L-boring

L-Camry

Yea… save yourself money and get the camry… better yet, buy american

you could not even give me that ****t….thats pure ug…………….ly yuk!!!!!

almost as unappealing a design as the previous ES, but in a different way. why can’t we have a lexus in this price range that doesn’t look like a spacecraft. what a disappointment.

Improvement… But that says little, i hope we’ll be looking at better than 6.8 for a 0-60 with that much hp, but with FWD you never know… the front sucks too.

The back looks strangely like a kia or a hyundai have the guys at Lexus ran out of ideas so they started copying the coreans????

Wow what a relief…they even included a cassette deck. I can transfer all my MP3s to cassette tapes and bring them along.

As if it mattered what we think of it… it’ll outsell all of our favorite cars. sigh

It is obvious that the Chevy owners comments above show their lack of taste and sophistication.

It is obvious that of all the comments, TC is the only person in denial. Go look up “cognitive dissonance” and you’ll understand the thought flaw that causes you to rush to defend such a trasparently crappy design.

some images here from the unveiling:

http://www.chicagoautoshow.com/show/news/gallery/images/index.asp?F_GALLERY_ID=95

OK, here’s more pics and a link to the ES webcast.

http://www.chicagoautoshow.com/show/news/gallery/images/index.asp?F_GALLERY_ID=95

I really like it, looks better then anything Mercedes came out with lattely!

Buy american – how lame..why is it that when american companies can’t compete – they play the patriot card…pathetic and predictable…GM and Ford will both file bankruptcy before the end of the decade.

This does look like a Korean company trying to make a competitor to the Lexus GS. The silhouette is similar to the GS, but yet it’s an imitation.

Uninspired exterior, but neat roof trick, and excellent interior for the price point. I’ve never been a fan of Lexus interiors in the past, but this looks really nice. Certainly better than what Lincoln or Caddy is coming out with right now. I’m a Chrysler fan, but they seriously need to watch their plastic.

I’ve owned lots of American cars, plus German ones, Italian, British, and Swedish. Now I drive a Lexus RX330 and the lease is up on my ES300. I’m very tempted by the Chrysler 300C, but I can’t bring myself to relive the nightmare of my last Chrysler. Until you’ve owned and lived with several Lexus cars and SUVs, you can’t begin to appreciate their level of quiteness, comfort, customer service, and overall outstanding quality. I’ll admit my ES300 is less than firebreathing, but it looks like this ES350 will cause me to continue to be a Lexus customer.

Wow Madcapp I agree with you for a change. See….this car is already changing the world.

Technically a good car, but design… sorry. Like someone said in an aerlier comment…
L-Camry. (Toyota) LEXUS can do much better. We don’t need another Lexus without personality.

I have owned 2 LEXUS, a LS400, and a ES300, both (probably) from a technical point of view the best vehicles ever owned. Reliable, and very good value for money.

Lexus should set itself clearly apart from the rest of the TOYOTAS (which are all good) in order to appeal to those who want understatement with class.

The air in the Lexus class market has become thinner…

There are so many folks out there who will bash a vehicle and its manfacturer, based on what a magazine tells them to think. 9-10 people who write negative comments are done by those can not afford a Lexus let alone understand what the company’s goals are.

You want a summary of what Lexus is out to do? Maintain its #1 status for the 12th year in a row as the most reliable, highest level of satisfaction of any manufacturer, and to continue to provide the most comfortable ride on the road.

Face facts, and they are clearly written Lexus is the best car built. Look at the stats. The ES is not designed to be a sports car; it is designed to provide affordable “LUXURY”. Stop talking trash. Drive before you dive.

I’m surprised by all those negative comments. My first impression is good but I will have to see it and drive it. I drive a Cadillac so, obviously, it will have to offer a lot to pursuade me to change.

As a current lessee of an ES330 (2004) and a multiple owner of Lexus, I have been awaiting with great interest the 2007 announcement. And, I’m not disappointed in the least. The style hits me just right; could it have been more sensuous? Of course. I never have gotten truly excited about the previous style curve… still dislike the streaked-eyes headlights. But, the ES is a car I learned to love, inside-out, and its harmony of unique demeanor and quiet persona have clearly won me over. Right now I’m hoping Lexus antes up an early-out benefit so I can move up my ‘07 lease from its scheduled termination in September. Oh yeah, I tend to concur that most of the caustic comments are from what I conclude are less than qualified to do more than dish up adolescent kvetches over serious objectivity, judging by the eighth-grade spelling and syntax of several. Peepul, how bout that new Camerro?

Cougar, i be 1 up on yoo. my es300 leese expires in aprul, jist in time to get a noo 350.

Respectfully submitted by Michael

How can people say buy american. I can’t think of one car american that is as reliable as a Lexus. People are going to bash the performance portion of the car and that’s fine with me. It’s not a BMW, but that’s what I like about it. I was at the dealership with my BMW on average about once every 6 weeks. Never again will I own german cars. Lexus is # 1 in quality, reliablility, and comfort.

fd

lexus

iii

This car is sickk it’s amazing how it has the light up cup holders and the panoramic sun roof and you could play dvds when the car is in park and the i pod connections theres so much more in the new es but i does kinda look like the GS well thats what i thought it was when i first saw it

After driving BMW 540, Jaguar X-Type and Lexus ES300, I am sticking with Lexus. Who wants to take a bran dnew car back for service, about 12 times in first year like I had to do with the Jag.
I appreciate the quite comfortable ride of Lexus and its reliability is unmatched. I am not impressed with the design of ES350 but I choose comfort and reliability over design. Can’t wait for April.

The car would be even better if it had a hybrid engine option. Make more fuel efficient, emission efficientand it would also be quicker as well as break better.

Current ES interior is ELLEGANT…. 2007 – sucks

i like lexus cars a lot.. LS460, IS350, GS300.. but this one doesn’t seem to fit in.. this ES350 design bends more towards the toyota family.. i hope that this is not the final design? is it?

For all the Chicken Little’s out there regarding the ‘07 Lexus ES350 body style:

Please show the world your “can’t miss” auto designs that exceed the Lexus ES350 styling and don’t forget to list the awards you have won for excellence in design, safety, and quality for at least 10 years.

You must be proud to display on your mantel at home all of the trophy’s/plaques and awards for your unapproachable talent for criticizing corporately designed cars that you were not invited to add your opinion before production.

Have you ever considered the fact that if Lexus (and every manufacturer) made all of their cars look alike, they would only attract those who prefered that particular style?

There are 8 models in the Lexus lineup in order to satisfy a wide range of people who have different tastes in a car design and besides, all Lexus buyers do not have deep pockets, but their pockets are not as shallow as some critics minds who shoot off their mouth before they think.

If your chrystal ball for design excellence is so perfectly on target, you need to contact Lexus and every automotive manufacturer and offer your insights before they go by the wayside and have to lay off tousands of workers as one of the big three did recently.

Good luck with your job interviews.

I’ve had four Lexus’s (Lexi?) and have NEVER needed to take them to the service dept. for anything other than oil & filter changes.

The damn thing looks like the IS-250/IS-350 from the back! and L-Camry (the whole thing)… they ain’t gonne sell any of them!

Toyota—-Th greatest car company in the world (except maybe for Honda being a close second). These GM types need to watch the movie. American car makers have lost it. They don’t know quality if it came up and bit them.

I have a 2005 Acura TL. I think it’s a great car. Best bang for the buck. However the car is a little too noisy for me at highway speeds. I am now looking at the 2007 Lexus ES350. I like the lines of the car. Yes it looks a lot like the Camry. But I like the new Camry’s also. I want a quite and cushy ride. I am getting older and my taste in cars is changing. I am hoping the new ES350 will deliver what I am looking for. I have never liked the body styles of Lexus cars except for the SC model. I like what the designers are doing. I think they are a more up to date look. I know I lot of it’s personal taste, but I think Lexus has done a great job on their newer models. I personally can’t wait. I will probably be one of the first buyers.

I’ve had the honor of being one of the first in Cleveland to test drive the new ES.
WOW! It’s all that I expected an more. Smooth, quiet, and way more powerful
than the 02 ES I currently own.
My current lease will be up in September and I had been looking at the Acura TL but now, I dont know….

And to all those that say: “Buy American” I say: “Build better cars, and I will”
The last American car I owned was a Crysler 300M. What a nightmare.
Contstant trips to “the shop” for this and that, stalled engine, and the worst of all peeling paint. Peeling paint? They cant even get paint right?
I couldn’t get rid of it soon enough.

I was not a fan of the ES redesign in 02,
but my wife loved it. The new design blows it away inside and out
and we both agree that we cant wait to trade into the new model.

Actually, madcap, I use the cassette deck in my A4 (06’) to hook up my iPod to the car. Since for the Moment there isn’t a head-unit controlled iPod connection available for my car, this is the best and less expensive way to connect my iPod.

Funny how the ES and the new Camry both looks like they’ve added a second shell on top of the old car – like you could peel it off and find the entire ‘06 intact underneath it.

Fat, not phat.

I am very impressed with the Lexus styling. The incorporation of Lexus’ new styling direction and automotive technology take the ES to new hights and bounds compared to its ES 300 predecessor (which I own)

Interesting – not much negativity from Lexus drivers. These cars simply RUN. Style is the ultimate freedom. You can buy beautiful, ugly, whatever. It’s the American way – you don’t have to please anyone. If you want a car that delivers VALUE, has impeccable road manners and looks good to you, buy it. There may be prettier cars. They’re easier to look at than Lexuses because they spend more time standing still – waiting for service.

Has anyone seen a new ES350 at a dealership in the new color Aqua Marine Pearl – color # 0778?
If so, pls identify dealer. Thanks.

#45, you can say what you want, but I’m not showing support for talentless Asian design by buying this garbage. All the money you’d save because Lexus is “reliable” and “fuel efficient” will not begin to make up for how embarrassed you’ll be when you’re seen driving it. People expect Lexuses to look good as they’re ‘luxury’ cars. People generally think Buicks are ugly, so when they come out with something different and innovative, whether it be an SUV or not, people are gonna show support for an otherwise bland company going to the extremes. I think you need to re-connect your nerves to your brain.

I am constantly amazed by the negative diatribe from the masses of people who will buy much of the Detroit crap that is built on “planned obsolescence” (For those of you yokels who do not know what that means, it is the Detroit preplanned schedule for cars to break down at specific times based on mileage etc) (Opps, Sorry!…etc means etcetera). Call it a Lexus or Toyota or anyhting else you feel but that will not change the fact that they are agret cars. You people remind me of my brother who only buys “American.” The last time he and I argued this point, he was quick to tell me that Chevys and Fords are the best. That’s why he has bought 3 of them over the last 5 years. (What he does not see is that he bought the second one because the first was garbage and likewise the third. I agree with some observations above that suggested that you have never driven a Lexus nor can you afford one. I am on my second Lexus. The first was traded in at 205,000 miles with only a water pump failure adding to the cost of basic maintenance. A great car! I just wanted a new one, which now has 102,000 miles on it. No costs except thaos for maintenance!

Mike, buy American?? well then buy the Camry made in Kentucky, Accord made in Ohio, Nissan Sentra, Titan made in Tennesse, soon Hyundai Sonata made in Alabama, Corolla made in California, and Toyota Tundra soon to be manufactured in San Antoino, Texas.

Chevy Aveo, made in Korea.

Now let me see, Chrysler minivans, American?, a lot of them made in Canada, as some of the Tauruses?, Tauri?. Now it is true, that Honda Odyssey is made in Canada yep it is foreign allright

Ford Focus, hmm, Mexico. Now, okey Chevy Tahoe, made in Arlington, Texas.

American, Jap, Korean, English, German, Canadian. Who cares??? I want a car, I can drive, and enjoy. I have owned 1 BMW 1 Audi 2 Acura’s and 2 Lexus. Guess what my last two cars were Lexus. Why because of I have never had either in the shop. With a combined 250K on the two cars I would say that’s pretty good. Are they quite as much fun as the BMW or Audi no, but I like being able to drive my car al the time not just the time I have it back from the shop. Say what you want about the Lexus but they seem to be doing something right or they would not hold the market share they do. And secondary I have yet to meet a unhappy Lexus owner, I am sure they are out there just a matter of odds, but they are few and far between.

Just my two cents. Happy with my soon to be third Lexus “Es350″ pick up on Friday.

Excellent, article.

#48, you’ve made a fool of yourself, but judging from your comment, im guessing you do that a lot. Excuse me, but who is embarassed seen driving a Lexus? I’d be embarassed driving a Buick, yes, because they’re ugly, boring, and the epitome of a retirment mobile. But sorry, no i sure would NOT be embarassed driving an LS430, a GS430, a GS300, a GS450h, an IS250, an IS330, a LX470, a GX470, an RX330, an RX400h, or EVEN an ES350. oh look. whoops. i just went through the entire brand. if you’d be embarassed driving an LS, GS, or IS, then by all means, go buy a Buick Lucerne, you’ll look fly rolling around in that, or maybe a Buick Terraza, crappy fake lux clone minivans are all the rage these days. I’ll just stick to my lexus.

my parents bought american cars in the 1980’s- we thought they were good- they were okay, but towards the end, they were always in the shop for this and that. when i bought my first car, a honda civic, i drove it for 250,000 miles and it only had an alternator problem and timing belt change and new radiator. i’d say that in 10 years- that is reliable. now my family has 1 mbenz which has constant problems and the rest are toyota- problem free. luxury is one thing, time spent in the repair shop is another. time in repair is wasting your precious time- more than money can replace, more that autobahn speeds or telepathic steering can cure.

having a quiet car is underestimated- it is your personal space, especially if you drive in the city or commute with your car. with housing prices rising steadily, spending too much on a car doesnt make sense. when i saw this car in the autoshow- it was hands down the BEST car for the money regardless of brand. yes, it is plasticky and a little boring, but purposeful and quiet. the clear coat gloss is almost as good as the audi paint and the high door sills give it a private, luxurious feel.

i admit, im getting older- peace and quiet rank higher to me than razor sharp handling- i have yet to have driven a car that had too terrible handling (other than my dad’s oldsmobile back in the day).

Owning both a Lexus and an S500 Mercedes and test driving a big BMW, there is no comparison in the smoothness, quietness, quality and feel of the Lexus. The ES350 is another example why Lexus and Toyota will be number one in automobiles and trucks in the near future.

THAT BMW WAS THE **** BEEP BOP BOOP AND THAT FERRARI
RIGHT NOW I GOT A LAMBO IM FITTIN TO GET A LEXUS

SUCKS!

Toyota strived to make the Camry and ES350 have a strong family resemblance. Well the 2007 Camr y and LEXU meet that goal – both are just butt ugly!

I have owned two ES300’s. I recently bought at 2006 ES 330. I do not think that there is a better car in this price range.

I do not particularly like the way that the new ES 350 looks, but I have no doubt that it is as reliable and safe as the other lexus cars I have owned. I have previously owned Fords and a buick. I also owned a Datsun sportscar several years back. Although I feel guilty about spending my money with the Japanese, I feel that my hard earned money needs to be spent on something with value. Lexus cars deliver. I will continue to buy them until they stop delivering

There’s a lot of tacky comments made on this page. A Lexus is a Lexus, and a Chevy is a Chevy. This car is undoubtly a Lexus (an affordable luxury vehicle) and it does its job well. In high school I drove my parents 96 ES300 and it was a good car (thats why they called me Lexus). Never had a problem pulling chicks in it. Its a nice car. I didnt like the 2002-6 ES, it was too bubbly, so when I saw the improvements and sophistication of the newest model, I was down for it. I had a choice of the 06 IS and the 07 ES and I chose the ES. Both was nice but I like the way the ES allows me to relax in Atlanta’s traffic. And yes its a little sporty, you’ll have to drive it to believe it. Its actually not slower than the new 3 Series and the Mark Levinson sound system has great sound. I gotta admitt (im a brotha’) I will put 20s on it. Sorry guys!

Keep it.

I recently survived a 200km Head on collision in an ES300 2003 model. The best decision I ever made was to purchase a Lexus.

It saved both mine and my mothers lives. Safety wiase tou cant beate it, and it has the luxury as well.

funny stuff. positive or negative, those who leave comments should include in there posting what car they are actually driving just to add credibility to their opinions. I mean, who’s really going to take someone’s opinion seriously if they are out driving their primer grey, honda civic with 12 inch rear spoiler? Never owned a lexus, but test drove the 2007 ES. One thing I do have to say, it drove pretty well for being a front wheel drive vechicle. Very little torque steer for sure, but I think I’ll stick to my car. Here I’ll start: ‘05 bmw 545i (and yes as other posters have said, it has been in the shop a few times too many but worth it in my opinion).

Why would anyone want a Hyundai made in Alabama by a bunch of africans? That’s not a japanese car, it’s might as well be made in Harlem.

That japanese car looks really cheap!

Just bought it today. I love it. I love everything about it. It is my 4th lexus have had the large SUV, the small SUV and the sports car. This is my first sedan in a long time and I am enjoying it.

Hey#118 At least is confortable?

#119 yeah it is, and moreover it is quite.

yoooooooooooooo it’s awosem

The car is awesome. I bought one in May and I’m so pleased with it. I test drove a lot of other brands and nothing else measures up under $50,000.00 and how about those free car washes. Lexus know how to keep their buyers happy.

Some of you yanks would know a good looking car if it jumped up & bit you on the arse. Your American rubbish doesn’t even come close to thess high end Japanese products. As for buy american, most of your cars are built in mexico & the likes to save on labour so are really buying american ?!

Just bought the es350, can not wait to get it. The car is a dream, love the looks, it has alot of class!!!!

Even morehorrible than the original: Lexus/Toyota, when will you start making great cars???!!!

Interesting comments?! I Test drove and compared the BMW 525 (which I already own), Audi A6, Mercedes Benz E350, Acura TL and Cadillac STS. After comparing everything including cost of ownership the Lexus ES350 was a clear winner. As far as styling I think it compares equally with the others. I believe its going to be the one to beat because of its value. These other car makers are going to have a run for their money!

for those who said that this car is worst than american cars, i’d just like to say to you that u all have “GREAT TASTe” *cough* not… i bet that you dunt even have the money to buy the ES

I like the Lexus ES, but I don’t think it’s worth the money. I almost bought the 2006 GS yesterday, I’m glad I held back because I found out that The GS350 will be released in a couple weeks. I’ve decided on the GS model. I’m impressed by the amenities and the quality of the car. The craftmanship is superior to any car I’ve seen, But I think the words out that Lexus/Toyota’s are great, dependable, and reliable cars. I hope they don’t follow the German automakers and start charging a premium for maintenance and repairs.

For 22years I drove American cars because my father worked for General Motors…I too believed in buying only American…Until I made some money and started to look for a more luxurious car. Having test driven every Caddy, Tahoe, Buick, Lincoln etc etc…I broke down and drove the ES350…there simply is no comparison…smooth power, luxury, silence…No rattling as in my Durango or Ford Focus…Just solid luxury…Being a little older and having 2 kids I opted for the sedan and do not regret it for a moment…The Lexus dealer did not even try to sell me the car…it sold itself…I did not get the usual shark tank feel of a car dealership…I have been converted…Do I feel guilty NO…I will spend my money where I damn well please….

I don’t like to knock car brands, but you will never see me driving an American car. I love German cars, even though they are expensive to keep up and have that annoying sound that you can’t get rid of. I have sold Lexus and Acura, even Volkswagen too and I have to admit, Lexus does sell itself. The ES350 is known for the quiet ride, good looks, and ease of luxury. Many of my customers look at the Acura TL and then the Lexus ES and fall in love with the ride softness and the minimal torque steering, however hate the increase in the price tag for just the Badge “Lexus”.

P.S. Leasing a vehicle for 2 to 3 years is a great way to tell if you like the car or not!