The newly redesigned Lexus ES 350 receives some technology updates for 2014 and offers several new interior options, bamboo trim.
The seventh-generation Lexus ES was introduced as a 2013 model with a roomier rear seat with enough room to comfortably seat four six-foot people. The lineup includes the Lexus ES 350 and the Lexus ES 300h hybrid.
The 2014 Lexus ES 350 benefits from LED fog lights and high-intensity discharge headlights. Along with other models in the 2014 Lexus lineup, the 2014 ES 350 features Siri Eyes Free mode, powered by Apple. New Features for 2014 The Lexus ES 350 comes with a variety of bamboo interior trim and heated/ventilated front seats with 12 force settings.
We found the Lexus ES to be quiet, comfortable, and easy to use. On the road, it’s sleek and quiet, a smart car to get to work while listening to music.
The Lexus ES 350’s 3.5-liter V6 is smooth and quiet and generates 268 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque. Combined with the 6-speed automatic, the 3.5-liter V6 yields EPA ratings of 21/31 mpg City/Highway.
The Lexus ES 300h hybrid mixes the good points of an ES with fuel economy in the region of 40 mpg. It shifts seamlessly between battery and engine power.
Lexus ES shoppers have plenty of other cars to shop in this equipment and price range. Audi A6, Hyundai Azera, Acura TL, Lincoln MKS, Buick LaCrosse, and Volvo S60 are the primary competitors. If you don’t need many of the ES’s extensive options, a well-equipped Volkswagen Passat, Honda Accord, Mazda6, Toyota Avalon or Kia Optima Limited may get the job done.
The 2014 Lexus ES is available in two variants, the Lexus ES 350 V6 gasoline and the Lexus ES 300h gasoline-electric hybrid. Both are front-wheel drive.
The Lexus ES 350 is supplied with a 3. 5-liter V6 with 268 horsepower and a 6-speed automatic transmission. Standard features include NuLuxe leatherette upholstery, dual-zone climate control, piano black cabin trim, sunroof, forced front seats, Wise Key/Push Start, window snawing and locks, forced heated mirrors, AM/FM/CD/MP3/iPod. /USB audio, Bluetooth, LED daylight operation lights, LED fog lights, 17-inch alloy wheels. For 2014, Lexus has incorporated Siri Eyes Free mode into the ES 350, powered by Apple. A bamboo interior finish is available.
The Lexus ES 300h Hybrid uses a 2. 5-liter four-cylinder engine with 156 horsepower, electric motors, a 245-volt NiMH battery, and an frequently variable automatic transmission. It’s supplied much like an ES 350, but adds a vehicle proximity notification formula (a ratchet to raise public awareness when running solely on electricity), a rear spoiler, a deeper rear apron, a badge, some more instrumentation, and bamboo interior trim.
Options are grouped into three packages available for either model: the Premium package comes with leather seats, maple wood trim, a driver memory system, and a telescopic/tilt-guided steering wheel; Premium requires an audio or navigation upgrade. The Luxury package is based on the Premium with HID low-beam headlights, leather interior trim, heated/ventilated front seats, power rear sunshade and parking assist. The Ultra Luxe package also adds a panoramic glass roof. Rain-sensing windshield wipers, heated wooden steering wheel, passenger seat memory, driver’s seat cushion extension, ambient lighting, manual sunshades on the rear doors, and an electric trunk lid. Standalone features come with many elements of the packages, as well as with the 17 and 18 models. -inches, Cruise Radar with Pre-Collision System, Blind Spot/Cross Traffic Warning Systems and Automatic Lane Departure Assist/High Beams.
Safety features on all Lexus ES models come with 10 airbags, adding front and rear knee pads, compatible with well-installed child seats, as well as electronic stability, braking and traction controls. Optional protection features come with a Rear Crossover Blind Spot Monitor, Traffic Alert, which assists tripping vehicles in side blind spots and alerts the driver to rear cross-traffic when reversing out of a parking space.
At first glance, the Lexus ES is obviously a Lexus, whether you first see the giant L logo and circular grille or the wraparound taillights. If you don’t notice the longer nose or where the tailgate opening meets the window frame, you may simply mistake it for a Lexus GS.
The most ambitious facet of the design is the pinched grille, and ambitious is a word that has never been implemented in an ES before. Lexus copies this shaft from the pinched grille and we see it in newer Lexus models. The grille transforms into an arched bonnet that we believe has been influenced by the effect of pedestrians on the rules; The emphasis on form is such that, from some angles, it looks like the hood tapers to the base of the windshield.
Framing the grille are cleaner lights that sweep rearward, with fog lights in modest chrome rings rather than the predecessor’s chrome plates. Down and inward pointing arrowhead LED daytime running lights are standard, the optional HID headlights low-beam only where the European competitors would offer low and high beam HID (aka bi-xenon) lights.
Whether it’s 17-inch or 18-inch wheels, the added curvature of sheet steel surrounds the tires and provides a lower, thicker profile, even though the height is proportionally greater than the length. The large mirrors are located quite far from the surface of the windows, fixed on pylons to help dampen wind noise; Numerous small fins on the outside and under the airflow. The side panels lack ornamentation and the only obviously wrinkled character line runs along the door sills and up to the rear wheel. On the ES 300h, there are hybrid badges that we believe detract from the undeniable lines.
The horizontal taillights are squeezed into the interior edges, echoing the grille. They provide intelligent all-round visibility, and the trio of beautifully curved lines emerging around the corner may come from BMW or Hyundai, but they’re better done. The dual exhaust outlets of the ES 350 are installed on the ES 300h, which features a single tube hidden in the deeper bumper panel and an additional rimmed spoiler in the trunk. Although the tweaks reduce the drag coefficient by only a few thousandths of a point, it’s enough of an improvement to move up one mpg to the combined EPA rating.
All ES models are supplied with a traditional sunroof and a shark fin antenna on the rear edge of the roof. The ES 350 optionally offers a full-length panoramic sunroof with glass panel, but unfortunately this arrangement is very compatible with satellite radio antennas, so cars with the giant sunroof and XM radio also have a second, smaller antenna in the boot.
The Lexus ES offers comfort and features, a quiet haven to escape the noise and drudgery that some people find driving. The interior is inviting and functional. The basic NuLuxe upholstery is fine though we expect the majority of ES will go with leather.
Heated power front seats are suitable for most of the population, with additional options for ventilation, positional memory, and moderate thigh extension for the driver’s seat cushion. The armrests on the doors and middle are useful; Taller occupants probably wouldn’t notice the curved surface of the door armrests. ideal.
Rear-seat occupants will find ample room and comfort. The rear seat gets reading lights, assist handles, two center vents and optional window shades but on the down side those taller passengers again found the aft edge of the door armrests uncomfortable and toe space under the seats is compromised. The panoramic roof, with individual manual-slide shades, makes rear-seat headroom the limiting dimension.
A pleasantly shaped, wood-made, perhaps heated three-spoke idler provides an intelligent view of the gauges: electroluminescent speed, revs (or 300 h of electric power/load), fuel and engine temperature that are immediately familiar to any Lexus driver. The switches for the automatic overhead light or blind spot are on the left, with plenty of empty spaces even on a fully loaded model, while the bonnet, trunk and fuel cap opening are at the bottom, under a small retractable tray.
In the middle of the dashboard, a dark silver panel placed on the sides, like the grille, controls the main audio service, with the climate control underneath. This appears shifted to the right of the car’s centreline and armrest, with the discreet analogue clock above being more off-centre and the navigation screen slightly to the left. It still didn’t work, the lack of linearity was evident.
The heated seat and wheel switches line up on the front edge of the console, with the drive mode selector on the left and a cup holder on the right. A portal shifter on the left side has a cup holder, where a giant container could fit in. path to your arm, and the center controller is to the right of the gear lever, where the passenger’s arm can simply rest. Wood or piano black paneling surrounds this area, either bright enough to reflect some reflections.
It’s already a staple of Apple’s iPhone.
The Lexus ES 350 uses a 3. 5-liter V6 engine that we want to be sleek and quiet. The V6 makes 268 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque with EPA fuel economy ratings of 21/31 mpg city/highway.
The Hyundai Azera’s 3. 3-liter V6 produces 293 hp and 20/29 mpg; The Audi A6’s front-wheel-drive 2-liter four-cylinder engine makes 211 bhp and 25/33 mpg even more than the ES; The Acura TL makes 280 horsepower and 20/29 mpg; Volvo’s S60 makes 250 hp and 20/30 mpg with more torque. All offer greater functionality than the ES, but none are as sleek or quiet.
With EPA numbers of 40/39 mpg City/Highway for the 2014 Lexus ES 300h hybrid, the only similar cars remotely close are the Buick LaCrosse eAssist, a mild hybrid rated at 25/36 mpg, a fully optioned Volkswagen Passat TDI (30/40 mpg), or a loaded Toyota Camry hybrid (43/39 mpg).
The Lexus ES 300h switches almost seamlessly between petrol and electric power. You can tell this is rarely Toyota’s first hybrid. The Lexus ES 300h will operate in electric-only mode at gentle speeds of up to 40 km/h, a distance that depends on battery charge and is pleasant in heavy traffic. And while the 0-60mph speed is said to be a little slower than that of the ES 350 petrol engine, the need for simplicity is rarely felt. Accelerating at full throttle, you can hear the ES 300h’s engine a little more than the ES 350’s with its V6, but from the back seat it was slightly audible compared to the road noise.
The brake pedal is more sensitive on the ES 300h than on the ES 350 because it activates regeneration (to qualify the battery). Manual downshifting for descents also qualifies the battery, to a much lesser extent.
An ES 350 console transfer rotates for Eco and Sport modes. In Eco mode, mileage reaction is turned off and the car restarts in Eco. In Sport mode, the pedal reaction and transmission habit are adjusted for faster reflexes and reset to Normal on. Sport mode ups the ante if you’re in a hurry, which will reduce fuel economy.
On the road, the Lexus ES is quiet and comfortable. Most of the effects are limited or eliminated, without any sensation of wallowing or floating. When driving hard, the grip was higher than expected and everything was stable, but bumps in the tight corners recommend that the maximum suspension was already being used.
On the wider 18-inch tires, the ride is firmer and we do not recommend them for areas with marginal infrastructure (which leaves very few areas of the country). The 17- and 18-inch tires we sampled were the same except for size and speed rating (the 18s were rated V, while the 17s were rated H) and the cabin is well isolated, so our ears couldn’t detect any noise penalty with the 18s. So it’s a ride-quality and looks decision.
The electric rack-and-pinion system responds faster than before, requiring less wheel rotation to change direction.
We can’t say the Lexus ES is the quietest car in its class but it’s certainly among the leaders. If you prefer racking up miles in audiophile bliss or merely talking to your navigation or phone, the cabin environment is subdued.
The Lexus ES will take you and three adult friends comfortably, calmly, and reliably to your destination, with minimal distractions from the outside world. It’s spacious, safe, easy to drive, and well-finished with attractive materials. It’s a must. We have a choice of sedans close to luxury.
G. R. , correspondent for NewCarTestDrive. com. Whale presented this from Southern California.
Lexus ES 350 ($36,620); ES 300h ($39,500).
Kyushu, Japan.
Ultra luxury package (leather interior, wood trim, driver and passenger seat memory, power tilt/telescope steering wheel, heated/ventilated front seats, HID headlamps, park assist, power rear sunshade, manual rear door sunshades, ambient lighting, power trunk lid, rain-sensing wipers, heated wood steering wheel, panoramic sunroof), Mark Levinson/navigation, 18-inch wheels.