Woodbadger

I have a 2015 ES 350. Following is for car with nav system. From the play screen, cycle through the crossed arrows (random play) function, until it is unchecked (no blue highlight next to it), now, once your system has indexed the USB (which may take a while, depending on how much music you have!), select 'Browse'. From the resulting screen you can select tabs for Folders, Artists or  Albums. Select Folders. You can then scroll to which ever you like. Then you are given a track list for that folder. Select the track you want to start with. With now other changes your system should now play all tracks from that point on in sequence, changing folders as each is finished. This should allow you to do what you ask in your last paragraph.

I'm a first time Lexus owner. Leasing my ES350 since September and loving it. I'm already looking forward to upgrading to the GS350 hopefully in a couple years. Enjoy!

James - really liking the total "black out" look!

My 2 cents worth! I recently went through the new car shopping experience. I was looking to replace my 2008 IS250. I LOVED that car! Like you I had NO bad experiences. In 8 years/102K miles I only put new brakes and tires on it in addition to Lexus scheduled maintenance. Reliable, powerful enough and great ride.

We recently moved 300+ miles from our nearest Lexus dealership (FAAAAR South Texas!!), so when looking at new cars, tried to go with brands in the local areas. Checked out the new MB C300, BMW 325i and Infiniti Q50. Kept the IS250 F-Sport on the list also.

The BMW seems to be getting a bit long in the tooth design-wise. I wanted the Sport Line package buit the local dealer is so lease-oriented that I couldnt get one locally at a reasonable price.

I test-drove the MB and really liked it.Finish is immaculate. Very smooth ride. And the local dealer was very friendly!

One of my considerations is that I make a monthly 600 mile roundtrip on less than optimal surface, state highways where service stops are few and far between. A major concern that kept coming up on the newer cars (MB, BMW and Infiniti) was the trend to weight and cost saving. This has resulted in all three of these cars being equipped with run-flats and the jack and spare being dispensed with! Story is that the runflats will get you to the next tire shop (c. 50 miles) However, try finding a replacement run flat for a 2015 Mercedes in Podunk, TX!

The runflats used on the Infiniti (Dunlops) are SO bad that the dealers are including a spare + jack package in the Q50s!

Also, there have been a number of QC concerns about the new MBs, which are the first sedans to be manufactured at the Tuscaloosa, AL plant. Again, maybe to early to jump that direction.

The Q50 has a lot of tech built in but the implementation is a bit suspect. Reading the fine print you find out that the 2G (yes, I said 2G - NOT 3G!) comms that is used by their technology package, is supplied by ATT which is DROPPING SUPPORT effective Oct 2015! No guaranteed upgrade path!!! BOOOM!!!! Who wants to pay for that!

Another issue for me is the stop/start technology that is present in the MB and BMW. Implementation is pretty smooth in the MB, but is mentioned frequently in reviews of BMW as being shaky. Not for me.

I have driven the IS F-Sport but found bolstering on the F-Sport bucket seats to be a bit TOO instrusive (yeah - I know, if my butt was smaller....!) and my wife REALLY did not like them.

All of the above we driving me crazy looking for the "perfect"car. After all one does not drop almost 50K every day!

That was when I came across the ES350 Crafted Line. It has just enough of the sporty look to satisfy me. No, not the latest turbo. No, not the greatest MPG. But -

- reliable tech with very little extra cost (use your own phones data plan, unlike AUDI MMI which expects you to pick up another cellphone carrier monthly bill, even though you have your own already).

- Normal tires with a jack AND spare.

- And who can beat Lexus reliability?

That is one beautiful car, Ian! Please post your impressions on its performance.

Hope you are enjoying it,

Dev

Devi,

I will post impressions as I get a few more miles on it. So far just a bit of intown driving. Very quiet ride. Also comfortable. Definitely noticing the ride difference compared to my old IS250. I also have noticed the handling difference. Not quite as responsive through corners - definitely noticing the difference between FWD and RWD. My wallet is enjoying the change from premium to regular fuel! I get about the same mileage out of this 3.5L as I did out of the 2.5L!

I love the white with the dark rims......but of course I would. ;-)

Very nice car. I know you are proud of it. Keep it out of those Texas hailstorms!!!!!

Becki,

I will do my level best to keep away from hailstorms! Had a few come thru today and I rescheduled trips to keep it in garage. Got caught in one of those once when the guy in front of me stopped on a hwy overpass!!!! $3500 damage and that was 15 years ago!

Woodbadger - What tint do you have on the new ES? Looks great btw.

Hey LEX-SV. The tint was installed by my dealer (at cost!) along with the clear paint protection film. I am afraid I do not know what brand it is.

Paul

At the bottom of this Car-Revs Daily article (that is more specific to the ES) there is a comparison table of the Crafted Line features for each model as well as the production run counts I mentioned previously.

http://www.car-revs-daily.com/2014/09/15/2015-lexus-es350-crafted-line/

Hope this helps!

Cheers,

Ian

Paul,

Crafted Line is a limited edition run across the model line to celebrate Lexus 25th anniversary. It is an appearance package, not a performance one. There is a good overview and gallery for the ES model at

http://www.topspeed.com/cars/lexus/2015-lexus-es-crafted-line-edition-ar164762.html

The page also includes the press release. The main difference between the ES and the other lines is that the interior is Black and Cabernet vs. Black and Scarlet, so it is a little more understated - which I like. The IS, GS and LS models are built on top of F-Sport package, so they have leather rather than the NuLuxe of the ES. There is not much I can add to that. I have seen (somewhere!) a table that includes production counts by model, but I cannot re-locate it. Seems I remember the ES being limited to c. 1350 units.

Hi there! Just moved over from the IS forum after selling my 2008 IS 250 and replacing it with 2015 ES 350. Really liking this car so far!

Radar DETECTORS are legal for private vehicle use in TExas, but are ILlegal for use by commercial vehicles. Radar JAMMERS are illegal in Texas. There are no TX state laws against LASER jammers, but they appear to violate Federal statutes. The FCC has started fining the manufacturers of Radar jammers so there appears to be some Fed problems now. Summary of state laws

It would have to be the Ascari A10. This beast is street legal. 5-liter v8 generating 600 bhp. Top speed of 220 mph, 0-60 in 2.8 secs. On a recent episode of "Top Gear" it beat out the Koenigsegg CCX for the fastest power lap on their test circuit.

Check out their test drive at Youtube

Just under 2K miles on my '08 250. Overall average so far, 25.4. Current tank 24.3. I have got 29.2 out of one tank on a flat interstate run (south Texas) at 80 mph. About 30 mi roundtrip commute per day - mixed traffic. Very pleased so far!

I had similar concerns. I am 6'3" and have always driven pretty upright due to a lower back problem. I compared a number of cars and they all had a similar headroom figure (with moonroof). But I noticed a marked difference when I actually sat in them. For example, the Infinity G37 coupe when fitted with a moonroof lists the same headroom as my IS250. However, I could not find a single configuration of seat position in the G37 that worked. The main problem was that the grab bar above the drivers door was very close to the side of my head. For this reason I was inclined not to even look at the IS. However, my son's girlfriend drives one, so we took it out, and I was please to find that I did not have the same problem. I dont know if it has to do with seat positioning or what - but it works!!!

(Well, after thinking about it some more,it may have to do with the roof contour (front to back) when comparing the two-door G37 to the 4-dr IS. Therefore you can get the seat further back in driving position without the lowering ceiling becoming an issue.)

I bought a MFWW towel this weekend. Fantastic job - cut a lot of time off the drying process. I'm sold for now (until the NEXT "best gadget ever" comes along! )

Sorry to hear about that Lexus2D. I know my sister and (retired) parents back in the UK are always complaining about the VERY high cost of driving a personal vehicle over there. And they live in the countryside so do not have much of a "mass transit" option.

No personal property tax on cars here in Texas (at least MOST of the state!) We do pay an annual license ("tag") fee (tax by any other name), but it does not amount to anything like the multiple-hundred dollar charges you guys are mentioning. I think mine was about $65 last year.

However, I know that SOME of the counties in the state DO assess a personal property tax on LEASED vehicles (in addition to tag fees).

Yeah, I had seen these and wasn't sure about what effect they may have on the paint. They are made by the same people as the California Car Duster - which I love!

There is more information on them on their website.

EDIT: OOOPs, just found another thread about this in this forum

California Jelly Blade

Guess I won't be using one of these on my dark paintjob! :o