appleton

Appleton - Based on the target age (55) and annual income ($125K) for this vehicle, I suspect the ashtray was installed for the "cigar afficianado" and the cassette deck seems to be a Toyota thing! I agree with your entire list and would add the following minor tweaks: 1.) ML audio system should allow for the driver to control the AUX device from the steering wheel or worst case the NAV touch screen (I.E.: ability to shuffle through artists, albums, tracks, etc) 2.) Interior lighting should be improved - especially in the back seat area. 3.) Add side mirror indicator signals. 4.) Trunk - add an auto open feature on the key FOB - one that completely opens the trunk vs. simply popping the lock. 5.) Add a "mute" button to the steering wheel for the audio system. 6.) Add some additional wood grain options to select from - the "Dark Gray Bird's-Eye Maple Accent" available on the LS would be a nice option. 7.) Redesign the steering wheel (bottom half of steering wheel should be designed like an upside down "Y") - I hope that makes sense. I also really like my ES 350 and can not wait to take it on a long cruise to truly enjoy the luxury ride! I think we are on the way to designing the PERFECT automobile. Some great ideas on this and the previous posts. Seems too, that a lot of these ideas would not add much cost to the production of the car. Leaving out the cassette deck and the cigar tray would save a few dollars to invest in some of the suggested areas.... lighting, spring loaded trunk lids and coat hooks!

I am truly enjoying my first Lexus so I hope the thread of this topic stays constructive. I don’t want to come across sounding negative. There are a few small things that I miss versus my previous car as well as a few changes that I wish Lexus would consider. These are just small issues in the scheme of things: Seat heating/cooling controls are hard to see without leaning forward. The maximum retained power interval could be longer. (windows won’t open by the time you get a fill up and are ready to pay) The Levinson system sounds amazing. Wish the display would scroll the mp3 track text so that all of the file name could be seen. It would be nice if the volume would “slide” or “fade” up to the current loudness setting when the system is powered on (not sure if I’m explaining that well) The volume button on the steering wheel is too slow at changing loudness when pressed (I said these were tiny issues, but I’m aware of this every time) Ash tray and cassette deck? Seems wrong in a 2008 vehicle. Oh, and finally there are the missing hooks… but that is being dealt with already in another thread (-: With all of that said, I really do like my ES 350. The list of things I like about it would be twenty times longer than the list above. I was just curious to know if anyone else felt the same way about any of these items?

Had my '08 ES 350 almost 5 months now. Ultra Premium with Nav. (Canadian combination). My previous car was a well equipped Accord. No car is perfect, but you can look forward to a nice quiet and comfortable ride with the ES 350. I especially enjoy the highway ride. I drive about 45,000 kilometers a year so this was important. A couple of weeks after ordering the car, I received a call to say that Lexus Canada was including regular maintenance for the first 80,00 KMs. This, because of the difference in US / Canadian dollar and sticker price. Heavy rubber winter floor mats were included with the purchase. I think that this is standard. As expected, the stock all season tires were not good in snow, but I didn't expect winter tires to be so expensive. I suggest you price this out in advance. Even if you only change the rubber, it is fairly expensive due to the tire pressure monitor and the need to recalibrate with every tire change. If you buy winter tires and rims from Lexus, expect to pay $2500 plus tax. I have experienced a rust perforation issue on the rear exterior of the trunk lid. Appeared as a pin hole sized spot that was clearly through to metal. Not caused by any sort of impact, but rather was a paint flaw. Haven't seen any other posts about rust so I assume it is a rare situation and it really shouldn't influence your decision. My dealer is working on the car now (under warranty). In the end I suppose choosing a car you will really like is a personal thing. Good luck with your Lexus.

The 2008 ES 350 has three pair of LED lights overhead in the rear. A pair in the center and a pair on each side where the coat hooks used to be. Unfortunately in the '08. you have to hang garments on the rear cabin hand grips because the hooks were replaced with lighting.