Dropped my car at the dealer for the big 90,000 mile service. It is basically replacing the timing belt & every fluid in the car. The bonus things to be fixed (they always find something) are the front brakes ($350) and the motor for the tilt/telescoping steering wheel ($500 + labor). Fun, fun, fun.
The dealer gave me a new 2007 Lexus ES350 with only 60 miles on it as a loaner car. I get to keep it until they get the motor for my steering wheel.
First impressions:
- The car is pretty fast. It is much better than the ES300's I've driven in the past. The pickup is very good. It has the same problem I've noticed with all cars with drive-by-wire gas pedals, there is a noticeable delay between when you hit the gas and when it actually starts speeding up. It would be more annoying if my current car didn't do roughly the same thing.
- The electronic key thingy is pretty neat. All you have to do is walk up to the car with the remote in your pocket and pull on the door handle and the car unlocks. To start the car all you have to do is push on the brake pedal and push the "engine start" button. It all works well, but I don't think I'd pay extra for it.
- The standard radio is pretty nice, good bass and good FM reception. I'll listen to some AM tomorrow, that can be a problem in downtown Chicago.
- The seats are ok, the cushion isn't as long as in my LS430, but it isn't bad. I had a hard time getting the seat adjusted right. Whoever had the car before me must have been short, the seat was adjusted way too high.
- The blind spots are bad. The rear pillar is large and the way the rear glass is angled made it hard to see well over my shoulder when I was trying to change lanes.
- In this car you never forget that you have front wheel drive. There is some torque steer and darting when you accelerate with the wheel turned.
One scary thing:
When I was driving on a (fortunately mostly empty) road I decided to floor the gas. Well, the heavy winter floor mat was misaligned and when I put the pedal to the floor it went under the mat and got wedged there. I instantly knew there was a problem and hit the brakes, which helped but the car kept accelerating. I had to reach down and grab the (relatively) heavy mat and move it while not losing control of the car. It was a little scary.
You are wondering why I didn't put it in neutral, aren't you. At the time I didn't think of it and running the car up to the redline probably wouldn't have been a great thing, either.
Conclusion:
It's a nice car, but I'd rather have an IS250 than the ES350. The IS is more sporty and is rear wheel drive. Also, the IS isn't based on the Camry like the ES is. You can get the the IS with a stick as well, which is always better than an automatic.
I would like to speak with you about the issue you had with the floor mat. I'm an investigator with NHTSA, we have an investigation opened on this matter. Day phone = 202-366-0139, or provide your number and I can call you.
Posted by: S. Yon | June 18, 2007 at 03:10 PM