2008 Lexus ES 350 Review

Specifications

According to Toyota the average Lexus ES buyer is in their mid 50s, which makes sense whenever you come upon one on the road and look at who’s behind the wheel. I am 33. Despite that, I’m not the wrong person to be testing this car. On the contrary, since one day I I’ll be in that older age bracket even though I tell myself I’ll be driving stiffly sprung manual transmission sports cars until the day I die.

Lexus didn’t need to worry about making any aspect of the ES sporty, since if you are shopping in the entry level luxury market and want a luxury sedan with a dose of sport or a sports sedan with a dose of luxury, you needn’t even change showrooms. Just walk over to the IS 350 and take it home instead of the ES 350. If you really want hardcore sport, take home an IS F, a car which, when you drive it, makes you forget that Lexus even makes cars like the ES!

Luxury and sport requirements aside, the IS (even in non F trim) is the better looking car when it comes to the entry level of the Lexus lineup, as the ES 350 is a tad too anonymous in the styling department. It’s not an offensive or off-putting design, but it’s not exciting either. Most likely that won’t bother you when spending the morning commute behind the wheel.

Redesigned completely for 2007, the ES 350 was a massive improvement over the ES 330, the model it replaced. As to be expected by the jump in numeric designation from 330 to 350 there is a corresponding jump in what’s under the hood. Here you get an aluminum-block V6 punched out to 3.5 liters generating 272-horsepower, which equals 54 more horses than the ES 330’s 3.3-liter V6. The ES 350 also has a smooth new electronically controlled six-speed automatic transmission. Although the ES is not a driver’s car, there are the usual pretenses to “sport” such as the manumatic mode of the autobox. Shift into sport mode and the transmission downshifts to fourth, which is impressive, and provides quite a bit of forward momentum.

The car’s ride is marvelous, exactly what most want from a luxury car. It effortlessly floats over bumps without feeling under-damped, although the steering is way too muted for my sport-oriented tastes, lacking any feel whatsoever. On the positive my Royal Ruby Metallic test example was pretty quiet with no vibrations emitting from anywhere in the cabin, but then again it wasn’t as quiet as I had expected a Lexus to be. As a matter of fact, I don’t think it’s much quieter than the last Camry I tested.

Another point I might as well make here had to do with my test car’s optional HIDs. They had a sharp cutoff, which is to be expected from most projection headlamps, but on the dark country roads that surround my home a longer throw of light would be appreciated. 

Standard ES 350 features include 17-inch alloy wheels, dual-zone automatic climate control, a six-CD/MP3 stereo with auxiliary jack, ten-way power adjustable driver and passenger seats, power locks with keyless entry, auto-dimming rearview mirror, a leather-wrapped steering wheel with power tilt and telescopic adjustment, pushbutton start, floor mats, water-repellent front door glass, power sunroof, variable intermittent wipers and fog lamps.

I recommend trying to source the extra budget for the Mark Levinson stereo system, which is unfortunately bundled navigation system, because the base system that came with my test car was only okay when it came to sound quality. Also included in the package is voice activation, a backup camera and Bluetooth connectivity. The whole package isn’t cheap though, as it adds over $4,000 to the sticker price. 

My car featured a wood and leather steering wheel and shift knob, rear seat side airbags, an adjustable-length driver’s cushion, passenger seat memory, a powered rear window sunshade, rain-sensing wipers, and swiveling high intensity discharge headlamps. The quality of the wood is fantastic, as are most of the cabin’s materials, with the one out of place item being the digital clock on the dash that looks like it’s from a ‘80s era VCR. The blue LEDs really look out of place when compared to every other light in the car. I suppose this isn’t an LS, and therefore they had to cut costs somewhere.

There are some nice flourishes in the dash, including an odd asymmetrical center stack which, with its bevels and contours, is attractive. All of the car’s controls are easy and intuitive to use, and when seated in back a flat rear floor provides a lot of rear legroom. Rear seat room in general is quite good, but be careful when looking behind as the long flowing C-pillars, Lexus’ “L-Finesse” design cues that mirror those in the GS, while stylish, hinder rear/side visibility quite a bit.

The ES 350, unlike the first model, the ES 250, is no longer a Camry with leather seats, and while I have a few years to go before I’m in the market for a car such as this, I can understand why the ES finds its way into quite a few garages every year. My Uncle actually owns an ES 350. In an all too familiar auto industry story, he gave up a Cadillac that was spending a bit too much time at the dealer.

Pulling in new buyers to the Lexus brand that are looking for a reliable entry-level luxury car is exactly what the ES 350 does best.