Collected: More Reviews of the 2019 Lexus ES 350 & ES 300h

Posted by Kevin on June 25th, 2018

Now two weeks after the first reviews of the 2019 Lexus ES hit the Internet, let’s look at some more driving impressions of the new sedan.

Pat Devereux of Top Gear could not have been more effusive in his review of the ES 300h:

This is a moment for you to consider what driving you really do, rather than what you would like to do, but don’t. While [Top Gear] will go to its grave defending your right to having a drift-worthy V8 that consumes tyres and petrol in equal measure, there are some of us who just want or need to get somewhere in the least stressful way possible. Often with luggage and passengers. For those people, cars like the Volvo S90 and now the new Lexus ES are not just a sensible choice, but the correct one.

The Gear Patrol review from Alex Kalogiannis is even-handed and sensible:

The legacy of the ES is secure. Within its element, it’s the best its ever been with contemporary looks and tech conveniences. The F Sport accoutrement only improves things, as long as buyers go in with the right expectations. The ride is smooth, the cabin is a comfortable place to be and it’s easy to see why Lexus loyalists have stuck with it for a few decades. This generation ES is far from a radical upgrade, but as [Chief Engineer] Sakakibara-san states, the pleasure is in the little things it consistently gets right.

Lexus ES Hybrid

Jake Lingeman from Autoweek has posted a very positive review of the ES, but what I wanted to highlight is his take on the Remote Touch controller:

There’s been a lot said about Lexus’ patented mouse pad/slider-joystick infotainment control, and I have a few opinions of my own. The first generation was not good. You had to look at the slider and the screen to find the right time to click. The company added little faux detents, so the cursor would sort of stick on the function you were looking for. It got better. Then it increased the screen size a few years ago to the 12.3 inches and got rid of the joystick/slider for a finger-controlled mouse pad. There was too much ground to cover. Now it’s refined again with separate screen divisions, with little tactile vibrations on the mouse pad where the screens meet so you sort of know where you are.

It wasn’t completely intuitive, but after a day in the car I was…serviceable with it. A week or so and it might be second nature. Whether it should take a week to learn how to use it is another issue. I think that’s an average amount of time; some in the office think that’s too long.

Lexus ES: Sixth Generation
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Comments
S
spwolf
Nobody is saying ES is insanely good handling car, it is just that you keep finding reasons to disqualify it as competition to other cars in the class... and then you end up comparing it to the Type R, M3, etc, etc.

And nobody is putting words in your mouth either, you keep doing that yourself :)
I felt like you implied it in your post so I challenged it. Good on you for clearing it up.

I was drawing a comparison of how the Lexus ES is well balanced handling car but no-where as good as a Type R. The point of this was to challenge you. If you didn't imply the ES is a handling-god, then there is no story here.

No. I'm not "finding" reasons. Its my opinions - that the Lexus ES does not compete with the A4, 3, C, A6, 5, or E. The ES is similar to none of these cars except for price within the A4, 3, and C. However - price can't be the only part to what car competes with what car.

Its your opinion that the Lexus ES competes within that segment. By the way - I have listed my reasons why the Lexus ES don't compete there. Want to list reasons why you think the ES competes with the A4, 3, C, A6, 5, and E?
S
Sakura
I felt like you implied it in your post so I challenged it. Good on you for clearing it up.

I was drawing a comparison of how the Lexus ES is well balanced handling car but no-where as good as a Type R. The point of this was to challenge you. If you didn't imply the ES is a handling-god, then there is no story here.

No. I'm not "finding" reasons. Its my opinions - that the Lexus ES does not compete with the A4, 3, C, A6, 5, or E. The ES is similar to none of these cars except for price within the A4, 3, and C. However - price can't be the only part to what car competes with what car.

Its your opinion that the Lexus ES competes within that segment. By the way - I have listed my reasons why the Lexus ES don't compete there. Want to list reasons why you think the ES competes with the A4, 3, C, A6, 5, and E?
It certainly does not compete with A4, but it does compete with A6 and other cars in the class... I suggest you go to the dealership and talk to the people there what are they cross-shopping ES with.

As to why I think that, it is because I live in Europe, and your competitors do not exist here. As I mentioned several times so far, all European magazines are calling it A6/E/5 competitor, and I personally think it is delusional to thank that majority of people buying base models of these vehicles are buying it for RWD or handling characteristics, and even then that they are not drastically different from new ES.

Now if we are talking about higher end of the market, like 540i or 535d, then it is another story, but these days those buyers are in minority, especially in Europe, where these vehicles are mostly sold with 2.0 tdi engines.
S
Sakura
I felt like you implied it in your post so I challenged it. Good on you for clearing it up.

I was drawing a comparison of how the Lexus ES is well balanced handling car but no-where as good as a Type R. The point of this was to challenge you. If you didn't imply the ES is a handling-god, then there is no story here.

No. I'm not "finding" reasons. Its my opinions - that the Lexus ES does not compete with the A4, 3, C, A6, 5, or E. The ES is similar to none of these cars except for price within the A4, 3, and C. However - price can't be the only part to what car competes with what car.

Its your opinion that the Lexus ES competes within that segment. By the way - I have listed my reasons why the Lexus ES don't compete there. Want to list reasons why you think the ES competes with the A4, 3, C, A6, 5, and E?
It certainly does not compete with A4, but it does compete with A6 and other cars in the class... I suggest you go to the dealership and talk to the people there what are they cross-shopping ES with.

As to why I think that, it is because I live in Europe, and your competitors do not exist here. As I mentioned several times so far, all European magazines are calling it A6/E/5 competitor, and I personally think it is delusional to thank that majority of people buying base models of these vehicles are buying it for RWD or handling characteristics, and even then that they are not drastically different from new ES.

Now if we are talking about higher end of the market, like 540i or 535d, then it is another story, but these days those buyers are in minority, especially in Europe, where these vehicles are mostly sold with 2.0 tdi engines.
S
Sakura
I felt like you implied it in your post so I challenged it. Good on you for clearing it up.

I was drawing a comparison of how the Lexus ES is well balanced handling car but no-where as good as a Type R. The point of this was to challenge you. If you didn't imply the ES is a handling-god, then there is no story here.

No. I'm not "finding" reasons. Its my opinions - that the Lexus ES does not compete with the A4, 3, C, A6, 5, or E. The ES is similar to none of these cars except for price within the A4, 3, and C. However - price can't be the only part to what car competes with what car.

Its your opinion that the Lexus ES competes within that segment. By the way - I have listed my reasons why the Lexus ES don't compete there. Want to list reasons why you think the ES competes with the A4, 3, C, A6, 5, and E?
It certainly does not compete with A4, but it does compete with A6 and other cars in the class... I suggest you go to the dealership and talk to the people there what are they cross-shopping ES with.

As to why I think that, it is because I live in Europe, and your competitors do not exist here. As I mentioned several times so far, all European magazines are calling it A6/E/5 competitor, and I personally think it is delusional to thank that majority of people buying base models of these vehicles are buying it for RWD or handling characteristics, and even then that they are not drastically different from new ES.

Now if we are talking about higher end of the market, like 540i or 535d, then it is another story, but these days those buyers are in minority, especially in Europe, where these vehicles are mostly sold with 2.0 tdi engines.
S
Sakura
I felt like you implied it in your post so I challenged it. Good on you for clearing it up.

I was drawing a comparison of how the Lexus ES is well balanced handling car but no-where as good as a Type R. The point of this was to challenge you. If you didn't imply the ES is a handling-god, then there is no story here.

No. I'm not "finding" reasons. Its my opinions - that the Lexus ES does not compete with the A4, 3, C, A6, 5, or E. The ES is similar to none of these cars except for price within the A4, 3, and C. However - price can't be the only part to what car competes with what car.

Its your opinion that the Lexus ES competes within that segment. By the way - I have listed my reasons why the Lexus ES don't compete there. Want to list reasons why you think the ES competes with the A4, 3, C, A6, 5, and E?
It certainly does not compete with A4, but it does compete with A6 and other cars in the class... I suggest you go to the dealership and talk to the people there what are they cross-shopping ES with.

As to why I think that, it is because I live in Europe, and your competitors do not exist here. As I mentioned several times so far, all European magazines are calling it A6/E/5 competitor, and I personally think it is delusional to thank that majority of people buying base models of these vehicles are buying it for RWD or handling characteristics, and even then that they are not drastically different from new ES.

Now if we are talking about higher end of the market, like 540i or 535d, then it is another story, but these days those buyers are in minority, especially in Europe, where these vehicles are mostly sold with 2.0 tdi engines.
M
^
Lexus ES will also compete against Camry in Europe which just go announced as Avensis replacement. Very weird decision by Toyota. Why now?
M
^
Lexus ES will also compete against Camry in Europe which just go announced as Avensis replacement. Very weird decision by Toyota. Why now?
M
^
Lexus ES will also compete against Camry in Europe which just go announced as Avensis replacement. Very weird decision by Toyota. Why now?
M
^
Lexus ES will also compete against Camry in Europe which just go announced as Avensis replacement. Very weird decision by Toyota. Why now?
S
The Avensis is the average grocery car in Europe. I don't see how a Camry replacing it can be a problem for a premium sedan like the ES...
S
The Avensis is the average grocery car in Europe. I don't see how a Camry replacing it can be a problem for a premium sedan like the ES...
S
The Avensis is the average grocery car in Europe. I don't see how a Camry replacing it can be a problem for a premium sedan like the ES...
S
The Avensis is the average grocery car in Europe. I don't see how a Camry replacing it can be a problem for a premium sedan like the ES...
L
The Camry is targeted towards fleet buyers. But we know in Europe at lot of fleet buyers go for wagons rather than sedans, if financially feasible, but the Camry has no wagon. In Europe there is no more Avensis sedan, it was discontinued, we only have the wagon.
L
The Camry is targeted towards fleet buyers. But we know in Europe at lot of fleet buyers go for wagons rather than sedans, if financially feasible, but the Camry has no wagon. In Europe there is no more Avensis sedan, it was discontinued, we only have the wagon.
L
The Camry is targeted towards fleet buyers. But we know in Europe at lot of fleet buyers go for wagons rather than sedans, if financially feasible, but the Camry has no wagon. In Europe there is no more Avensis sedan, it was discontinued, we only have the wagon.
L
The Camry is targeted towards fleet buyers. But we know in Europe at lot of fleet buyers go for wagons rather than sedans, if financially feasible, but the Camry has no wagon. In Europe there is no more Avensis sedan, it was discontinued, we only have the wagon.
S
Levi
The Camry is targeted towards fleet buyers. But we know in Europe at lot of fleet buyers go for wagons rather than sedans, if financially feasible, but the Camry has no wagon. In Europe there is no more Avensis sedan, it was discontinued, we only have the wagon.
Camry is replacing Avensis, which is very old. And availability of Sedan/Wagon depended on the country you are in, we still have sedan, for a while anyway.

In any case, Camry or ES have nothing to do with each other... it is like saying that Passat competes with A6.
S
Levi
The Camry is targeted towards fleet buyers. But we know in Europe at lot of fleet buyers go for wagons rather than sedans, if financially feasible, but the Camry has no wagon. In Europe there is no more Avensis sedan, it was discontinued, we only have the wagon.
Camry is replacing Avensis, which is very old. And availability of Sedan/Wagon depended on the country you are in, we still have sedan, for a while anyway.

In any case, Camry or ES have nothing to do with each other... it is like saying that Passat competes with A6.
S
Levi
The Camry is targeted towards fleet buyers. But we know in Europe at lot of fleet buyers go for wagons rather than sedans, if financially feasible, but the Camry has no wagon. In Europe there is no more Avensis sedan, it was discontinued, we only have the wagon.
Camry is replacing Avensis, which is very old. And availability of Sedan/Wagon depended on the country you are in, we still have sedan, for a while anyway.

In any case, Camry or ES have nothing to do with each other... it is like saying that Passat competes with A6.
S
Levi
The Camry is targeted towards fleet buyers. But we know in Europe at lot of fleet buyers go for wagons rather than sedans, if financially feasible, but the Camry has no wagon. In Europe there is no more Avensis sedan, it was discontinued, we only have the wagon.
Camry is replacing Avensis, which is very old. And availability of Sedan/Wagon depended on the country you are in, we still have sedan, for a while anyway.

In any case, Camry or ES have nothing to do with each other... it is like saying that Passat competes with A6.
Ian Schmidt
Perhaps @mediumhot thinks the ES is still Camry-based, rather than Avalon? If it were, offering it alongside the ES in Europe would be a little weird, but things worked out fine doing that in the US.
Ian Schmidt
Perhaps @mediumhot thinks the ES is still Camry-based, rather than Avalon? If it were, offering it alongside the ES in Europe would be a little weird, but things worked out fine doing that in the US.
Ian Schmidt
Perhaps @mediumhot thinks the ES is still Camry-based, rather than Avalon? If it were, offering it alongside the ES in Europe would be a little weird, but things worked out fine doing that in the US.
Ian Schmidt
Perhaps @mediumhot thinks the ES is still Camry-based, rather than Avalon? If it were, offering it alongside the ES in Europe would be a little weird, but things worked out fine doing that in the US.
S
Ian Schmidt
Perhaps @mediumhot thinks the ES is still Camry-based, rather than Avalon? If it were, offering it alongside the ES in Europe would be a little weird, but things worked out fine doing that in the US.
Well if you are European, then VW platform sharing is engraved into your brain and Camry vs ES is far more distant than what Skoda/Seat/VW/Audi are doing currently, where many cars share almost identical design clues, not to mention parts which is not happening in Camry vs ES case.

Avensis was always more luxurious and special than Camry, but it was also always missing something. With sales low, it does not make sense anymore, and Camry will at least have advantage of size, hybrid powertrain and comfort that last Avensis lacked.

Instead TME will focus on 2 additional CUVs coming out in next 2 years as well as new Auris and Rav4 which seem to be very much improved in things that Europeans care about.
S
Ian Schmidt
Perhaps @mediumhot thinks the ES is still Camry-based, rather than Avalon? If it were, offering it alongside the ES in Europe would be a little weird, but things worked out fine doing that in the US.
Well if you are European, then VW platform sharing is engraved into your brain and Camry vs ES is far more distant than what Skoda/Seat/VW/Audi are doing currently, where many cars share almost identical design clues, not to mention parts which is not happening in Camry vs ES case.

Avensis was always more luxurious and special than Camry, but it was also always missing something. With sales low, it does not make sense anymore, and Camry will at least have advantage of size, hybrid powertrain and comfort that last Avensis lacked.

Instead TME will focus on 2 additional CUVs coming out in next 2 years as well as new Auris and Rav4 which seem to be very much improved in things that Europeans care about.
S
Ian Schmidt
Perhaps @mediumhot thinks the ES is still Camry-based, rather than Avalon? If it were, offering it alongside the ES in Europe would be a little weird, but things worked out fine doing that in the US.
Well if you are European, then VW platform sharing is engraved into your brain and Camry vs ES is far more distant than what Skoda/Seat/VW/Audi are doing currently, where many cars share almost identical design clues, not to mention parts which is not happening in Camry vs ES case.

Avensis was always more luxurious and special than Camry, but it was also always missing something. With sales low, it does not make sense anymore, and Camry will at least have advantage of size, hybrid powertrain and comfort that last Avensis lacked.

Instead TME will focus on 2 additional CUVs coming out in next 2 years as well as new Auris and Rav4 which seem to be very much improved in things that Europeans care about.
S
Ian Schmidt
Perhaps @mediumhot thinks the ES is still Camry-based, rather than Avalon? If it were, offering it alongside the ES in Europe would be a little weird, but things worked out fine doing that in the US.
Well if you are European, then VW platform sharing is engraved into your brain and Camry vs ES is far more distant than what Skoda/Seat/VW/Audi are doing currently, where many cars share almost identical design clues, not to mention parts which is not happening in Camry vs ES case.

Avensis was always more luxurious and special than Camry, but it was also always missing something. With sales low, it does not make sense anymore, and Camry will at least have advantage of size, hybrid powertrain and comfort that last Avensis lacked.

Instead TME will focus on 2 additional CUVs coming out in next 2 years as well as new Auris and Rav4 which seem to be very much improved in things that Europeans care about.
Ian Schmidt
Oh, ok. In the US we had that from GM in the 70s and 80s where they made basically the same car with different front-end assemblies as a Chevy, Buick, Oldsmobile, Pontiac, and sometimes Cadillac (and I see the curse of the J-Body also extended to Europe, Australia, and Japan). Is there a good website to check out the VAG platform sharing?

I