Car Spaces

After a long day at the office or, in our case, testing cars and digging up facts, we dread the commute home in tied-up traffic just as much as the next guy. A stiff drink or a Valium would take the nasty edge off this draining and aggravating slog, but we couldn’t do that, now could we? Lexus has just the remedy for such a problem with the 2007 ES350. It’s the automotive antidote to stress and road rage in one very convenient and comfortable package. Here’s a car that will coddle you in high style without causing you or anyone around you any angst or grief. Just point it and go.

The new, sixth-generation Lexus ES may not be exciting to us as committed car enthusiasts, but nearly 70,000 customers found Lexus’s version of the Toyota Camry acceptable enough in 2005. Lexus figures it can add a few more buyers with a slightly bigger and faster version of its entry-level luxury sedan.

The big news with the ES350 is that it is indeed faster and slightly larger than its predecessor, the ES330. The displacement of the V-6 has grown to 3.5 liters, and the engine’s horsepower has jumped by 54 ponies to 272. That brings the 0-to-60-mph time down to 6.2 seconds and the quarter-mile to 14.7 seconds at 97 mph. That’s 2.1 seconds quicker than the 60-mph sprint clocked by an ES300 in 2002. The ES350 can now rip rather than stroll through traffic, but the added power also accentuates the torque steer of its front-wheel-drive layout.

Sure, big German sedans are more fashionable and fun to drive, but most could take some lessons from Lexus when it comes to value, reliability and ergonomics.Instead of reaching for the owner’s manual when you step into the sumptuous interior, just drop the LS into gear, set your course and soundtrack with the simple touch-screen navigation and audio systems, and settle into those comfy leather seats. The LS gathers speed with a soft murmur from its V-8. It handles with aplomb on the highway and has an enormous 20-cubic-foot trunk.Pricey option packages quickly ramp you into 70-grand territory, but even at that price, the Lexus still costs thousands less than its rivals.