Reviews: The 2019 Lexus ES 350 & ES 300h

[Joaquin Ruhi]

USD equivalent included so our fellow Americans know how much to pay when Mr. Trump passes the tariff. $70,000 for a fully loaded ES300h, get ready.

Actually, given the U.S. manufacture of the Lexus ES, it might not be quite that dire. A Toyota USA News Release contains this passage:

If tariffs are imposed, Toyota estimates the cost of the Kentucky-built Toyota Camry will increase by $1,800, the Texas-built Tundra truck by $2,800 and the Indiana-built Sienna minivan by $3,000. The government is expected to decide later this year on whether to impose tariffs.

On the other hand, if the increased tariffs come to pass, I'd imagine that the price of the Japan-built Lexus GS will rise even more versus the U.S.-built ES, perhaps hastening the GS's demise in the U.S. market.

 

[ssun30]

Actually, given the U.S. manufacture of the Lexus ES

Totally missed the fact that the ES will be produced at TMMK.

But the point stands, imagine the 5-series or A6 at $70,000, base trim.

 

[spwolf]

7ES pricing listed in China, pre-order starts today:

ES200 Base ¥285,000 ($42,100)
ES200 Premium ¥304,000 ($44,900)

ES260 Base ¥341,000 ($50,400)
ES260 F-Sport ¥384,000 ($56,700)
ES260 Luxury ¥404,000 ($59,700)

ES300h Base ¥365,000 ($53,900)
ES300h Luxury ¥424,000 ($62,600)
ES300h Executive ¥474,000 ($70,000)

The 300h is at a much better value than the 260. However only the 260 gets the F-Sport package which is expected to be a major seller. I expect the volume to go as following: ES200 Premium, ES260 F-Sport, ES300h Luxury, ES300h Executive.

USD equivalent included so our American fellows know how much to pay when Mr. Trump passes the tariff. $70,000 for a fully loaded ES300h, get ready.

How does it compare with old prices?

 

[ssun30]

How does it compare with old prices?

More expensive across the board. Then of course it's larger and packs much more features than the 6ES. Cheaper than a base E200L.

FYI the current lineup looks like this:

ES200 'Elite' ¥279,000
ES200 'Comfort' ¥298,000

ES250 'Elegant' ¥325,000
ES250 'Luxury' ¥381,000

ES300h 'Comfort' ¥354,000
ES300h 'Luxury' ¥401,000
ES300h 'Prestige' ¥467,000

Some notes on common trim names Lexus uses in China:
Base trim is usually called 'Comfort', 'Excellence', or 'Avant-garde'. An even more barebones trim is called the 'Elite'.
Premium trim is called 'Elegant'.
Luxury trim is called 'Luxury' or 'Superior'.
Ultra-luxury trim is called 'Prestige' or 'Supreme'.
For ES and LS there is the final 'Executive' trim.

 

[spwolf]

@ssun30 that is pretty small diff in pricing... also is all of this with lower customs?

 

[ssun30]

Yes. The 6ES prices are post tariff cut. Pre tariff cut 6ES out-of-shop prices are actually similar. Dealers are getting all the benefit.

 

[Joaquin Ruhi]

Back to the main thrust of this thread: Lexus 7ES reviews. It seems that WardsAuto's Steve Finlay (as opposed to the customary Christie Schweinsberg) was waiting for Lexus to reveal pricing before posting his review from the Nashville long-lead preview. Worth the wait, though, for he provides a good read:

https://www.wardsauto.com/test-drives/team-engineers-help-highlight-new-lexus-es-350

 

[ssun30]

I'm on a 7000km road trip and thus can't get a first look of the 7ES in dealers. However on our way I saw dozens of trucks loaded with the 7ES, C-HR, and new Corolla. Just from that rough impression I know this is a no-brainer.

 

[Sakura]

I dont think they are too similar? There will always be people who wont know the difference between old ES and new ES too, so I dont think we need to pay attention to them.

As long as LS looks great, filtering that down is not a problem, as we can see by MB. For instance, for me, BMW's dont make too much sense since 7 series does not look great... but I dont think anyone cares, they still sell, lol.

Agreed. There will always be people that won't know the difference between the cars and there will be car people that will. There are still people that get confused from older generation and newer generation of Audi, BMW, MB and Porsche. Especially - BMW and Porsche, they look the most similar to their older models.

 

[JJohn341]

2019 ES Configurator is Live:
https://www.lexus.com/models/ES

 

[JJohn341]

2019 ES Brochure

https://www.lexus.com/documents/brochures/2019/MY19-Lexus-ES-and-ES-Hybrid-Brochure.pdf

 

[Neezy216]

2019 ES Configurator is Live:
https://www.lexus.com/models/ES

You beat me to it haha! Thanks for sharing!

 

[Neezy216]

All,

My fully loaded (Every single option) 300h has arrived at my dealer....AND:

My dealer has been authorized by Lexus corporate to sell me the vehicle before the official SEP 3 release date!!! I'm driving it off the lot tomorrow!

 

[Gecko]

I have a real love affair going on with the ES F Sport in white :heart_eyes:

 

[spwolf]

All,

My fully loaded (Every single option) 300h has arrived at my dealer....AND:

My dealer has been authorized by Lexus corporate to sell me the vehicle before the official SEP 3 release date!!! I'm driving it off the lot tomorrow!

did you drive it before, or did you order before checking it out live? If you checked it out live first, what did you think? and what vehicle did you drive before?

 

[Neezy216]

did you drive it before, or did you order before checking it out live? If you checked it out live first, what did you think? and what vehicle did you drive before?

Yes, I test drove a caviar/chateau linear dark mocha luxury build (without performance dampers) three days ago. Mine will be the ultra luxury, fully loaded build.

Here's a snippet of what I shared in clublexus:

Quick verdict:

- Extremely comfortable and smooth
- I did not hear as much whirring (only a little) compared to the 2018 300h
- Can't really notice any difference in acceleration between 2018 300h and 2019 300h (15hp difference)
- My tester did not have the Mark Levinson package, BUT the regular 10 speaker Premier audio sounded very good (albeit at low-mid volume).
- You can definitely tell they worked on the steering and handling! Very impressed
- Engine is VERY loud when demanding more power for getting on the interstate etc. It is noticeably louder compared to my current 2007 ES ONLY when demanding a lot of power out of the engine.
- Noticeable improvement with suspension setup (my tester did not have performance dampers). Definitely not floaty like my current one is!
- VERY good with absorbing bumps/cracks/road imperfections in road - this includes when I purposely and continuously ran over those yellow or white lane reflectors in the road! I thought my current 2007 ES was smooth, but this blows it away.


This was a quick 5 mile test drive in southern california. Heads were definitely turning!

 

[mikeavelli]

I was at Lexus today and it is a great looking sedan and it is the first Lexus that I truly can confuse with another, being the LS, especially from the front. I'm sure they are going to continue to sell every last ES they build.

 

[JJohn341]

I was at Lexus today and it is a great looking sedan and it is the first Lexus that I truly can confuse with another, being the LS, especially from the front. I'm sure they are going to continue to sell every last ES they build.

I agree. Through out the model years LS and ES has shared some design similarities. I have always found that 5th gen ES and and Pr-facelift 4th gen LS shared lot of exterior designs.

 

[Joaquin Ruhi]

...it is the first Lexus that I truly can confuse with another...

I had a totally different experience in that regard this past Saturday.

Roughly every other Saturday, a small group of local car journalists gets together for an indoor soccer match against the folks at DriveShop (managers for some of the local press car fleets), so it's interesting to see what new press cars they sometimes bring. I went outside to the parking lot to retrieve something from my car. Next to me, I see what, from the rear left 3/4 view appeared to be a Genesis G80. As I got closer, I did a stunned double-take when I started seeing Lexus logos and an ES 300h badge. Yes, it was a 7th-gen ES. I rarely confuse cars like that, but it happened.

It did, however, give me a begrudging newfound appreciation for the spindle grille upfront. Not much chance of confusing that with anything else!

I asked the journalist (and soccer teammate) driving it on his impressions. He said it's typically smooth and quiet and high-quality Lexus, but the 8.4-second 0-60 mph time for the hybrid seemed, to him, disappointingly subpar.

 

[JJohn341]

I had a totally different experience in that regard this past Saturday......
I asked the journalist (and soccer teammate) driving it on his impressions. He said it's typically smooth and quiet and high-quality Lexus, but the 8.4-second 0-60 mph time for the hybrid seemed, to him, disappointingly subpar.

I own 14 300h so from my experience, after a while one can get used to the 0-60 time. But, The hybrid provides many other positive benefits overall; really good passing power on HWY, fast cabin cooling in TX heat, serenity in most conditions and also the car does not feel bog down when fully loaded with passengers like a typical NA 4 Cylinder car and most of all excellent fuel economy considering the size and weight of the car, hand calculated I get 35-36 mpg average on a tank of gas.