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Newsday, Melville, N.Y., Road Test column: Prepare to be pampered, but not thrilled, by the Lexus ES(Newsday (Melville, NY) (KRT) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) May 19--The Lexus ES gets a taut new body and a leaner and meaner engine for '07, but it retains the gentle and refined personality that has typified Lexuses since they first arrived 17 years ago. If you're looking for a sport sedan, keep looking. There's too much float in the ES suspension, too much dead feeling in the steering system. From a performance standpoint, its front-wheel-drive layout is an inherent drawback, too, compared with rear-drive competitors such as the Chrysler 300 and the Cadillac CTS. But if it's a midsize near-luxury model you seek from a carmaker with one of the best reputations in the business for quality and customer satisfaction, the new ES should satisfy even more than its predecessor did. For '07, the car that was born in 1990 as the ES 250 becomes the ES 350, the new designation signifying the larger displacement of the newest generation's engine, 3.5 liters. That's up from 3.3 liters in the previous version and, for you, that means an added 54 hp., for a total of 272. The new car's acceleration - zero to 60 mph in 6.8 seconds, according to Toyota, and 15 seconds for the quarter mile - places it into sport sedan territory even if its handling doesn't. Lexus says the engine needs premium gas for optimum performance. Fuel economy is virtually unchanged from the predecessor model at 21 mpg city and 30 highway - impressive when you consider the big increase in horsepower. Those fuel economy numbers are Lexus estimates of what the Environmental Protection Agency is expected to publish in its fuel economy guide. Engines that are so quiet and smooth-running that one needs to check the tachometer at a stoplight to see if they're still running are a mark of Lexus refinement that continues in the new ES. Just as smooth is the new six-speed automatic transmission, replacing last year's five-speed and offering the option of manual shifting if one slides the gear selector to the left into a separate track. The fifth-generation ES going on sale right about now represents a complete redesign, though the car still is based structurally on the Toyota Camry - in this case, the 2007 Camry that recently went on sale. As before, that is a plus. Camrys past and present have been excellent values and consistently top-rated, if somewhat bland, family cars. The ES begins at $33,865 with freight, but Lexus offers an extensive options list that can fatten that considerably. As noted in the accompanying data box, my tester stickered at more than $46,000. Dimensionally, the ES hasn't changed much in the redesign, but the wheelbase is up by about 2 inches and the track is wider by about an inch. Overall length is the same, but it is slightly wider, lower and heavier, and the trunk has grown slightly to a respectable 14.7 cubic feet. The new look, which Lexus calls L-finesse and is adopting for all its cars, is so plain it's nearly generic, but maybe some people will prefer it over its predecessor. The ES' interior is airy and pleasant, trimmed tastefully and with classy little touches like soft LED lighting, even in the cup holders, that does the job without the harsh glare of more traditional yellow incandescent lighting. Standard safety features include knee air bags for the driver and shotgun passenger, seat-mounted side-impact air bags up front, and curtains covering the front and rear seats. The four-wheel disc brakes come with anti-lock, stability control and brake assist. Also standard are fog lamps, daytime running lamps and a tire pressure monitoring system. Optional safety features include headlamps whose bulbs turn with the steering wheel. Another is "intuitive parking assist," which indicates on a dashboard diagram your car's position relative to adjacent vehicles. (This system is not to be confused with one offered by Toyota in Japan that will parallel park the car for you.) A backup camera whose color image is projected on the navigation system screen comes with the optional nav system and also helps in backing and parking. One other safety option is a "pre-collision system" that employs a front-mounted radar sensor to constantly monitor the distance from - and closing speed with - a vehicle ahead. When the system's computer determines that a collision is unavoidable, it pre-emptively tightens the front seatbelts and preps the brake assist for increased braking force. It is packaged, for $2,250 - with a smart cruise control system that automatically maintains a set following distance from the car in front. With or without all that gadgetry, most of the ES' controls are easy to master, even without looking at an owner's manual. Happily, even in versions like my tester with a navigation system, most key audio and climate functions don't require the annoying three-step process of wiping the map off the screen, then making the desired adjustment, then restoring the map. Compare the new ES to the CTS, the 300 and the front-drive Lincoln Zephyr and you'll find the Lexus the most expensive but also the most powerful - unless you opt for the 5.7-liter V-8 available in the 300 or opt for the 400-hp. V-8-powered V version of the CTS. The 300 is the largest car in this group, giving its rear-seat passengers almost 5 inches more legroom than those riding in the Lexus. ES quality should be good, but this is, after all, a new model. A few months ago, I'd have said without hesitation that prospective buyers need not be concerned if the vehicle is made by Toyota. But the trade press recently reported significant quality glitches in the new Avalon produced at Toyota's Kentucky plant. The ES isn't built at that plant. Nor is it even closely related to the current Avalon, which is based on the previous generation Camry. But the Avalon's problems prove that even Toyota stumbles once in a while. I might also have suggested in the past that you consider the Mercedes C-Class as an alternative to the ES. But, while I still like the C-Class, Mercedes-Benz also has had some well-publicized quality problems that make me hesitant to recommend any of them to readers. Mercedes scored well below the industry average in the latest J.D. Power and Associates index of long-term dependability. Consumer Reports deems the reliability of most of the Mercedes for which it has reader feedback worse than average or much worse than average. Still, a reliable car that's boring is still a boring car. The ES never has had - and still doesn't have - the harder edge of most German cars. If you want to be pampered behind the wheel, the new ES will satisfy. If you want to be thrilled, this isn't your car. 2007 Lexus ES 350 Vehicle tested: Engine: 3.5-liter V-6, 272 hp. Torque: 254 pound-feet at 4,700 rpm Transmission: Six-speed automatic, front-wheel drive Safety: Dual front air bags, driver and passenger knee and front and rear seat-mounted side air bags, and curtain-type air bags; four-wheel disc brakes with anti-lock, stability control and brake assist; fog lamps; daytime running lamps; tire pressure monitoring; parking assist; swiveling headlamps; pre-collision vehicle preparation system; backup video camera Place of assembly: Kyushu, Japan Weight: 3,580 pounds Trunk: 14.7 cubic feet EPA fuel economy rating: 21 mpg city, 30 highway Price as driven: $46,045, including destination charge |