Vehicle: 2007 Lexus ES350 with Premium Package
Price as tested: CDN$46500

Performance: As the designation indicated, the new ES is powered by a 3.5L DOHC 24-valve V6 with VVTi, essentially the same engine as the RX350. With 272 horses and 254 lb/ft of torque, power has never been an issue with this powerplant. It is also one of the smoothest and quietest V6s in the world. Lexus claims the new ES350 is every bit as refined and quiet as the original LS400 debuted back in 1989. From my “hearing” experience, this is a fact rather than fiction as Lexus engineers had put lots of efforts of sound insulation. Everything from the extra sound deadening in the door panels to thick firewall in the engine compartment. The result is amazing as both wind and road noises are nearly unnoticeable except for cruising at high speed. The 6-speed manumatic works well with this new engine, for the most part. That’s primarily because of the harshness of the shifts. In the past, Toyota auto transmissions have known for their silky smoothness between shifts, even in the basic Tercel with 3-speed. This harshness and roughness aren’t as obvious in manumatic mode as it fully automatic mode. We have experienced the same problem with RX350′s 5-speed manumatic in the previous review. Hopefully Lexus will addressed this problem ASAP as its their trademark by providing smooth automobiles to the consumers. The transmission roughness is unacceptable for a vehicle costing above 40 grand.

Handling: Just like all the reviews of ES in the past. If you are looking for a sporty driving Lexus., you should look elsewhere. ES350 is all about quiet and smooth riding quality instead of hard-edged handling. The ride quality is amazing as it rides over all the bumps and roughness on the road surfaces like a flying carpet. Lexus engineers have tuned the rebound damping with more suppleness than many of its American competitions. However, ES350′s riding characteristics still lacks the suppleness that defined the European counterparts. The steering feels numb and vague, not a single bit of on and off-center feedback. That’s except the steering is fairly precise. Even with the Vehicle Stability Control off, it remains a very instrusive one as the engineers don’t expect you to push it hard into a corner. There are lots of body rolls and understeer as you enter the envalope aggressively. The bottom line: drive an ES350 like what a luxury car should drive and you won’t be disappointed.

Brakes: With standard 4-wheel discs and standard ABS, ES350′s pedal feel is decent and linear. The ABS doesn’t kick in unnecessarily. However, the nose dived heavily even with electronic braking force distribution.

Interior: Inside the ES350, its very logically laid out. The leather seats are covered by soft and supple materials. There are plenty of soft-touch plastic materials on the dashboard and center console. Everything from the excellent Mark Levinson stereo to automatic climate control are easy to figure out. They worked so logically, that no one needs an owner’s manual to figure out all the functions.

The optional Panoramic sunroof provides a very airy feel of the interior. Its the first car in this class to have this option. The only car in its price range that has Panoramic sunroof is the Audi A3 Sportback, however, its in a radically different market segment and demographics than the ES350. One has to go up to Mercedes E350 in order to opt for this Skyview feature.

The back seat, once again, is comfortable with plenty of head and legrooms.

Conclusion: With the introduction of the ES350, Lexus has proved to the market there is still survival space for luxury/comfort-oriented luxury sedan. For those who are looking for a sporty drive, there is always an IS in Lexus showroom.

OVERALL VERDICT FOR 2007 LEXUS ES350
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Performance: 3.5/5
Handling and ride/fun-to-drive: 2/5
Interior/ergonomics/user-friendliness: 4/5
Fit-and-finish/build quality: 4/5
Cargo/accessibility/layout: 3/5
Value-for-money: 4/5

Overall rating: 3.5/5