SW03ES

Opinions are what opinions are. All I'll say is I had an 07 ES350 as a loaner when they first came out and took my manager and my business partner out to look at some houses in it. My manager said after sitting in the passenger seat for a while, totally un-primed "This Lexus isn't nearly as nice as yours...the dash is really cheap looking". When I walked back into our office that afternoon and mentioned to my partner that I'd just picked my car up, he said and I quote "Good, that other car sucked". So...its not just me. Its not just the trim, overall in the feel of the plastics and the trim around the windows and doors, the thickness of the carpeting, the quality and feel of the base leather (the semi-analine leather in the UL is really nice) is definitely a step down from my car. The GS is the same way IMHO, although its better than the ES. I'm interested to see if these issues have been addressed or just the trim. I love the exterior of the 350 and I love the power and the ride...but the interior has just always kept me from upgrading...

But that hit is going to be lower on a used car than a new car at least...

Yep, normal. The hybrid battery is never supposed to be 100% charged.

Well you don't want to re-lease the 07. For the cost of that you could lease a new one, if you wanted to keep the 07 you'd want to buy it. In November the 2010 will be out, they come out within the next couple weeks. I wouldn't even consider an '09 over a '10 just based on the pictures I've seen of the interior. If you like your '07...the cheapest option would be to buy it off the lease and keep it...

To me, when I buy a luxury car I buy it for me...and I see the inside a lot more than the outside. I just would never have been happy with the 07-09...I may prefer the front of the 07-09, but I don't dislike the front of the '10. The primary reason I bought my ES back in the day was the interior. The exterior has grown on me over the years...

Look in the navigation setup menu...you can select no highways...

You can get them installed by buying them at TireRack and using one of their installers for WAY cheaper than that... Its like $135/tire installed if you buy them at TireRack...

I do like the front end of the 07-09 better. The interior is very similar, the difference is the additional chrome trim and wood trim around the vents, below the nav screen, the trim on the desh above the glove box, the new trim around the rear vents, and the switch back to higher end triple stitching from the cheaper single stitching they used in the 07-09. For those of us that honestly didn't buy the 07-09 car because of the interior its a big deal. I wouldn't have upgraded mine to an 07-09, but I would upgrade to this...

Yeah if I were buying a used one I'd buy the LS. Its definitely engineered to a higher standard which it oughta be being originally twice the cost. The LS is *definitely* more car, but it is also a significantly more expensive car to purchase and own.

Guess what else is back? Triple stitched leather! I can't wait to see one in person...might wind up taking it home ;)

Nice!!! Love the changes to the interior, just a little trim goes a long way!

I do agree he did a great job at the time. What he did with it down the line though was...disappointing. But this thread isn't about that...

First hand experience! At least you can laugh about it...

You don't really know what you're talking about. The ES shares its platform and engine with the Camry along with some suspension architecture. Its about 20%, not 90%, and gets less with every passing generation. Not one body part is shared, not one piece of glass, not one piece of interior trim save the turn signal stalks and such that are also shared with the LS. The ES is no more a "Camry" than an RX. You might want to try driving one, its a great car, much smoother, quieter, and better appointed than the Camry. Same is true of the TL. The ES is Lexus best selling car by a mile, and the RX is the best selling vehicle in the Lexus line...by a mile. Both based off the Camry Platform. The ES is every bit as much a "Lexus" as a Toyota. Your LS is just a Toyota too...as are all Lexus vehicles by the virtue that they are a marketing division of Toyota. What about the RX, LX, and GX? Not real Lexuses either? We're all Lexus owners here...no need to be denigrating towards other vehicles in the line. If you want to voice your opinion fine, but "Camry with a tuxedo on" is offensive and not appropriate. The 07+ ES is a very good riding car. Not sure why the Camry is so much firmer, but it is I've driven them both.

My "Camry with a tuxedo on" rides and drives like a dream at 130k miles, still every bit as nice as when it was new. The LS is great, and I am seriously considering one as an upgrade but when I drive the ES I don't miss the LS. The LS is more car no doubt, but the ES is so much car you don't really miss the extra refinement when you aren't routinely switching back and forth between them. All of this plus its much cheaper to maintain and insure, new its half the cost and used you can buy one 2-3 years newer for the same money. Plenty of reasons to buy the ES...and thats why they sell so many of them.

Now is the best chance we have to actually pass some healthcare reform. Want to save money? Bring the troops home from Iraq. Its not just 10% of our country who doesn't have healthcare...most of the people with healthcare have inadequate care, and the costs of operating the system we have will cost more over time than the plan they're proposing. Given a choice between taking care of what needs to happen here and fighting campaigns abroad? I'll take care of what needs to be dealt with here thanks.

See Obama's speech? Sounds like a pretty good plan to me. I don't love the idea of a public option, I think that might be replacable by opening up the ability for people to purchase plans from other states to improve competition, but all in all I didn't hear much out of him that didn't make sense...

Good! Keep us posted...

I don't really know why it is, but tires are VERY important for the ride on a Lexus...glad it worked out!

I left the office early today and was waiting on the cleaning crew to be done at home so I figured I would pop in to the Caddy dealer and check out a new CTS. I have sat in them a couple times but have never driven one, and a coworker of mine traded his ES330 in on one and loved it so I figured I would check it out. Exterior: First of all I AM a fan of the new Art & Science design theme from Cadillac. I think they are good looking and very unique cars. I love the rear with the wide LED high mount stop lights and the tall taillamps. Very "Cadillac" without looking goofy and retro. I like the grille and all in all the trim is metal and high quality. Interior: I am not completely thrilled with the styling of the CTS on the inside, it seems to try to hard to me sometimes. It is very well built with excellent materials though. The seats are firm but supportive. The dash layout is good, I'm not a huge fan of pop-up navigation screens because I like to be able to see the map even when I am not using the system. The Bose Audio system is excellent, and I was surprised that Caddy's navigation system was also excellent. Real time traffic worked well, and the system has a nice high-res screen, although not as sharp as in the new Lexus cars. One weird thing, the nav system does not operate when the audio is off. If you want to use the nav...or the screen at all...the system MUST be on and if you don't want to listen to the radio you have to mute the volume. Very strange... The car is small, significantly smaller than an ES while being slightly larger than an IS...but only slightly. With my seat adjusted the way I like the rear seat is very tight. The IP is good, optitron style, with an excellent driver info center that allows adjustment of all the things we have to do through LPS. All in all its too small a vehicle for me no question... Ride & Drive: The CTS rode well, sporty, but not as sporty as an IS. Power was excellent and very smooth. The car I drove had the 18" wheels which I love the look of but would probably opt for the 17s for a softer ride. On the ride home in the Lexus the ride difference was very distinct, the ES really rode well driving home and it is much more my kind of car. So all in all I was impressed...definately wouldn't be a purchase for me and I doubt most people who would look at an ES would be interested in one. What I sat in and REALLY liked was the new SRX crossover SUV. Couldn't drive one, ran out of time, but the vehicle is VERY classy looking and obviously much more spacious than the CTS. I'll try and get by to drive one another time...but I could see myself in that SRX...

I found that 29 is too low on the Primacys, although thats what I had been using before on other tires. Maybe its the H rating. I inflate mine to 33 and everything is great.

Absolutely, once you take matters into your own hands and try and fix it you remove any leverage you can use against the dealer to make it right.

Jim, the Sport LS430s all had the 18" wheels...I bet he has the 18s... The 17s on the LS430 ride almost exactly like the 16s...the 18s make a difference though.

Yeah you're better off not waiting until they are totally worn out...

If the dealer does it...it won't void the warranty...