Lexus Updates the ES – We Think

by Matthew Guy

Published: June 29th, 2023

Sometimes, the new model year of a stalwart model brings the slightest of changes. For 2024, the top-selling sedan in today’s Lexus lineup gets a few blink-and-you’ll-miss-‘em tweaks.

What’s new on the option sheet? A Technology Package which includes a 12.3-inch infotainment screen is available on most trims, there is a raft of new wheel designs, and no fewer than 11 paint choices are now slathered across the build-and-price tool.

Heady stuff here, folks.

Snark aside, the ES is an important car for Lexus, counting for 8,679 sales through the first quarter of this year. That’s more than all other non-crossover models combined, with the IS chalking up 5,361 sales during the same timeframe and the tripartite of RC / LC / LS making up the remainder. If you’re wondering, the mighty RX shifted 25,947 units in the same quarter. It’s fair to say the ES is not to be trifled, then.

In case you nodded off and need a refresher, there are a number of powertrains available to stuff under the hood of this car. The ES 250 AWD deploys a 2.5-liter four-banger making 203 horsepower and 184 lb-ft of torque lashed to an eight-speed automatic. Moving to the ES 350 brings a 3.5L V6 good for 302 ponies and 267 lb-ft of twist. Note well: The six is lighter than the four by about 85 pounds because it only has two driven wheels. A hybrid ES 300h pairs a 2.5L inline-four with electrified guts to produce a total system output of 215 horsepower. It equals the non-hybrid ES 250 in acceleration (0–60 mph in about 8 seconds) but roundly thumps it in fuel economy with an EPA-estimated combined rating of 44 mpg.

A brace of F Sport trims jazz up the place, available on all three powertrains and showing up with unique styling tweaks and exterior addenda. An F Sport Handling grade can be layered on top of that to add a couple of new selectable driving modes, parking assists, and its own tune of the adaptive variable suspension.

The 2024 ES is expected to arrive in dealerships during the summer of 2023.

[Image: Lexus]

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Matthew Guy

Matthew buys, sells, fixes, & races cars. As a human index of auto & auction knowledge, he is fond of making money and offering loud opinions.

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2 of 31 comments

Bd2 on Jul 08, 2023

Don't see how enthusiasts would be interested in a tarted-up Avalon, but for the target audience, they don't care (and certainly don't care to pay the premium for a more driver's oriented RWD model).

1 Reply
Tonycd on Jul 11, 2023

The four-cylinder version of this car is an overpriced, underpowered afterthought for those who enter the dealership thinking they simply must have AWD. The V6 and hybrid are the only versions of the car worth considering, and they carry off the luxury car impression much more convincingly from behind the wheel.

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