For the last 2 years, I’ve been driving a 2022 Corolla XSE hatchback with a 6-speed manual. Good car, and fun enough to drive. Since I commute 140 miles a day, the fuel economy (37.6 mpg lifetime average) has been great! But since I commute 140 miles a day, the overall comfort and driving enjoyment, not so great for my nearly 50 year-old arse!

I used to have a 2015 Avalon XLE Touring Sport with the 3.5L 6-cylinder, and the commute was much more enjoyable, and I miss the car. I’ve been keeping my eyes on the market for a used 2015-2018 Avalon, and it seems the 2015-2017 ES350 seems to go for not much more money, when other things (year/condition/miles) are similar.

I have a high regard for the 2GR-FE Toyota V6, and also the 6-speed auto that’s in this generation of Avalons and ES350s; my main concern is the long-term reliability of all the extra tech and gadgetry that the Lexus models have. I’ll likely need to drive the car for 4-5 years and pile a ton of miles on, and don’t want to be dumping money into it along the way.

I know that Toyota/Lexus vehicles have higher overall reliability ratings, but wondered what the hive’s experience might be with all the electronics in these cars, in particular. Thanks for any insight!

Coworker had an older ES & currently has a '21 ES350.
Not a ton of miles on it yet, but she loves it.
She came from a 2016 Mercedes C300 Sport, and briefly a RC350 that she found to be too small.
She commutes 62 miles 1-way to the office & has quite enjoyed the nicer ride over the Sportier Mercedes,

Driving a 2008 Lexus is350 for several years and now at 185,000 miles, these repairs made me think I'd lean toward an Avalon in the future.

Touch screen failure: $3000 repair at dealer, ended up repairing myself for around $600

AFS Headlight assembly failed and cost $2000 to repair.

Exhaust assembly cost $1700 since it's one piece and stainless steel.

All this made me think if you're the type to keep vehicles a long time, less complexity may be better.

As noted some of the electroics can be an issue but that tends to be across the board regardless of make.
I am looking at 13-16 GS350s and GS450hs.
I hate FWD biased vehicles so it take the Avalon and ES out of the running.

If it were’t for that I’d be looking at the ES. They are super reliable mechanically but the fancy electronics can be an issue.

I totally get where you're coming from with wanting a more comfortable ride after all those miles. I had a friend with an older ES350, and he really loved it for long commutes. He said the V6 was super reliable, but he did have some small hiccups with the tech, like the infotainment acting up occasionally. Overall, though, it was a great car for him, especially on those long drives.

quote:

Originally posted by Black92LX:
I am looking at 13-16 GS350s and GS450hs.

I have owned a 2013 GS350 F Sport AWD and it is by far the best car I have ever owned! I purchased it in 2014 with 9K miles. It now has just north of 270K mile and still runs like a top!

The only things that have failed besided normal wear and tear items were the door lock actuators. All 4 eventually failed but I found a work around from one of the forums where I just had to replace the little DC motor ($11 each) inside the actuator module.

Great in the snow as well!

JP

I picked up a 2015 ES350 a year ago August, with 55,000 miles on it. I'd worn out my 2008 Acura TL and was leaning towards a Lexus, as my wife has an RX with 235,000 miles on it and it's been very reliable. She loves it and won't let me buy her a newer one, says she'll let it go after 300,000 miles. I've put about 15K on the ES and couldn't be happier with the performance and the gadgetry. All I've done so far is oil changes. We take it over to California occasionally, to see family, and it gets about 30 mpg on the road. Plus, it uses regular, where my Acura ran premium, so my fuel expenses have gone down.

The wife had a 2014 RX 350. The worst car we ever owned I do believe. The radio went out, the AC died after 10,000 miles, numerous other electrical issues. The dealer was two hours away and we would go days, maybe weeks with them trying to repair each thing.