hillsnow

Fatbarney

I had a new ES (not F sport) as a loaner and was really impressed. If you dont drive ***** out all the time, the ES may be a better choice.

mandm177

I'm actually in the same situation as you are, and went to drive both yesterday.
My wife and I will be splitting the new car probably 95% me and 5% her when driving separately, with me driving 100% of the time when we're together.
We drove a 16 GSF on a semi-bad road and drove a 19 ES350 Luxury on the same roads. Not sure if there's a real noticeable difference between the F Sport and Luxury ES, but you may know.

There definitely is a difference between the two cars, and you'll notice it immediately when you have a chance to test drive both. It doesnt even have to be back-to-back, but you will notice the difference. Power, handling, ride comfort, interior styling, and exterior styling differences will stick out like a sore thumb. Not sure what your car history is, what your tolerance for a "harsh" or "stiffer" ride is, or what your uses for the car will be, but I felt that everything was within my personal tolerance for the GSF to be a good daily driver. No question the ES will provide daily driver duties better than the GSF in some categories, but I believe it's going to be a story of compromises. The wife preferred the ES in terms of interior comfort (seats), bigger screen, and ride quality, but liked the overall exterior dimensions, HVAC controls and exterior styling, and could "live with" the ride quality and the sporty seats of the GSF. We decided that since I'm going to do the majority of the driving, then we could get the GSF now, and IF she gets tired of it, possibly look towards a used ES or new AWD ES, if that ever comes out, for her.

Nothing left to do, but to go test drive both, and make a decision! I'm hoping to come home with one this week! Good Luck!

RTIS250

iTrader: (9)

Really depends on what your goals and usage are. My wife hates the GSF and won't drive it. She barely agrees to ride in it when we go places. So its literally 100% my car. She would have preferred me keep the GX460 i had prior.

hillsnow

Thank you for the responses. It looks like a lot of it is going to come down to ride quality. My current daily driver is a LS400 so I think the GS-F's stiffness may be a big change. I will let you guys know what I think after next weekend!

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

My wife and I did nearly exactly this same drive a few weeks ago with 2016 CPO GS-F vs new ES Ultra, and also added into the mix a CPO 2016 LS460L Ultra (which ultimately was the one we chose).

Any of the three would have been acceptable. All were priced roughly the same.

New ES had the most up to date tech. Sat in an ES F-sport and drove an ES Ultra, would have picked the Ultra for the extra bells and whistles but liked the F-sport appearance better. Biggest issue with the ES was the seats - wife when sitting in the passenger seat had an issue with where her elbows hit the side bolsters at rest. No way for her to get comfortable after adjusting seat many ways. Could feel torque steer from FWD when powering at launch.

GS-F was powerful but not as quick or nimble as we expected it to be. Brakes are awesome, it sounded great. Compared to other two models, had very limited room in back; seldom have people back there but when we do, most of our friends are tall and would be really cramped. Ride was definitely more stiff but not nearly as stiff as other sportscars I've driven - still clearly a Lexus, just more firmly compliant. Seat comfort for long trips was a concern for me.

Won't go into the LS since you aren't looking at one, but felt most at home in the LS460L Ultra coming from my LS430 UL (and LS400 prior to that). You might also want to consider if they have one there.

Ay-nako

iTrader: (25)

The problem with all of these cars is that all of them are completely different. I've never owned an ES (had enough of them as loaners) but again just a different car for what you need/want. I had an LS430 and GS350 prior. All of these cars are great but if you're able to get a few different cars in the stable do it. I have a daily (08 gx470), wife has a daily (14 gx460) and now I have a GSF that sits in the garage for 3-4 days of the week. In all fairness im trying to find a mile'd up ISF for my wife because she keeps driving my F while its in the garage.

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

And thats it VERY DIFFERENT! Don't really understand howl you can compare I bought my late wife an ES and I absolutely hated the darn thing. She loved it however.

Lou

DaveGS4

iTrader: (2)

Not everybody has to align on one single vehicle type . There are great qualities in each of these and I truly liked and considered all three of them; it was only nits that disqualified the ones I didn't buy.

Ultimately (for me), I think there are more brand similarities in each of these cars than there are model differences.

Lurker9

In order to properly enjoy a GSF, you would have to drive it in manual gear shift mode. It can pretend to be a Lexus in the auto mode, but you can't fully appreciate what Lexus engineers have built into the car driving that way.

Htowncory

If you are over 65 years old and about to die, or if you think cars are appliances to move you from point a to b, then buy the ES.

If you enjoy the sound of an amazing V8,
If you enjoy turning off the traction control and roasting the tires at a stop sign,
If you enjoy driving with the windows down and hearing the roar of the engine in a tunnel or underpass
Then buy the GSF.

Come on man. Seriously, comparing a ES to a GSF?

flowrider

iTrader: (9)

^^^^I DON'T THINK SO Making a statement like that about age is just foolishness Not all of us fall into the mold you have in your mind. I hope I'm NOT about to die. BTW - I'm 80 years old

Some day you MAY be here. Wonder what you'll have to say then

Lou

shenry500

WaterFish

I can't believe the GSF is being compared to an ES350. At least go compare it to a GS350 F-Sport.
​​​​​​
Different car, different class, different size, different power handling.
​​​​​​
If you drive the GSF in Eco mode everyday on the street with the limit of 40/km per hour, then maybe you won't see a huge difference.

If you corner harder or go on the faster roads then it's night and day.

mikesrx350

you can't compare a front wheel drive vs a rwd platform

they did a great job with ES f sport

it has fwd bias
it has an issue with wheel spin especially in wet till they get AWD

and the rwd platform in the gs 5 years old is still more fun, and tossable

i test drove the f sport for half hour and liked the car, the seats for long drives and non awd made the decision easy to not think about it