Lexus ES 350 test drive since 2009 sedan
On two fronts
We check Lexus ES for readiness for Europe.
Reduced Camry? In the mass consciousness yes. But, having created the sixth generation of ES cars, Lexus decided to distance himself as much as possible from a donor car. To find out how much the Japanese succeeded, the motor went to Portland.
Lexus ES has always been a very American product. The approach to the United States to exclusive often works as follows: a large, mass sedan is taken, new badges are glued, a leather interior, an automatic gearbox are added and ready. But something clicked in a huge mechanism called Toyota and they decided to change their strategy. Now Lexus ES is designed for more demanding customers.
Lexus changes the course, if not on a European buyer as such, then at least his addictions. What distinguishes this course? The car is built on the modernized platform of the new Camry sedan, but the coincidence of the details of the minimum. The cabin used real skin, high -class plastic and bamboo. There will be a hybrid with the ability to move only in an electric protrusion.
A swift silhouette adds to the new Lexus ES and solidity and elegance at the same time.
Making this car in American Portland turned out to be a great idea. This city can be called the most European in the USA. Here they go on bicycles, in the center are there charges for electric vehicles and is full of brewer, than not Munich?
If you look at the car from the outside, then there will not be possible to trace obvious trends only evolution. On the radiator grille, the last design stake of the Japanese flashes chromewall in the form of a spindle (Camry has only the upper part of this element). At the back, the car began to resemble the representative LS thanks to the large rear lights, far on the wings, and a slightly flattened lid of the trunk. And the profile has an almost four -door compartment.
Despite the sloping profile, ES is a sedan with a trunk traditional for this type of body.
Compared to the previous ES, the new one increased in length by only 25 millimeters, but the wheelbase added as many as 45. Add to this a new design of the seats and it turns out that the renewal for passengers added 104 millimeters in the knees and another 71 in the feet. And this increase will benefit ES not only in the USA, because one of the main markets for this model is China, where there is nothing to do without a long -drawn version.
Attention to details is another new pro -European trend. If you look closely, special aerodynamic protrusions can be found on the back. They not only improve the aerodynamics of the car, but also reduce noise at high speeds. The fight against the noise was elevated to Lexus to a special rank. The Japanese tried to isolate everything: a motor shield, the hood, in addition, additional soundproofing mats are pasted in most problematic places, which were found only using computer modeling. The lateral glass in the cabin is three -layer, but only in front. The rear passenger for some reason remained ordinary, although in thickness they are exactly the same.
ES interior makes a very pleasant impression. It is quiet, comfortable and comfortable. The steering wheel is divided into bamboo inserts section. At the edges, it warms up just in the grip zone. The central console is covered with leather with a seam that was brought out. But the main thing in ES is new chairs: 12 settings are enough to be convenient to sit as a person of any height. There is even a roller that moves under the knees.
Under the right hand of the driver a stylized mouse with a joystick. This Remote Touch manipulator controls the settings of the on -board computer, radio and navigation. It is a pity, however, that the menu of this system is not quite logical. Sport, Normal and ECO are a little to the left. Basically, they are responsible for the gluttony of the engine.
In a sporting mode, the steering wheel becomes a more sharp one, and red backlight is lit on the dashboard. But you can’t call a comfortable ride in economical mode: ES is suffocating and very reluctantly accelerated. Such savings are good only for coercion, if, for example, you need to reach your favorite refueling on the remnants of gasoline.
In the hybrid version, the economical regime has another feature. From time to time, a green light lights up on the dashboard. This means that the car is ready to move on electric traction. To return to the usual mode, it is enough to find a round selector and put it on it conveniently that you do not need to spend the attention of the driver on this. But for two more additional buttons you will have to be distracted. The first disconnects ESP, and the second is responsible for driving only on the EV Mode electric protrusion on hybrid modification.
In an electric car mode, ES can go no faster than 40 kilometers per hour and no further than two kilometers. However, this is possible only in a vacuum. In practice, it was not possible to stretch out a kilometer on a completely refuel battery.
This is a conventional remote control, not a hybrid car - a hybrid next to the ESP button has one more, button for turning on the electrical mode of the power plant.
In normal mode, on the tidy of the hybrid on the left is an economizer, and a tachometer appears in sport mode.
Lexus ES can also be used for driving with your own driver a wide doorway, curtains on glass (rear with electric drive), and the Chinese and Russians will still be able to count on the remote control in the armrest (in the American version there will be only cup holders). From this captain’s bridge, it will be possible to control the radio, move the passenger’s chair and configure your own climate.
In this photo there is an American version of the salon, without a remote control in an armrest.
To check ES in the case, we went to the Tillamuk National Park, who spread along the road from Portland to the Pacific Ocean. This is a real fairy -tale forest with boulets, thickets and overgrown trees, where the road winds the Vilson river, and in the middle of the route the asphalt ends and the bumpy gravel begins.
It was here that the whole essence of the new ES revealed. The steering is clearly made with the expectation of shooting in American cinema. In the sense that the steering wheel can be slightly moved from side to side, but this will not affect the chosen course. In sports mode, the picture improves slightly, but not so much as to ride on serpentines. On the high -hairs, such a steering wheel even in plus the trajectory can not be corrected, but on Russian roads to go around the pits will not be very convenient. The gravel plot proved this.
Hybrid ES is not bad, but if you want even more dynamics, it is better to take a car with a traditional V6 under the hood.
But the ES suspension is just suitable for Russia. In front and behind MacPherson according to a traditional scheme for Camry. However, there are differences from the donor. The Japanese specially strengthened the body, and the springs on the left side made the reverse stain according to them, this seriously improved the handling and energy intensity of the suspension, at least when you turn left.
ES easily swallows even large bumps, and smoothes small irregularities to almost completely ignoring.
Only a small part of the blows and vibrations reaches the salon in both front and rear passengers.
ES with gasoline motors is well balanced and pleasant to control
There are three engines for the new ES. The most powerful is on the ES 350 model and is characterized by a obstinate disposition. In sports mode, the 277-horsepower engine easily throws the car forward, holds high speeds with pleasure and is very sensitive to pressing the gas pedal.
I liked the hybrid version of ES 300H no less. The 2.5 -liter engine operates in the Atkinson cycle just like in Prius. Instead of the machine, a variator is installed, but this only contributes to the smoothness of the course. The hybrid is slightly heavier than the ES 350 gasoline and this, of course, is felt, although excess weight almost does not affect the maneuvers and braking.
But the most democratic version of ES 250. The engine here is slightly different from the hybrid and gives out 184 horsepower instead of 161. The car loses to its older brothers in responsiveness, but in general it is enough for a measured driving. Only on overtaking you have to accurately calculate the forces, otherwise there is a chance not to have time to return to your strip in time. But if you get used to it a little, the car is able to give pleasure.
Will ES suit a typical European buyer? Most likely not very. For a real European, there are not enough technological delights, such as adaptive LED-far, refined chassis or all-wheel drive. And the most European Lexus is already ready this new Lexus GS.
But ES has good chances for Russians. It is designed just for fans of the American lifestyle to be soft, comfortable and a lot of space. It perfectly fills the segment when IS is no longer prestigious, and GS is still too expensive. This sedan is ideal for corporate parks, where the main calculation is a combination of status, a small fuel consumption and comfort for the passenger behind.
Alternative
Volvo S80. One of the main competitors ES. This car is no longer as simple as the Class cars, but also not as dear as a purebred E class. Several engines are given to choose from, from T5 2.5 to a powerful V6 3.0 with all -wheel drive.
Audi A5 Sportback. There are not as many places for the rear passengers as we would like, but in the rest of the parameters and options, the German is not only inferior, but also surpasses the opponent. The options are the whole problem who can stay within the budget, when the choice is so great?
Cadillac CTS. If you buy an American car, then a real huge rear -raised sedan. Yankees-old here are everywhere: in the pompous appearance and in creaky leather chairs, which are more like sofa. Execution options only two 3.6 with front -wheel drive and full.
Source: Motor magazine [August 2012]
