely a difference in volume and balance/fader effects between the 2019 and 2024 model year Mark Levinson systems.

 

Very interesting and odd. Nonetheless, I don't think the volume issue is a problem as long as you can turn the volume back up to compensate.

 

I have a 2012 Acura TSX and My 2022 300h . I love the gas mileage on the ES. My tsx only took premium and gets about half the gas per mileage. I do love the sporty feeling of the TSX. The ES is a bit more subdued. I love the Apple Car Play, and I think the seats and interior are very comfortable on the Lexus. I do not have an upgraded stereo and I think the acura one is better sound. But in 13 yrs never had a repair on that acura. It is like new so we kept it. And I assume my ES will give me similar Love.

 

I can confirm the balancer volume issue with my '23 model. I suspect it might be related to the rear only having two speakers, compared to the four in the front.

 

I have also read here ML isn't too much of a better sounds system than the base Pioneer system.
I have been to both. Can't really hear a difference. Same phone same sound tracks.
Regarding the seats, I dont see much of a difference between fsport and the base seats. Fsports do hug you more and a bit more harder.

 

It really depends on how much of an audiophile someone is. While the base sound quality is very good, IMHO, the ML offers a superior quality, particularly with high-resolution audio formats like FLAC and/or MP3 files above 320kbps. Over the years I've developed an appreciation for clean, hi-fi sound system; and the ability to discern the audio differences.

There are better car audio systems, such as the new Acura ELS Studio. But I personally think the additional cost of the ML to be a worthwhile upgrade over base for anyone interested in high quality audio.