The Lexus ES has always been the purest Lexus — absurdly reliable, insanely comfortable, often forgotten. If you want an entry-level luxury sedan that makes you feel like Lewis Hamilton, you get a BMW 3 Series. If you want one that shows you’ve arrived as a professional success and looks like a luxury starship inside, you get a Mercedes-Benz C-Class. But if you want to move through traffic in sumptuous comfort, isolated from the chaotic world outside in your personal bubble of luxury without calling too much attention to yourself, you get an ES.
For the 2022 ES, Lexus has done nothing to mess up that formula. The luxury automaker has tweaked the styling a bit, improved the safety, and upgraded the cabin tech. However, the changes leave this Lexus entry-level sedan as the epitome of unostentatious luxury.
The 2022 ES arrives in dealerships in late fall, so Lexus has yet to announce prices. The 2021 model starts at an even $40,000, and we don’t expect much change in price.
Exterior Styling Sharpened
Outside, the headlights have a new look. Thinner and more angular, they add a hint of a scowl to the car. The big corporate spindle grille has a new, larger lattice pattern Lexus says is “a series of concentric “L” shapes that radiate from the front Lexus emblem, all finished in a new Graphite paint.”
Inside, a revamp of the central screen is the big news. It’s now a touchscreen, losing the knobs and trackpad our reviewers have found clunky in the past. The base screen is still a bit small, at 8 inches, but a more reasonable 12.3-inch version is available.
Safety systems have significant upgrades. Called Safety Sense Plus 2.5, it’s now standard on all trims. It includes a new millimeter-wave radar system that can detect pedestrians and bicyclists, can spot crossing traffic at intersections, and can perform emergency braking to avoid them. The dynamic cruise control can now stop the vehicle and then start it moving again when conditions are safe. It also decelerates into turns and accelerates out of them.
Performance-wise, Lexus has refined things rather than replace them. Engines and transmissions carry over from 2021, but Lexus says “the brake pedal shape has been enlarged on all ES models to improve foot stability and confidence when the pedal is depressed. On ES gas models, the vacuum brake system master cylinder and booster have been optimized to provide a more linear brake pedal feeling and response. The regenerative and hydraulic brake control characteristics of the Electronically Controlled Brake System (ECB) on ES hybrid models have also been optimized to improve pedal feeling when the brake pedal is released.”
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