BB11

I wanted to add that I found out the tires that were on a Hybrid Avalon with 17 inch wheels that I had driven that were very quiet, they were indeed Michelins, not sure if they were the MX4's or not, I called but they just told me the brand even though I asked about the model. This tells me that I really will have to negotiate whether I buy an Avalon or a 350 on the tires...thanks again

Hi Brian and welcome to the LOC.

You've asked some good questions and have gotten some good answers. I'll try to add some more information for you to take into consideration.

I have owned a 2005 ES330, a 2010 ES350, and now a 2013 ES350. All three have been truly great cars, yet each had it's unique qualities. All had and have an excellent ride. The 2013 has been tuned to provide more responsive handling but without sacrificing the Lexus ride and quite cabin. Now, is it as quite and smooth as the 2010 Es was? To me, it is. But to you, you have no referance point other than the ATS. So asking about the ride and quite of the Lexus is of no help because you never drove an older one.

Reliability on all Lexus/Toyota products is excellent. Lexus has been the best selling luxury car or in the top three of the best selling luxury cars for the past 5 years. Reliabilaty is a big reason for that. I have never had better service or better technicians service my cars than my Lexus dealer. And in saying that I should tell you that my dealer also sells Cadillac and gives those customers the same high level of service.

One of the diffrences with the 2013 ES is the change from a Camry based chasis to using the Toyota Avalon chasis. This frame is longer and more rigid and also gives more interior cabin room.

Lexus offers the Mark Levinson premium sound system featuring 19 speakers surrounding the drivers cabin. I think the peak rrms is around 550 watts. (You should look that up) I'm pretty much a snob when it comes to sound systems. I've listened to the Bose system, and in fact I use some Bose products at home. However, the car Bose system does not provide the clarity and range that the Mark Levinson system does. One area where I think the Levinson system is a little weak is the low bass end. The Mark Levinson system comes packaged with the Lexus navigation unit.

Back to the ride and road noise for a last remark. Tires make a tremendous difference in the ride and outside noise on any car. As an example, last December when I took deliverly of my 2013, i saw that it had come from the factory with Bridgestone tires. Over the last few years there have been many disscuscions about what tires were best on which cars. I have foud that Michlen Primacy MX4 are by far the best choice for a ES350. They give a smooth ride and oh so quite. So, I had the dealer take off the Bridgestones and put on the Michlens at no charge to me.

I have not driven th ATS, and it sounds like a nice ride. But I think if you do some research you may find that the Cadillac product will not hold its value as well as a Lexus.

Paul

My first post, thanks Paul, I am in the process of considering 4 cars, avalon, ES350, RX and Highlander, but quiet and comfort are my hot spots. I drove the Avalon and Highlander yesterday,next monday the Lexus cars. The higlander was not bad but I have read about intermittent wind noise, not ok if this is true, I am selling a 2015 Subaru OB with 2K miles for that reason. The Avalon had almost no windnoise on the test, but did have Road Noise and did have 18" Bridgestone tires, and I figured this was probably part of the problem. Any info to me would be great, I am not looking for a sports car, just a nice reliable quiet car. I would consider the '16 models but you never know with a first year, that is what I have with my OB now. Thanks