Is the 2019 worth buying or should one look at a newer model. Since the 2019 was the first year?

 

That was my concern as well when i was looking to get ES, in the end after some re-search decided not to go with '19 and got '21.

 

Android auto was added in Oct 2019 for 2020 model if that is important.

 

My 2019 was 6 Y.O. in December. I haven't had one issue with the car unless you could count the poor material of the dash that mars so easily. To the best of my knowledge it still hasn't been changed. Otherwise, those of us with 2019's purchased in 2018 got screwed out of Android Auto by Lexus if that's important to you. My car does have Apple Car play which I don't use.

 

My 2019 has the touchpad, which I greatly prefer to the touchscreen. However, many prefer the touchscreen, which was introduced in 2022.

 

Yep - you and I purchased our 19s around the same time. Mine is around 77k miles now and still pretty perfect. Oil changes every 5k or so, cabin filter once a year, engine air filter every 25k. Brakes and tires replaced as well.

 

The 2022 has a touchscreen and touchpad.

 

We've had our 2019 for coming up on 2 years. Great car, no complaints and no issues. Currently at 42,600 miles. Only thing we've changed are oil, filters and the tires. It's been great for around town and for long trips from western Washington to Utah.

 

Agreed. Purchased my 2019 new in June of 2019. Not a single issue thus far. Didn't need Android Auto so that particular omission was not an issue for me.

 

I sort of miss AA now that I have it in the RX but zero reason to trade it anytime soon.

 

I had a '19 for a day. I really liked it. The car was built in Japan. It had 19k miles and was the luxury trim. I would have bought that car, but my husband really wanted android auto. I found a '21 and it has almost every option and had 14k at purchase. The car was built in Kentucky. I have seen people debate the Japan vs Kentucky thing. Make sure that the car has the options you want. I like having every option available. The Mark Levinson system sounds better and the kick trunk has been helpful. The seats in the luxury/ultra luxury are also leather and have more options to personalize them. I don't mind the TouchPad and I think that the design looks better compared to the '23-'25 models. In a perfect world, I would have gone with a '22 since it has the TouchPad and the touch screen.

Good luck in your search!

 

Only thing bad about a 2019 is the jerk shift.

 

If hybrid, I believe 2020 and up got the lithium battery which yields better mpgs.

generally speaking, later years got improved parts and build quality. i wouldn't say the difference is big, but if little things matter to you, take note. car care nut said this has been his experience with toyota new launches too, with the third year generally starting to kick into high gear when it comes to quality + consistency + part revisions here and there.

if its es350, for powertrain, probably lesser of an issue for first year. but you still have the car body build.

despite third year, my 2021 (#2) had some crooked interior parts (dash, trim etc) rattles, misaligned doors (3 out of 4) and bubbling clear coat on trunk (all documented by me here long ago). so in terms of quality, just because you get a later year, doesn't mean you're out of the woods. but if it were me, i'd aim for at least 2020 or 2021 on the ES.

you can also just test the cars and make sure you listen and look carefully for issues. my tips: pay attention to the driver seat cause those tend to wear very easily-- particularly the seat bottom. look for indentations/wavyness. listen for rattles in the headliner/dash/center console. and look for door alignment. off the top of my head.

 

I would avoid all the models before 9/2019. That is when the first changes and improvements arrived.

 

I took delivery of my 19 in Dec 2018. No issues through 77k miles other than the jerky downshift 2nd to 1st gear.