Overview
With an incredibly quiet and cozy cabin, a smooth suspension, and a ton of standard equipment, the Lexus ES embodies luxury. Three engine options are available: a smooth V-6, an efficient hybrid, and a mild four-cylinder. You can end your journey here if everything sounds good. However, anyone seeking driving engagement should search elsewhere. With its F Sport upgrades, Lexus tries its best to make things more exciting, but they are only incremental steps in the right direction and ultimately compromise some of the ES's natural comfort. But there's a reason the ES is Lexus's best-selling sedan—despite the not-a-performer warning, it's a relative steal when compared to the leading German rivals. The Toyota Camry, the less expensive variant of this vehicle, costs roughly $10,000 less and comes with a choice of two hybrid powertrains and many of the same features.
2025: What's New?
A Black Line Special Edition bundle is new for 2025. It is available on the ES350 F Sport Handling and includes F Sport puddle lamps along with a few black-painted exterior accessories, such as mirror caps, a lip spoiler, and a rocker trim spear. The package has an MSRP of $1500 but requires an additional $2465 in required options, and only 1000 will be produced.
Performance, Engine, and Transmission
Three powertrain options are available to buyers of the Lexus ES. All-wheel drive is standard on the ES250, which has a 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 203 horsepower. A 3.5-liter V-6 engine producing 302 horsepower powers the front wheels of all ES350 grade levels when mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. A four-cylinder hybrid powertrain with a net output of 215 horsepower powers all ES300h grades; front-wheel drive and a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT) are standard. This Lexus sedan demonstrates the calm handling and forgiving ride characteristics that many luxury car buyers value. The F Sport trim adds bigger wheels and suspension tuning that is more performance-oriented but not very captivating for those who want sharper handling. Despite this improvement, the ES still lacks the athleticism of rival cars like the BMW 5-series.
0–60 mph times
The V-6 ES350 reached 60 mph from a stop in 6.1 seconds at our test track. The hybrid ES300h and all-wheel-drive ES250 completed the sprint in 8.3 and 8.1 seconds, respectively, which is more slowly. There is a slight edge because the ES300h F Sport we tested reached 60 mph in 7.9 seconds.
Fuel Economy and Real-World MPG
The Lexus ES350's top mileage, as reported by the EPA, is 22/32 mpg city/highway. The ES300h hybrid is considerably more economical, as you might anticipate, with ratings of 43/44 mpg. The EPA forecasts that the ES250 will get 25 mpg in the city and 34 mpg on the interstate. During our real-world highway fuel-economy test at 75 mph, we recorded 39 mpg with an ES350. The ES300h achieved 45 mpg on the same 200-mile test route, whilst the ES250 achieved 33 mpg. Visit the EPA website to learn more about the ES's fuel efficiency.
Read Also: Features of the BMW 5-Series 2025
Interior, Comfort, and Cargo
The ES's cabin offers passengers a luxurious experience thanks to its elegant, asymmetrical dash and premium materials. For those with long legs, both rows give ample legroom, and the seats offer cozy support. Interestingly, even when the ES is being driven at highway speeds, the cabin remains consistently quiet. With 17.0 cubic feet of trunk capacity available for both gas-only and hybrid variants, the ES has larger cargo space than competitors like the Volvo S90 (14.0 cubic feet) and Acura TLX (14.0 cubic feet). Regretfully, a folding rear seat is not an option for the ES. Because of this, this Lexus finds it challenging to handle large loads.
Infotainment and Connectivity
Buyers of luxury cars seek out cars with the newest and best technological features, and the Lexus ES sedan delivers. A larger 12.3-inch touchscreen is an option, but it comes with a touchscreen infotainment system with a basic 8.0-inch central display with both Apple CarPlay and Android Auto for seamless device connectivity. SiriusXM satellite radio and a 10-speaker sound system are included with every model. A Wi-Fi hotspot, Scout GPS Link navigation, Bluetooth phone and music streaming, and Amazon Alexa compatibility are also included in the list of standard tech goodies.