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Review: If you're ready for it, Lexus ES350 may be perfect
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| The 2009 Lexus ES350 is shown in this courtesy photo. (Photo courtesy Lexus) |
By AARON COLE
The Aurora Sentinel
I’ve always wanted to drive a car that was so close to perfection that you could see it in your rear view mirror.
Now I wish I hadn’t.
I feel like I’m cheating on lesser cars that I’ve driven because I now know what a better car feels like, and despite the others’ flaws, I feel like the 2009 Lexus ES350 sedan may be the perfect car I’m just not ready for.
Sure, I can get more attractive cars from a European entry-level luxury, but where is the rock-solid dependability that Lexus (and its parent company, Toyota) can offer me? I can try to get more power for my money from a domestic sedan, but am I willing to lose a little in the comfort category for more muscle?
The list goes on and on for everything that I could get for the money I would shill for a Lexus, but the only question left to answer is “Why would I want anything else?”
It’s as complicated as “Carmen,” but the short of it is: My head is with the Lexus ES350, my heart is not — and I can’t believe I’m saying this.
I’m not old enough for something as serious as this.
I haven’t had a fiery Italian strand me in the middle of the road yet. I haven’t had a saucy French car leave me wanting more. I haven’t had an oversized American boulder through my heart, and I haven’t had a testy German bleed me for every dollar I’ve got.
That’s the funny thing about the Lexus ES350, it’s too good to me — and it doesn’t help that the short list of things that I love in cars are all covered in the ES350.
Safety? Five-star.
Comfort? Leather with wood trim, power seats, satellite navigation, seat warmers and complete climate control.
Dependability? Toyotas can run until the Earth is devoured by the sun.
Performance? A 3.5-liter, 275-horsepower V6 capable of running 0-60 in 6.2 seconds married to a six-speed automatic transmission that’s sporty and smooth.
Fuel economy? 19 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.
Design? Beautiful.
Handling? So superb and gentle I could soothe my 3-year-old nephew and 9-month-old niece to sleep on a cobblestone-paved slalom course in a blinding snowstorm.
So what’s the problem? I love it — I’m just not in love with it.
Maybe it’s the $34,320 starting price for a base ES350, going up to $41,470 for the Pebble Beach edition, when a loaded-to-the-grilles Camry costs the same as the base model. Maybe it’s the hair’s width of more legroom in the back seats that I wish the ES350 had. It might be the subdued, intimidating style that the ES350’s smaller sibling, the IS250, that makes me look somewhere else for perfection.
Or maybe it’s because I want this car to come in a hybrid like the other, steadfast Toyotas and Lexuses that it shares its assembly line with.
I can’t help but feel like I’m turning down a marriage proposal from a Victoria’s Secret model because she has dry skin.
I would recommend a Lexus ES350 to everyone I know in the market for an entry-level luxury sedan, but I don’t know that it’ll ever occupy a place in my heart — let alone a place in my garage — until I can learn to accept what may be the closest car to perfection I’ve ever been with.
So, I’m sorry Lexus ES350 — it’s not you, it’s me.
Aaron Cole is the managing editor of The Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or at acole@aurorasentinel.com.
Now I wish I hadn’t.
I feel like I’m cheating on lesser cars that I’ve driven because I now know what a better car feels like, and despite the others’ flaws, I feel like the 2009 Lexus ES350 sedan may be the perfect car I’m just not ready for.
Sure, I can get more attractive cars from a European entry-level luxury, but where is the rock-solid dependability that Lexus (and its parent company, Toyota) can offer me? I can try to get more power for my money from a domestic sedan, but am I willing to lose a little in the comfort category for more muscle?
The list goes on and on for everything that I could get for the money I would shill for a Lexus, but the only question left to answer is “Why would I want anything else?”
It’s as complicated as “Carmen,” but the short of it is: My head is with the Lexus ES350, my heart is not — and I can’t believe I’m saying this.
I’m not old enough for something as serious as this.
I haven’t had a fiery Italian strand me in the middle of the road yet. I haven’t had a saucy French car leave me wanting more. I haven’t had an oversized American boulder through my heart, and I haven’t had a testy German bleed me for every dollar I’ve got.
That’s the funny thing about the Lexus ES350, it’s too good to me — and it doesn’t help that the short list of things that I love in cars are all covered in the ES350.
Safety? Five-star.
Comfort? Leather with wood trim, power seats, satellite navigation, seat warmers and complete climate control.
Dependability? Toyotas can run until the Earth is devoured by the sun.
Performance? A 3.5-liter, 275-horsepower V6 capable of running 0-60 in 6.2 seconds married to a six-speed automatic transmission that’s sporty and smooth.
Fuel economy? 19 mpg in the city and 27 mpg on the highway.
Design? Beautiful.
Handling? So superb and gentle I could soothe my 3-year-old nephew and 9-month-old niece to sleep on a cobblestone-paved slalom course in a blinding snowstorm.
So what’s the problem? I love it — I’m just not in love with it.
Maybe it’s the $34,320 starting price for a base ES350, going up to $41,470 for the Pebble Beach edition, when a loaded-to-the-grilles Camry costs the same as the base model. Maybe it’s the hair’s width of more legroom in the back seats that I wish the ES350 had. It might be the subdued, intimidating style that the ES350’s smaller sibling, the IS250, that makes me look somewhere else for perfection.
Or maybe it’s because I want this car to come in a hybrid like the other, steadfast Toyotas and Lexuses that it shares its assembly line with.
I can’t help but feel like I’m turning down a marriage proposal from a Victoria’s Secret model because she has dry skin.
I would recommend a Lexus ES350 to everyone I know in the market for an entry-level luxury sedan, but I don’t know that it’ll ever occupy a place in my heart — let alone a place in my garage — until I can learn to accept what may be the closest car to perfection I’ve ever been with.
So, I’m sorry Lexus ES350 — it’s not you, it’s me.
Aaron Cole is the managing editor of The Aurora Sentinel. Reach him at 303-750-7555 or at acole@aurorasentinel.com.
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