Lexus ES 350 test drive since 2009 sedan
Lexus ES350 test drive: Closer to the "Stars"
Club of luxury automobile brands is quite a closed organization. Beginners are reluctant to take it. Indeed, in order to be considered his member, it is not enough to make a powerful, comfortable and expensive car. We need a breed, attention even to the most insignificant details and traditions, preferably supported by a hundred -year history ...
Lexus company many of the above is not enough. Too many buyers believe that machines with a stylized letter L on the radiator grill are just the top sets of the mass models of Toyota. They know about this in the company itself. However, the Japanese stubbornly continue to bend their line, with each new generation, more and more separating two of their brands from each other.
So under the mask of the new ES, the popular Camry is no longer recognized. However, the Lexovites have not yet decided in the search for their face. In this generation of the passenger line, the rate is made on a double trapezoid, which adorned the front part of the GS model, the new ES, and then the restyled LS. But the fact that Lexus can easily be recognized by eyes is an indisputable fact. The headlights do not shine with the sophistication of the forms, but their unchanged rhomboard with a box of LEDs has already become a branded attribute of the brand.
If most competitors in this class try to emphasize representativeness in the guise, then the Japanese, on the contrary, insist on sports. Lexus ES is deliberately squat and flow. The harmony of the dynamic image was in no way affected by an increase by 45 mm and an already rather big wheelbase. Even the flat sidewalls of the body visually do not thicken the verified figure of the E-ESA. The car is attractive, no matter what angle.
But in the interior there is not even a hint of sports. On the contrary, the whole philosophy of the interior of Lexus ES suggests that the main one who is behind in the car. A wide doorway, a comfortable sofa, curtains on the windows and an abundance of free legs, and most importantly, remote control in an armrest, head of a microclimate, heated seats and a radio.
You can even remotely move the front right chair. In general, everything is at your service, boss. I have the only complaint to a low-haired ceiling that hangs low due to a double hatch. You can’t rest your head against it, but in order to be able to straighten your back, the stock of space above the crown needs more.
In the architecture of the front of the cabin, some randomness is felt, both in design and in the decoration. On the front panel, the pile of smooth and curved lines is adjacent to an abundance of square and rectangular surfaces, which, in turn, are trimmed with light gray, black or lacquered plastic mixes with inserts from a natural veneer.
By the way, the quality of finishing materials is very different from the upper to the lower part of the interior. The general picture is smoothed out by only a gloomy black leather interior, against which all this eclecticism is slightly dissolved.
Mirror control units, windows and some other additional functions Hello from Toyota. But the old -fashioned type of wheels that control heating and ventilation of the front seats either savings or a design move.
But the driver is not all about this ambiguity, by and large. The main thing is that he, like the chef on the back sofa, is convenient in a wide armchair with many electrical regulations, in front of his eyes are visual information about the performance of all on -board systems, and his hands do not run in search of the desired key on the front console.
The information display has a simple, but pleasant graphics and an understandable interface. The only complaint to the overly light and sensitive mouse -jaostics - wandering along the on -board menu, constantly miss the necessary icons.
But the most pleasant Lexus ES350 is not even the convenience of the interior, but the fact that all the surrounding participants in the movement suddenly begin to treat you with reverence. Lexus is not blinking from behind with high light, and even more so they do not signal, they do not try to trim or without warning to wedge in front of the nose, and if you turn on the turn signal for rebuilding, they shakely free up space in the strip. Respect? Hardly. Rather, they are just afraid to contact. You never know what kind of bump with guards-mandilers sits in an expensive car, and if all drivers, regardless of the status and cost of the car, were also treated with each other, it would be much more comfortable and safer to move along our roads.
But I enjoy the comfort of driving. The elastic and assembled suspension Lexus ES perfectly extinguishes the majority of the flaws of the road surface, voicing only the largest potholes with deaf strikes, and does not allow the body deviations either in the longitudinal or in the transverse direction. The steering is accurate, however, it clearly feels an artificial component of an electrified amplifier. But this strains only at prohibited speeds when driving along the rain polling ring road. Another drawback of noise insulation for its class is manifested on the room. It is clear that it is not so easy to get rid of his studded and not the quietest winter tires, but still, you are waiting for grave silence in the salon from Lexus.
But this feature made it possible to enjoy the sound of the work of a magnificent V-shaped six. The capabilities of the 277-horsepower engine are fully revealed in the second half of the tachometer after 3500 revolutions Lexus behave as it is appropriate to the premium segment: it is powerfully accelerated from any speed, allowing the driver to accurately feel the number of torque entering the drive wheels. No, after all, the school of atmospheric motor construction is more to my liking than new-fangled turbo engineers with them, usually smeared in the entire range of revolutions with traction.
The puck in front of the lever controls the character of the car, but does not radically change it. In ECO mode, Lexus does not suffer from a lack of appetite, and in sports does not turn into a nervous spring. By the way, the average fuel consumption per day of the test ranged around the mark of 16.5 liters per 100 km, which for a powerful and heavy car seems to be a completely moderate indicator.
Well, Lexus ES in his last generation took another and very noticeable step towards the premium class. In sled characteristics, he is not much inferior to his colleagues from a large German three, but he cannot yet impose serious competition for them. The point is small: to finally form your appearance without regular experiments with the design of the exterior and interior, and stop saving where you can save. Let Toyota engage in a rational approach to creating cars
Lexus ES price in the Russian market
The Japanese sedan can be purchased in Russia with three power plants, for each of which several fixed performances are offered.
The weakest version is a 2.5-liter four with a capacity of 184 horsepower, with which the Lexus ES250 accelerates to 100 km/h for quite worthy 9.8 seconds. Equipping even the most basic version of Comfort can boast of ten airbags, a non-clock access system, an electric drive of artificial leather seats, a hatch, not to mention climate and cruise control, as well as many other pleasant options.
The second performance - Executive - will complement the car only with xenon headlights with washer. But the Premium equipment will delight the owner of a standard multimedia system with navigation and rear view camera, a three-zone climate control with a control panel in the rear armrest, the front and heating of the rear seats, the upholstery of the salon with genuine skin and inserts from natural maple veneer. The Luxury is completed by the completion line, which flaunts the panoramic roof, acoustics of Mark Levinson with 15 speakers, heated steering and the function of automatic shift of high and near light. The price of the Lexus ES250 from 1,597,000 rubles.
The next in power is the hybrid version of the ES300H. Despite the number in the designation, a 2.5-liter engine operating on the Atkinson cycle and issuing 161 horsepower is also under the hood. But together with the electric motor, their total capacity reaches 205 hp. And allows you to accelerate to 100 km/h in 8.5 seconds.
The hybrid has two configurations: Premium and Luxury. Moreover, the first is divided into Premium 1 and Premium 2, differing only in the decor of the cabin. The price of Lexus ES300H from 2,100,000 rubles.
Absolutely the same separation according to the equipment and the top version with the V6 engine. Moreover, in the performance of Premium the most powerful ES costs as much as hybrid. The cost varies only in the execution of Luxury, where the two -engine option is more expensive. The price of the Lexus ES350 from 2,100,000 rubles.
The cost of the Lexus ES350 Luxury car tested 2,245,000 rubles.
The choice of the portal kolesa.ru
In its original Lexus ES idea, one hundred percent personnel. That is, designed for movement, for the most part, with the driver. If the speed does not have a decisive value, then the ES250 version will be one of the most profitable offers in the classroom. Even in a top -end performance, such a car will only cross the two millionth threshold. By the way, in this regard, we will dare to draw the attention of the Committee on State procurement to the model. If the official can not do without a comfortable premium car, then the capabilities of the E-ES worth even up to 2 million rubles are enough for the eyes.
But in the choice for the same money between the most powerful and hybrid version, we recommend paying attention to the latter. The fact is that the 277-horsepower ES wins the hybrid according to the dynamic characteristics of only 1.1 seconds, but it turns out to be twice as voraciously.
Competitors Lexus ES350 in the Russian market
The struggle of Lexus in the segment is not so hot, but tense. For more than two million, you can choose from a dozen very worthy rivals. But still the main ones we see the following cars:
Mercedes-Benz E-Class
The icon of automobile prestige with indisputable authority and the dream of many car owners is, of course, Mercedes-Benz. For comparable money with a test Lexus, you can purchase E300 execution with a 252-horsepower engine. The high-speed characteristics of the German will be more interesting, but by equipping the E-class will yield to the Japanese. The price of MB E300 from 2,280,000 rubles.
BMW 5-Series
Another object of lust and a symbol of the driver’s excitement come from Bavaria. Moreover, the five for their money will be able to offer the most interesting combination in dynamics and economy. Indeed, under the hood of the car there will be a technological 3.0-liter diesel, accelerating BMW to hundreds in 6 seconds, and consumes about 7.5 liters of diesel fuel. The price of BMW 530d from 2 265,000 rubles.
Audi A6
Not lagging behind Bavarz and Audi. Her A-sixth can also boast of a high-speed motor with heavy fuel. 245 horsepower and 500 Newton meters of traction take A6 to the coveted hundreds in 6.1 seconds. Only the balance of cost and equipment in Audi is less profitable compared to Lexus. Price Audi A6 3.0 TDI from 2,340,000 rubles.
Jaguar XF
Those who are tired of the dominance of German cars may have a representative of the English aristocracy. The jaguar, which is distinguished by a verified style, for comparable money has a weighted average speed characteristics with a 240 hp turbo engine, and in equipment it turns out to be a little better than the Germans, but a little more modest than the Japanese. The price of Jaguar XF 2.0 Luxury from 2,170,000 rubles.
Infiniti m
A fellow countryman and the antipod of Lexus ES, primarily in the scope of use. If Lexus strives for Mercedes comfort, then infinity m to Baemwan drive. And the filling only confirms this. 333 horsepower and all -wheel drive accelerate the car 6.4 seconds to 100 km/h, and the sedan is practically not inferior to Lexus in equipment. Infiniti M37 AWD price from 2 210,000 rubles.
Source: Wheel magazine [December 2012]
