Do I need the 'Ultra Luxury' package?
Racer
Joined: Jan 2011
Posts: 1,390
Likes: 446
From: oh
I appreciate the feedback TechNut....I am in St. Thomas Ontario....15 minutes from London Ontario (a population of 500,000+ with a Lexus dealer)...not on an island & 90 minutes from the Detroit border.
I am finding (due to the current state of the new & used car market) that there are a decent amount of 2020 ES 350's out there.....half that are Lexus CPO....& about 1 in 10 are the UL package....with a 5 to 6k dollar difference.
I agree with the assessment for the most part re the UL package....I honestly just want the triple beam LED headlights & ML audio system....a sedan that size (IMO) does not need a 360 degree view.; the other options, I don't think I would use (HUD is fine & well....my Wife has it on her 2020 GMC Acadia SLT AWD); bull up rear door sunshades, power rear sunshade....that's what tinted windows are for....again in my opinion.
Wrestling with the extra expense to justify for only 2 main features I would want & would actually use.....triple beam LED headlights & the ML audio system.
If the price was maybe 2 - 3k....I might bite at it.
It goes without saying, the prices of pre-owned vehicles are higher due to the current market & dealers are in business to make money....but is it worth that premium?
I am finding (due to the current state of the new & used car market) that there are a decent amount of 2020 ES 350's out there.....half that are Lexus CPO....& about 1 in 10 are the UL package....with a 5 to 6k dollar difference.
I agree with the assessment for the most part re the UL package....I honestly just want the triple beam LED headlights & ML audio system....a sedan that size (IMO) does not need a 360 degree view.; the other options, I don't think I would use (HUD is fine & well....my Wife has it on her 2020 GMC Acadia SLT AWD); bull up rear door sunshades, power rear sunshade....that's what tinted windows are for....again in my opinion.
Wrestling with the extra expense to justify for only 2 main features I would want & would actually use.....triple beam LED headlights & the ML audio system.
If the price was maybe 2 - 3k....I might bite at it.
It goes without saying, the prices of pre-owned vehicles are higher due to the current market & dealers are in business to make money....but is it worth that premium?
The moral is that you never really know how much you'll enjoy a feature until you have it. I think you might enjoy the "bird's eye view" once you've owned it. It's a "must have" for me and I didn't even know it was on the car until the day I picked it up.
Instructor
Joined: Aug 2020
Posts: 901
Likes: 266
From: Delaware
When I was shopping for a used Lexus I wanted one fully loaded so I found one and it had ultra low miles. After 2 years of ownership here are top features on the vehicle and I am glad I have them so they are a "must have" for me:
1. Bird's eye view
2. ML audio system
3. 12.3" screen
4. Triple beam LED headlights
My least favorite feature is the "Toyota egg" when you go 360 view. Unfortunately this terrible low resolution feature carries on in the new Lexus vehicles such as 2023 RX among others. It is a shame that Lexus is so behind in that department compare to a lot of other premium brands.
1. Bird's eye view
2. ML audio system
3. 12.3" screen
4. Triple beam LED headlights
My least favorite feature is the "Toyota egg" when you go 360 view. Unfortunately this terrible low resolution feature carries on in the new Lexus vehicles such as 2023 RX among others. It is a shame that Lexus is so behind in that department compare to a lot of other premium brands.
Last edited by ionian; Jun 13, 2022 at 04:33 AM. Reason: ...
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 823
Likes: 168
From: Massachusetts
I got the Ultra Luxury model for all of the same reasons. I love the triple beam LED headlamps and the luxurious leather seats as well as the panoramic sunroof. The Ultra Luxury is the gold standard in the ES350 lineup.
Pole Position
Joined: May 2013
Posts: 2,897
Likes: 839
From: Idaho
I appreciate the feedback TechNut....I am in St. Thomas Ontario....15 minutes from London Ontario (a population of 500,000+ with a Lexus dealer)...not on an island & 90 minutes from the Detroit border.
I am finding (due to the current state of the new & used car market) that there are a decent amount of 2020 ES 350's out there.....half that are Lexus CPO....& about 1 in 10 are the UL package....with a 5 to 6k dollar difference.
I agree with the assessment for the most part re the UL package....I honestly just want the triple beam LED headlights & ML audio system....a sedan that size (IMO) does not need a 360 degree view.; the other options, I don't think I would use (HUD is fine & well....my Wife has it on her 2020 GMC Acadia SLT AWD); bull up rear door sunshades, power rear sunshade....that's what tinted windows are for....again in my opinion.
Wrestling with the extra expense to justify for only 2 main features I would want & would actually use.....triple beam LED headlights & the ML audio system.
If the price was maybe 2 - 3k....I might bite at it.
It goes without saying, the prices of pre-owned vehicles are higher due to the current market & dealers are in business to make money....but is it worth that premium?
I am finding (due to the current state of the new & used car market) that there are a decent amount of 2020 ES 350's out there.....half that are Lexus CPO....& about 1 in 10 are the UL package....with a 5 to 6k dollar difference.
I agree with the assessment for the most part re the UL package....I honestly just want the triple beam LED headlights & ML audio system....a sedan that size (IMO) does not need a 360 degree view.; the other options, I don't think I would use (HUD is fine & well....my Wife has it on her 2020 GMC Acadia SLT AWD); bull up rear door sunshades, power rear sunshade....that's what tinted windows are for....again in my opinion.
Wrestling with the extra expense to justify for only 2 main features I would want & would actually use.....triple beam LED headlights & the ML audio system.
If the price was maybe 2 - 3k....I might bite at it.
It goes without saying, the prices of pre-owned vehicles are higher due to the current market & dealers are in business to make money....but is it worth that premium?
Just as an FYI, I have seen several luxury package models with both triple beam and ML audio. I realize options vary by region and country so it may not be something you can find in your area/country. The three main things I have seen that the UL adds are a pano sunroof (usually), semi-aniline leather and the manual pull-down side sunshades for the rear windows. I haven't owned a vehicle with the semi-aniline leather and I'm sure it is nice, but my luxury package car has the rear window sunshade and I don't find it useful. I did tint my windows and find I just don't use that particular sunshade, which is standard on US UL models.
Pole Position
Joined: May 2021
Posts: 2,544
Likes: 1,362
From: IL
I got the pano roof because it was forced upon me to get the other equipment I wanted. It's okay, it's fine, but I tried my best to not have it and I could easily have lived without it. I like factory nav, but these cars have Apple CarPlay and Android Auto and that works fine too, so that's also just me. There's a separate thread about the headlights, and the standard ones are perfectly adequate. In the US at least, you can get ML audio as a stand-alone option without going way up the trim ladder, although you'll probably have a hard time finding ML without nav.
What I wanted UL for was the only things that are exclusive to UL and L, which are the leather and the soundproofing. If you don't care about those, you really don't need a UL or Luxury.
Intermediate
Joined: Oct 2019
Posts: 286
Likes: 82
From: ca
For me the UL was a must have. It really comes down to what's important to you in a car. I had to have the better seats, better triple beam headlights, ML stereo, larger 12-inch display and all of the additional safety features including blind spot monitoring.
Instructor
Joined: Feb 2022
Posts: 823
Likes: 168
From: Massachusetts
The same here for me too. I didn’t want anything less than the UL. The UL comes fully optioned and has everything in it.
Thread Starter
Pole Position
Joined: Jan 2004
Posts: 3,379
Likes: 20
From: St. Thomas, Ontario
When I was shopping for a used Lexus I wanted one fully loaded so I found one and it had ultra low miles. After 2 years of ownership here are top features on the vehicle and I am glad I have them so they are a "must have" for me:
1. Bird's eye view
2. ML audio system
3. 12.3" screen
4. Triple beam LED headlights
My least favorite feature is the "Toyota egg" when you go 360 view. Unfortunately this terrible low resolution feature carries on in the new Lexus vehicles such as 2023 RX among others. It is a shame that Lexus is so behind in that department compare to a lot of other premium brands.
1. Bird's eye view
2. ML audio system
3. 12.3" screen
4. Triple beam LED headlights
My least favorite feature is the "Toyota egg" when you go 360 view. Unfortunately this terrible low resolution feature carries on in the new Lexus vehicles such as 2023 RX among others. It is a shame that Lexus is so behind in that department compare to a lot of other premium brands.
Mine does have the 12.3" display....I wish the triple beam headlights were a stand alone option in Canada.
Thread
Thread Starter
Forum
Replies
Last Post
markwill12
ES - 1st to 6th Gen (1990-2018)
13
Feb 24, 2014 06:43 AM
osokuko
ES - 1st to 6th Gen (1990-2018)
8
Mar 19, 2007 05:26 PM