Used 2014 Lexus ES 350 Consumer Reviews
Not a car, badly integrated collection of features
My wife moved from Infiniti G20 to Lexus ES 350. The new car is definitely an upgrade in most dimensions, and adds a lot of features. But G20 felt like a well designed car that does everything exactly as you want it to do, the ES 350 feels like a poorly integrated list of features - kind of the way (bad) software was done and advertised in nineties. We have feature A and checkbox B and support C - except trying to use A, B or C drives you mad. * E.g.: when the rest of the car moved from daylight saving time, the navigation is still on summer time. So it would show correct current time, but the estimated time of arrival is 1 hour off. * The navigation is horrible and voice command is exercise of despair. It is not even able to find its own nearest dealership. * The radio has satellite and everything, but feels intentionally designed to make listening to plain old FM stations as inconvenient as possible, forcing you to buy sattelite subscription. * The driver seat has memory, but if I get into car when the seat is still in my wife's settings and start car, ES 350 does the following: moves seat forward and makes the back more vertical, simultaneously trying to hit my head to the roof and press my chest against steering wheel. Only after doing this, it moves back-and-down simultaneously - away from the roof and steering wheel. But why did it have to almost kill me first? * The car constantly beeps whenever it finds something it does not like. Like leaving sunroof slightly raised (not open) on a sunny day. Or opening doors in wrong order. Or anything. If you have a sleeping baby in the car - it is impossible to leave the car without waking up the baby. * There is radar cruise control that keeps the distance to the car in front. Works perfect on the long stretch of straight highway. But when you are in the mountains and the road turns - (1) everybody slows down, (2) the radar loses the car in front due to road curve, and thinks it has clear road ahead, (3) car starts accelerating! Right when you are doing the sharp turn! Could they use the signal from the steering wheel to understand it is not a great time to accelerate? They could, but they probably just slapped a feature (radar) designed by third party, and did not integrate it with the other stuff. * This radar is also supposed to stop the car in case of potential frontal collision, but the government data shows it is not efficient at all there. Seems like a problem with many cars, but some (e.g. Honda) do much better. There is also active recall for radar causing breaking in some very rare scenario. * Finally, radar does not work in heavy rain - not due to rain of course, but due to wipers. Quickly swiping wipers block radar! There are tons of features in this car, but when you actually start using them, you find out they are garbage, done without real thought about the usability and comfort. On the other hand, the car drives OK. It is a reasonable compromise between comfort and drivability, great traction control. I think if they spent just a bit money on usability engineering and making sure their features actually work well, rather than spend all the money on stuffing as many features as possible - it could be a great car.
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Rumble and grumble, never fixed and @Lexus never
I bought my ES Feb 24 on the 26th it developed a shake/rumbling when in Drive or Reverse. The noise and shake are absolutely not what Lexus should be. The dealer tried and said nothing found on the first visit. The second try they had the Lexus rep/engineer from Atlanta look and he replaced one of the engine mounts. It was improved but still not right. Now at 4k miles the vibration and sound is getting worse. The service Mgr rode with me and called The Lexus rep in Atl who said it was normal. BEWARE test drive any ES and watch for the shake and noise. Do not buy the Lexus. I hate my Lexus and will be out of it as soon as I'm not upside down. Update- @Lexus never provided help or a solution. I traded the Lexus and am much happier.
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Well-Rounded Comfort, Performance & Value
Traded my 2014 Camry SE for the 2014 ES 350 Base & couldn't be happier. Overall excellent purchase including price (value for $ spent) & dealer experience. Have been eyeing this model for some time & was very familiar with the platform via my Camry, which I also was very happy with (SE model only; didn't like other trim levels.) The seat comfort & adjustability is excellent while lumbar support is better than the Camry's. At 6 ft, 1 in, have no problems with ingress & egress. I have the base model car with dark grey / light grey colors. I love it. The NuLuxe (read: vinyl) material is perfect for me as I go to gym daily & play tennis 3-4 days per week & meticulously care for my vehicles; one less maintenance item to contend with servicing the leather several times each year as I do for my wife's Murano. Have HID headlights but no Nav or B/U camera. No worries for me as I have never had those in any car. Use my TomTom & iPhone for Nav. Paid $21k for 1-owner, no accident vehicle from Mercedes dealer in Pampano Beach, FL with 10k miles of warranty remaining. Like the push-button diagnostics that includes air pressure volume per tire to help maintain proper wear & safety. Can hardly purchase any super-nice vehicle at that price that even nears the luxury, comfort, reliability & performance of this car. As stated above, excellent experience with vehicle & dealer. Have only pressed the gas pedal hard twice & WOW this thing really accelerates but is smooth & quiet at the same time. Purchased a Lexus SUV for my daughter last year & that is how I caught the Lexus bug. At 52, cannot imagine owning anything else.
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Lexus equals excellence
I owned Cadillacs for most of the last forty years. Six months ago we leased a 2014 Lexus ES 350 and find it every bit as luxurious as the Cadillac and exceedingly superior in other areas such as fuel economy, useable trunk space, interior legroom in back seat, and overall value. The dealer, Lexus of the Palm Beaches , added to the enjoyment by not wasting my time and offering a fair deal in the first place with no hidden costs. This continued when I purchased an extended warrantee for a different make of car from the finance dept. of Lexus and once again received a great value with no wasted time. I traded that Lexus in on a 2017 and Lexus of the Palm Beaches went out of their way to treat me right. We are equally happy with our new car!!!
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Everything but the "New Car Smell"
This car gives the best ride I've ever experienced. (That says a lot since I've been driving for over 50 years.) Yes, I'm an "old guy", but that doesn't mean I'm looking for a car with the performance of a hearse. This is a very stylish, elegant vehicle that has the 'grip and go' that a fella needs to move through freeway traffic with ease. All of that while providing the quietest ride possible. My wife says that riding in this car is like riding around in musical sound room. Although it is two years old it is free of any squeaks or rattles that usually come with age.
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On my fifth ES
Bought my first ES way back in 1994. Loved the car then and still love the car. In fact, I have been buying and driving Lexus for more then 20 years and I have bought each one from the same dealership and salesperson! This 2014 ES has tons more features than my first one in 1994, yet really has not increased that much in price, compared to other inflated items. You get a lot more car for a little more money. You just cannot beat Lexus when it comes to quality of workmanship and support. Japanese reliability is second-to-none. The dealer network is unbeatable. I only have a couple of "complaints", the seats are just not comfortable for extended periods. Also, bring back radio buttons! The menu system may be "cool" but is clumsy and unnecessary. Now that we have owned and driven the 2014 for 18 months, my opinion of the ES has not changed too much. We did suffer a rear-end collision and I have learned that the Starfire Pearl (077) white paint is nearly impossible to match. Our rear bumper had to be replaced and we had to have it re-painted three times to get close to the factory paint. My only complaint with the car continues to be the frustration with the radio control. It is way too complicated. But, the car has an incredible ride and is buttery smooth and quiet. My best friend has a 2016 Camry and the difference between the two cars is substantial. The Lexus is a MUCH more refined vehicle.
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Falls short
This would be my second ES350. I liked the '07' version better but this one does have many things I like. This one is pretty much loaded. The blind spot / cross traffic alert is great but a lot of vehicles have that now. I like streaming the music from my smartphone. Acceleration is very good but sometimes sluggish from the start. The window design is ridiculous. They slope into the car a fair amount so when it rains, water will drip on your arm, leg and seat when you open the door. There is no 'wow' factor in this car. There is just way to much wind and road noise. Most all road imperfections are felt. I will not buy another one.
Too firm, too hard, UGH!
When I took this model for a test drive, all of the roads around the dealership were smooth asphalt and of course, the car road fine - big mistake. I negotiated a great deal on a close out, brand new 2014. I quickly became very disappointed with the comfort and ride of this car. You would think a Lexus would be the pinnacle of comfort but not this car. They did a model change in 2013 and made the car "sporty". Now you feel every bump & crack and hear a lot of tire noise on the highway. I feel fatigued after driving it. If you want a taught, sporty car where you "feel" the road then this might be the car for you. I switched to 2015 Impala 1LZ and am in heaven! What comfort!
Not like previous ES cars
The current ES350 is not you fathers car. Too bad it is not. I have owed five of these cars and this one does not meet previous expectations. It drives like an Rav4. The road performance could be better. The ride is not as soft and cushiony as previous cars. You will feel every bump on back roads and roads that are not perfectly paved. For that reason, I am disappointed. Overall it is quiet and has plenty of power, although there is a slight delay. Remember this is not the inline six as before. My guess is, the IS engineers got ahold of this car instead of the LS engineers and did it their way. Finally gave up on the cars ride. I tried the 2017 but it drove the same. I then drove a Buick lacrosse. The Buick drives just like the old ES350 did. I bought it and don't think I will go back to Lexus.
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Disappointed
After owning my ES 350 with Ultra Luxury package for 3 months, I am truly disappointed. Several rattles have developed in the doors, dashboard, and sunroof. When washing the car, water accumulates inside of the rear taillights. Overall, I'm dissatisfied in the build quality of the new ES.