After 19 years / 300,000km of combined Toyota/Lexus ownership over 3 vehicles, I finally needed my first powertrain related repair. Last week my waterpump started to make some noticeable noise. No leaks, no overheating so no issue to simply drive it to the dealer, but loud enough to know something wasn't quite right. Vehicle is just shy of 100,000km. Replaced under the powertrain warranty without any issue so the experience was only a minor inconvenience. But they did mess up my FE stats, I guess a lot of idling needed to replace the coolant. And now some of my settings are messed up. The nav set back to those units made up by people with 6 fingers and toes on each hand/foot, miles..., blech.

Because it happened late in the week, I did get a few days wheel time over the weekend with an almost new ES350, 1500km on the odo. Thought I'd share my comparison to the RX.

First, the ES being new, I'll state the obvious. New, is nice. Everything is clean, tight, and suspension is at it's prime. It's a bit hard to compare to an RXh coming up on 5 yrs old, but I'll try.

I've always thought of the ES as a bit boring as a bystander, but I've changed my opinion after driving it for a few days. The steering was lighter than the RX, and the car did feel more nimble. It did feel a lot easier to maneuver. The suspension did an excellent job feeling firm, yet not jarring over bumps. It reminded me that the RX does have a bit of a truckish feel.

Power and acceleration are really quite good. I was impressed even with just a FWD car how well it glued to the road and the wheel slip limit was really tight. When the RX front wheels slip under full throttle, even with push from the rear, I usually get a half a wheel spin before I feel the compensation. The ES I couldn't feel it at all, the tires went to and stayed at the limit of traction without any noticable compensation. This was mainly on dry roads though, not sure if I would have had the same experience on wet roads.

At first I thought, this is a really nice automatic transmission. But that was only the first day when I was still feeling out the car. Once I got more comfortable exploring the car's ability, my opinion dropped to "not horrible", which is a good rating from me since I typically hate autotrans. I guess the only big complaint is the downshift delay when the pedal goes to the floor. "OK, the pedal is to the floor. Ok, nothing is happ, whoa, there it is, nice power. I haven't decided if the ES is quicker than my RXh. If feels quicker, but the power is not linear, so it's hard to tell. It's like where is it?, wham, there it is. My RXh is more linear with the power output so I don't get the "nothing, then a lot" feeling. I'm still clearly of the mind that the CVT is better, unless you have bobbleheads on your dashboard.

The interior was very comfortable. I really liked the seats. Felt more like my ergonomic office chair whereas my RX feels more like my TV room chair at home. Only issue I had with the seating position, I found the steering wheel a bit far. I'm kind of on the short side, so I don't sit that far back, but I had to move the steering wheel to the maximum outer position just to feel comfortable holding it, not far from full arm extension. My daughter saw the retro clock (dial with hands) and pronounced she hated this car, stupid clock. I guess Lexus has lost the 18yr old market segment with this car. This car had what I've nicknamed the "slap wheel". The controller that is a wheel, pointer, and button as opposed to the mouse remote (QuickTouch Remote? or something like that) in my RX. I call it the slap wheel because you spin the wheel and then slap it (gently of course). Pushing the wheel directionally to move around the screen instead of spinning it was a bit awkward too. I can see it being ok for mouse-challenged people, but in my opinion is inferior to the controller in my RXh.

Audio system was disappointing. I'm thinking it was the base model system. If I was driving a Corolla, I'd say ok, but in the ES it's out of place. Great for talk radio or some background music while you talk with your passengers, that's about it. A mouse fart has better bass. My RXh has the mid level system and quite a lot better, although I've never considered it great either.

According to the FE stats, on the highway it uses gas about the same as my RXh, but of course gets thirsty around town. I was driving it harder than my RXh of course to "experience" it, but even without that it's obviously going to use more gas in town. On a slightly humorous point for hybrid drivers regarding the instant FE mini bar graph between the two main dials, very similar to the one in my RXh set with the steering wheel controls. When you come to a stop (and remember, no engine auto shutoff) the gauge stops showing too. On a hybrid, you stop, engine shuts down, it shows no fuel use or max fuel use if engine is idling. I guess in the ES they don't want you to feel bad about always having to idle your engine at a red light.

I had fun with the ES, definitely needed the upgrades to get the better stereo and system controls (I believe they offer the better remote too), but it drove very nicely, was quick and nimble, while being comfortable and spacious. The autotrans was good enough "not to be horrible". I felt good driving it. As a pulled into the dealer to pick up my RXh I thought, well time to go back to the old RX almost a bit sad. But as I walked up to it, it was all shiny and clean, looking good. Got in, my two-tone interior, nice, always did really like that. Started up and on my way, nice controls, smooth power (and quiet once again), and while it wasn't quite as nimble it still drives and handles very nicely. My sadness was only transient. I'm back where I belong, my brief affair is over.

 

With my RXh in for service again for the rear suspension noise, I know have an ES300h and will report soon to see if we share the same thoughts.

Currently, with my 6ft height and long legs, I cannot find a good seating position either. My knees keep hitting the steering column