EdSpider99

I was getting a bored with my loaded 2014 MB E350. For a car that was 6 years old, it had full start/stop dynamic cruise, self parking and 360 view. I like smooth quiet cars. I wanted a small SUV, but the small ones didn't seem very luxurious. Then the XT4 came out. I was in love, it had everything and more. It was priced well. But dang it, there was too much road and engine noise in the cabin. At least compared to what I was used to. I never considered an ES because I thought it was just a gussied up Camry. But V7 of the ES was built on the Avalon which was getting great reviews, so I took a peek at it. It looked pretty nice. I drove it. It drove really nice. It didn't have auto parking and was not AWD, but still...

I bit the bullet, killed my dreams of joining the SUV club and bought the 2019 ES 350 Luxury and added options to make it the same as the Ultra sans/leather seats (which I didn't want anyway). Here are some bullet points after having the car for a week.

GOOD STUFF

• Seats are 14 way. Takes a lot of tweaking, but they fit like a glove and are memorized.
• Seats heat and cool which is standard these days, but the difference is they really do cool and they turn on automatically.
• Heated steering wheel which also turns on automatically when the wheel is cold.
• Surround view gives more detail and farther out than I’m used to. It has useful color guild lines.
• The voice control is natural language. Just say what you want and it usually figures it out.
• You can say “Find Barnaby’s”, “Send a message to Sally Smith on mobile”, “Play the Beatles channel”, “Take me home”, “Show me the weather” etc.
• Significantly quieter than the Benz. I used a decibel meter.
• Plenty of smooth power from a V6. Easy to start and stop smoothly. Engine doesn’t go off at lights.
• Heads up display is fun. It shows the last speed sign it saw and your current speed. It will also show navigation instructions.
• Nice analog clock and massive 12” built-in infotainment screen. Not the fixed tablet look you see so often.
• Instead of touch screen, it uses a track pad. Takes getting used to, but I love it over a touch screen.
• Has Apple Play, so you can plug your phone in and the screen pops up with your apple apps like Waze, Pandora, etc.
• If I get a text, it pops up on the screen. If I’m moving, it offers to read it. When you come to a stop, it shows the text. Very well done.
• Full panoramic roof glass. I’d prefer no sunroof, but that would require a special order.
• Atomic Silver paint doesn’t show dirt much and looks awesome if different lighting conditions.
• Regular gas instead of premium. Cheap Toyota maintenance is about ¼ of what Benz maintenance costs.
• I bought a refundable pro-rated warranty to extend from 4 years to 7 bumper to bumper.
• Special noise reducing wheels.
• Electric open/close trunk with foot wave open feature.
• The sensitivity on lane keeping assist can be adjusted or easily turned off.
• Sends me a phone pop notice if I leave the car unlocked and then I can lock it if want to from the phone.
• Smart braking. Supposedly it won’t let you drive into a pedestrian or stationary object. Benz had this, too.

OTHER STUFF

• Doesn’t have auto parallel/back in parking. Benz and XT4 had that.
• Remote start like the Benz, but stupidly shuts off when you open the door.
• Like the Benz, it doesn’t have folding mirrors.
• I can charge my phone wirelessly, but it is in the console box so I usually forget to grab it when I get out.
• Same size as the Benz, but a little less headroom.
• Dynamic cruise will steer and come to a full stop, but not as smoothly as the Benz. Touch the gas to resume after a full stop.
• Rear seats do not fold and trunk seems a little smaller, so it can’t haul much.
• FWD, not AWD. FWD is pretty good in snow. At least it beats RWD hands down.
• Not an SUV like I wanted. The XT4 was perfect except the cabin was not quiet enough.
• Shifter is traditional on the console. I’d prefer buttons or a steering while stalk.