Launched alongside the LS at the very founding of Lexus itself, the ES has long been loved for its comfortable ride and quiet cabin.
This new iteration of the Lexus ES, now available as an all-electric model, could very well take the model's traditional strengths to a whole new level.
So, could this be the best ES we have yet seen?
First things first. This new Lexus ES is now significantly larger than its predecessor: It now stretches out a total of 5,140mm long — a whopping 165mm longer than before.
And it has grown taller as well: This model now stands at 1,560mm, that's taller than even the Lexus UX crossover.
These new dimensions all come courtesy of a significantly altered exterior that's quite the pleasant thing on the eyes.
It's a sleek and elegant thing that masks its significant height rather well.
Look at this ES from its side and what immediately strikes is the fact that it now features a coupe-like sloping roofline.
There's also an illuminated Lexus wordmark at the rear — a first for the firm.
Going all-electric additionally means there's no longer a huge grille at the front of this car, but this ES is still easily recognisable as a Lexus: The pointed headlights that have graced recent cars from the firm continue to feature here and the lines that are adopted on the Spindle Grille of the firm's other cars have been smartly carried over onto the creases atop this ES' bonnet.
Step within this ES and things take a more dramatic change.
New here is the 12.3-inch digital driver's instrument cluster alongside the 14-inch infotainment system.
The latter makes use of a new interface that is easy enough to navigate, save for the fact that the ambient lighting settings (of which there are plenty) are buried deep within it.
But more intriguing still are the hidden switches located along the dashboard.
These reveal themselves by lighting up once they detect nearby movement and do well to minimise visual clutter in the cabin while allowing quick changes to your air-conditioning temperature or to switch between your saved seat profiles.
You'll also find this technology utilised for the driver assistance buttons on the car's steering wheel, the latter of which impressed with how pleasing it was to grip thanks to its use of soft leather.
Which of course only added to the experience of driving this Lexus ES.
Depress the brake pedal, push that new gear selector into D, and what immediately strikes is just how quiet this ES is when on the move.
Cabin noise levels feel low enough to rival not just other premium electric sedans but to also compete with those of a class above.
Ditto overall ride comfort. Soft and pliant no matter how broken the road surface is, the Lexus ES lets little perturb the serenity of its cabin — a feat no doubt aided by the fact that it rides on some chunky 55-profile tyres.
And those seated at the back can look forward to pairing all this cabin isolation with generous levels of knee room, although that sloping roof does eat into available head room for adults.
Take a greater turn of speed and the Lexus ES acquits itself well despite its comfort-oriented setup.
There's a nice weight and accuracy to its steering, alongside decent control over body roll.
Changing between the levels of regenerative braking is also easy in the ES thanks to those paddles behind the steering wheel, although adjusting the car's driving mode is still a multi-poke affair if you're starting from the homepage of the infotainment screen.
Not that this should really matter, I suspect, to the typical buyer of this Lexus ES.
The model has always been the favoured option amongst its sportier German rivals for those who prioritise ride comfort above all, and this new variant of the ES demonstrates that the brand still has the upper hand when it comes to delivering serenity on four wheels, even in an all-electric age.
And it isn't asking too much above against these German options as well.
At $402,800, this Lexus ES isn't priced too far from the $392,888 Mercedes-Benz EQE300 or the $406,999 Audi A6 Sportback e-tron (all prices as of 26 June 2026, inclusive of COE).
Both German rivals offer more power to be sure (and the Mercedes-Benz comes with a larger battery capacity as well) but this Lexus also counters by being the physically larger vehicle than these two.
And after a long and tiring day at work, I know I'll always be drawn to the comfort offered by this Lexus if given the choice.
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