timzter Posted October 4, 2012 Posted October 4, 2012 Picked up my new 2013 ES350 today (with luxury package E) I am happy with the Satin Cashmere exterior and parchment interior. There are enough dark lines inside and outside the car to frame it to make the color pop. Overall I am very happy with the car. The only complaint I have--which is something I noticed only today--is this soft, black leather (?) flap that covers the "neck" of the steering wheel between the back of the steering wheel and the dashboard. It looks ugly and cheap to me. It is not taut. It is sort of loose and soft, and has a couple of creases here and there, reminiscent of the loose skin under a komodo lizard's neck. Why did they choose to do that? Can't they cover it with a stiff, black plastic material instead? My 2010 ES350 didn't have that. Still haven't played with all the features. The nav's mouse-like Remote Touch Controller really does take some getting used to. I am not sure if it adds to or takes away from driving safely. I predict that people will find it distracting and I won't be surprised if it is later found to be the cause of some accidents.
timzter Posted October 5, 2012 Author Posted October 5, 2012 Oh, and it did come with Michelin tires instead of Bridgestone, which I am happy about.
cjccmc Posted October 6, 2012 Posted October 6, 2012 Yeah! I had an RX 350 as a loaner car today and noticed that same cheap looking fabric sheet between the steering wheel and dash. Weird and cheap looking for sure. Other than that, one heck of nice vehicle. BTW you can upgrade to the 2013 forum category now :-)
timzter Posted October 6, 2012 Author Posted October 6, 2012 I just can't understand why Lexus would use this cheap fabric sheet to cover the steering wheel neck when they have invested so much in making the new ES350 (and the RX350 for that matter) look so nice. A black rubber "accordion" type contraption would have worked better. Let's hope more people complain about this.
palermo22 Posted October 9, 2012 Posted October 9, 2012 Agree about the mouse on the nav system - It's hard to understand what Lexus is thinking: they disable the nav system while the car is in motion (obviously the fear is that it will distract the driver) but then let the driver play around with a mouse while driving! Timzter, in round numbers can you tell me approximately what you paid for your car? I would like to compare it to what I paid for my 300h - since we both got the luxury package.
SW03ES Posted October 9, 2012 Posted October 9, 2012 Why use some of the cheaper plastic materials in real obvious places like around the interior door handles...yet include such a nice stitched leather dash? Weird...
Uncle Ben Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 ... The nav's mouse-like Remote Touch Controller really does take some getting used to. I am not sure if it adds to or takes away from driving safely. I predict that people will find it distracting and I won't be surprised if it is later found to be the cause of some accidents. I realize that opinions vary on this one; but for me, it works fine and it is much less distracting than reaching out to touch the screen. I think we have to understand what Lexus tried to accomplish here. The screen is recessed and set far away from the driver, such that the screen remains clear, no matter what the ambient lighting is. Yes, there's a learning curve, but the mouse works. Thanks to voice command functionality, bear in mind also that the number of times one would have to use the mouse to do anything while driving are minimized. Once I adjusted the sensitivity setting on the mouse to my liking, it works like a charm.
Uncle Ben Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 Agree about the mouse on the nav system - It's hard to understand what Lexus is thinking: they disable the nav system while the car is in motion (obviously the fear is that it will distract the driver) but then let the driver play around with a mouse while driving! ...and that's why we have voice commands available at the touch of a button on the steering wheel. And even if I had to use the mouse, I find it hard to believe that this gesture would present any more of a hazard than reaching out to touch the screen. But this is a new 'gadget' and I can understand why people are resisting the change. But as I said in an earlier post, once I adjusted the sensitivity of the mouse, it works fine for me... But I seldom use it while driving, happy to use the voice command functionality.
palermo22 Posted October 10, 2012 Posted October 10, 2012 ...Once I adjusted the sensitivity setting on the mouse to my liking, it works like a charm. I probably missed it in the setup - could you tell me where to find the sensitivity adjustment?
SW03ES Posted October 12, 2012 Posted October 12, 2012 But the voice commands are so poor they are basically unusable...
Uncle Ben Posted October 12, 2012 Posted October 12, 2012 ...Once I adjusted the sensitivity setting on the mouse to my liking, it works like a charm. I probably missed it in the setup - could you tell me where to find the sensitivity adjustment? Page 60, Navigation Manual, "Pointer Sound Volume Settings" and "Setting Feedback Force". Have fun!
Uncle Ben Posted October 12, 2012 Posted October 12, 2012 But the voice commands are so poor they are basically unusable... That's strange, because I have no problem with it at all, I'm serious! I think I mentioned this in an earlier post but I'll say it again. I often had to input a destination address, done entirely from the voice commands/steering wheel. I often played specific album/artist from my thumbdrive library, all with voice commands. I had problems with it at first, but once I understood to cut off ambient noise and speak loud enough, I have no problem, as long as my wife zips it while I'm giving the voice commands. :P That's not to say that I do not have to occasionally repeat the command; but by and large, I find that the system works fine.
palermo22 Posted October 12, 2012 Posted October 12, 2012 ...Once I adjusted the sensitivity setting on the mouse to my liking, it works like a charm. I probably missed it in the setup - could you tell me where to find the sensitivity adjustment? Page 60, Navigation Manual, "Pointer Sound Volume Settings" and "Setting Feedback Force". Have fun! Yes, I saw that while reading - however, I had no idea what they meant by "feedback force" - feedback????
Uncle Ben Posted October 12, 2012 Posted October 12, 2012 Yeah, haptic mouse system... The manual does not explain it very well, but you can Google it and you'll find lots of info on it. You can play with these settings and see what setting, if any, works best for you. A lot of people have problems with the mouse. I like it. It took me a while to get use to it, but now I like it. It's a lot better than toutchscreen IMHO.
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