News Source: autoblog.com

The Lexus  ES 350 is an interesting car. It combines the niceties of a luxury sedan like wood trim, heated and cooled leather seats, and large amounts of posh with the humble underpinnings of a basic, daily commuter. That’s not to say the car is bad, but it certainly creates an interesting combination. I recently spent a week getting to know the ES 350  pretty well and I came away with mixed emotions.

Based on the Toyota Avalon  platform, the four-door sedan  affords plenty of legroom both front and rear with generous amounts of hip and shoulder room as well. Its ride falls somewhere between luxurious and sporty. It somehow tastefully walks the fine line between the two, never offending the senses nor outright pleasing them.

Come to think of it, non-offensive is a good way to describe the ES 350. It coddles its occupants from its garage within the gated community to the theater or museum with no fuss. It’s torquey 3.5-liter V-6 does a swell job of propelling the car forward without exerting an exceeding number of revs while its six-speed transmission shifts like warmed butter — firm but not hard; soft but not squishy.

The amenities list on my tester was long. In fact, the panoramic glass roof and 18-inch wheels seemed to be the only notable features missing. The remaining options made for a comfortable ride with enough gadgets to satisfy my inner geek. I did have one complaint about my ES 350  , and it centering on the most important human-car touch point within the vehicle.

The ES 350 is tuned to be a great highway cruiser with an appetite for devouring pavement at moderate speeds down long stretches of interstate. However, once settled inside the car and with everything adjusted to suit, I found myself wishing for a pillow to sit on. Not because I’m vertically challenged or the 10-way power driver’s seat wouldn’t rise up farther, but because it lacked in padding. All week long I struggled to find a proper position that saved my backside from getting numb during a drive. By the last day, I think I just became used to it, as I finally felt comfortable.

The seat bottom just felt flat and the bottom bolsters seemed to stick up too far for comfort. Perhaps I’m too harsh, but I would have guessed the seats of a Lexus to be more, well, luxurious.

The exterior of the ES 350 continues the non-offensive trend with a more subtle version of the Lexus Spindle grille and softly sculpted creases throughout the bodywork. The HID headlights that flank the grille have a crisp, clean shape to them and provide excellent visibility at night — even in heavy rains on a country road. The standard fog lights also help with visibility. The slopping hood flows nicely into the slanted windshield and up over the car. The soft line continues down the back window and onto the flat truck lid. The line then enjoys a pleasant kick upward into a small spoiler.

The lower accent lines really add a lot of flair to the car. Starting at the front bumper near the fog lights, the line runs around through the bottom of the doors and kicks up just before the rear tire. A separate line curves up at the rear bumper giving it some visual lift.

Overall the car’s exterior styling is classy and refined. It doesn’t elicit much emotion but reflects the gentle nature of the car’s personality.