2011 Lexus ES350 Time Tested Comfort In A Luxury Sedan
Luxury Cars - Auto, Sedan Comments (0)
The Lexus ES350 is the kind of luxury car a sensible and practical person would buy. It’s not particularly sporty and it has been referred to as an older adult car or to put it more bluntly a car for someone in their 50’s to 60’s in age. However, if you are younger and you are looking for a reliable luxury car with great comfort don’t let the crowds stereotype stop you, even younger drivers don’t all want super sporty styling with tight suspension systems.
There is a big part of the population out there that is into comfort and a ride not filled with the sound of the suspension hitting pot holes and bumps, a nicely insulated plush ride. When many luxury car manufacturers are gearing their designs towards sporty styling and ride it is nice to find a luxury sedan that can really offer comfort. In 2010, even the Buick luxury cars by GM are going for a more sporty ride.
The look and styling of the Lexus ES350 is subdued, not overly aggressive like many sport sedans yet it has an air of elegance. Lexus decided not to endow the front end of the luxury vehicle with a huge grille like other manufacturers. Lexus made a few minor styling changes between the previous generation of ES350 like chrome side mouldings and it comes standard with a split 5-spoke / star alloy wheels.
The base Lexus ES350 priced around $39,000 has lots of standard features when it comes to the interior comfort of the luxury vehicle. Some of the standard features are:
- Power tilt/telescopic steering column
- leather trim seat surfaces
- dual zone climate control system (auto) with smog senor and air-filter
- eight speaker premium sound system
- 10 way adjustable / heated powered driver and front passenger seat
- Bluetooth
- Steering wheel control
Your passenger will be very happy to ride in the back of this luxury car. Lots of room is available for even tall individuals and they can even stretch out their legs in the back of the Lexus ES350. The soft suspension and the ample use of sound proofing material makes the ride in the Lexus ES350 one of the quietest and smoothest in the luxury sedan category.
In terms of engine power, the Lexus ES350 is by means a push-over. Although, it cannot beat a BMW-5 series through curvy roads, the ES350 does have plenty of horsepower. The 3.5 liter V6 engine puts out 272 hp and 254 lb/ft of torque and has a quick response to your gas pedal inputs.
The transmission is a six-speed automatic and can shift quickly and offers fast acceleration, there is also a fuel sipping enviro friendly transmission mode called “ECO”. When this is enabled the transmission drives intelligently to help get fuel efficiency figures of 10.9/7.2/9.3 L/100km this is city/highway/combined, not bad for a V6. However, it really all depends on driving conditions.
Lexus as a luxury car brand is known for its safety and the ES350 lives up to that standard with features such as vehicle stability control (VSC), four-wheel disc brakes with ABS, 10 airbags, traction control and electronic brake force distribution (EBD).
If the standard features of the Lexus ES350 is not enough for you, there is plenty of features that you can add like navigation system, sun-shade, premium leather package and much much more. Just note that adding some of these optional features can easily push the price beyond $45,000.
So, in conclusion, if you want a premium luxury sedan with lots of power and comfortable quiet ride the Lexus ES350 is for you.
Base MSRP – $36,725
Engine
Type 60o V6, aluminum block and heads
Displacement 3.5 liters (211 cubic inches)
Valve-train Four cam, four valves per cylinder, with dual Variable Valve Timing with intelligence (VVT-i)
Compression Ratio 10.8:1
Horsepower at RPM 268 hp @ 6,200
Torque at RPM 248 lb-ft @ 4,700
Emission Rating Certified Ultra-Low Emission Vehicle (ULEV II)
Transmission
Six-speed sequential-shift automatic Electronically Controlled Transmission with intelligence (ECT-i)
Drive Wheels Front-wheel drive
Related posts:
- 2009 Lexus IS F – High Performance, Handling, Safety and Practicality
- 2009 Lexus GS 450h Hybrid – Performance and Emission Friendly
Editor @ September 19, 2011
