Japanese Spaceship

The relationship began easily. She was mine for a while and I was curious. She wanted me to take her away and show her a good time. I approached with interest and sensing the key in my pocket, her doors invitingly unlocked beckoning me inside her.

I recently borrowed an ES350 and enjoyed it as an odd but agreeable creation. The engine is just a V6 but revs high and upshifts smoothly when pushed, coyly playing the coquette and begging to be pushed so it can delight with sweet sounds. True to Lexus design philosophy, you don't feel the acceleration or shifts and it doesn't break a sweat at even twice the speed limit.

The side effect of this engineering approach is you lose all sense of the road. Driving is abstracted to motion over distance with trust that the vehicle is working well enough to complete the mission. Quiet cars make long drives easy and stress free, so after a day of driving you arrive at your destination fresh instead of worn and tired from prolonged noise and rumbling.

Verdict: It's not an especially pretty car or a fun car, basically functional like a better version of a Camry. It's a great car for your girlfriend or wife that will get you around without lament if you have to borrow it. And it's a terrific alternative to a minivan until you have a basketball team of kids and decide that life is about driving a small bus around.