1998 Lexus ES300 review from North America

- Driver's Seat Heater not working - Pass. side OK

- Driver's Door Lock Actuator not working - replaced myself ($100 part)

- Audio LCD screen bad - replaced myself ($160 part)

Had this car for about half a year now and 20,000 kms. The problems mentioned above were already there when I bought it (155k kms), and nothing new came up during my ownership, at least so far.

Overall, really impressed with the car. Has enough power to get it going. Handling is precise, but not really tight (nothing like a BMW). Acceleration is not lighting fast, but if you forget to let go off the pedal, you'll get to 200km/h pretty fast. Suspension is soft & comfy. Engine is QUIET, virtually unnoticeable at idle. Wind noise is lower compared to 98 Accord - highway driving is very pleasant in this car. Outside, it's not an eye-turner, but I really couldn't care less.

Very comfortable interior (minus the cupholders - they extend from the central armrest, and only hold cups and small cans; a bottle of water would fall out during turns..). Headroom is a little limiting for those of us who are tall (I'm 6ft2 and often "feel" the roof with my hair. Overall build quality and use of materials is excellent - no cheap plastic! Memory seats is a nice feature in this class. Trunk size is OK, but you can't fold the rear seats, unfortunately.

Audio system is good for most music styles, but stock (Pioneer) subwoofer can't provide much bass - it starts to rattle the car at certain frequencies. I also like the ability to control both BASS, MID and TREBLE freq. ranges. Another thing with the audio, if I get really picky, is that it might be not loud enough - Full Volume is perfectly survivable. Also lacks steering wheel audio controls - that'd be an excellent bonus!

Gas consumption I get is 10L HWY (23mpg) and 13L CITY (18mpg) but I tend to drive faster and accelerate positively.

As a final word - if you want a good, reasonably prices, reliable and well-rounded entry-luxury car, you can't lose choosing an ES300!