In a few hours I need to head to the airport to go on this Lexus ES press drive. I finally managed to mostly pack, and then sat down to write a Cold Start and some sort of “what would you like to know about this car” thing before I left, but the next thing I knew I was groggily waking up and it was 3 am and somehow my laptop was open, with a defiant cursor blinking away in a vast field of white emptiness.
Crap.
So, with that in mind, I’m going to combine Cold Start and What Do You Want To Know into one Cold What Do You Want To Start? and hope for the best! So, with that in mind, what would you like to know about the 2026 Lexus ES?
And, okay, I faked the top image, because Lexus did not exist when that Toyota was around. I just thought it’d be more fun with a picture of a ’76 Lexus ES. But they didn’t actually appear until 1989, as you see above, in the only image I feel comfortable sharing from the deck that Lexus sent me, because there’s an embargo until May 27, I think?
Lexus has shown the new ES already, it seems:
…and it comes in three variants, two battery EV versions and a hybrid.
So, what would you like to know about this car? Significantly, it’s a sedan, not a crossover or SUV, so that right there makes it at least somewhat novel, at least in this era. I mean, an ES was always a sedan, but still.
I think it’s nice enough looking at this first glance, but I’ll scrutinize more. I’m curious about those door handles: will they be annoying power ones? Does that big hockey stick on the side come off for use? How’s it drive? What are the taillights like? What does it smell like? What’s good to bite in the cabin?
There must be things you’re curious about, right? Is there a frunk for the battery EV ones? How’s it handle? How’s it manhandle? How’s it play Handel’s Messiah?
If there’s anything you’re curious about, let me know. Lexus is eager to have us see their new Lexus Interface System, and, I’ll be honest, that’s hard to donate a bowel movement about, but I’ll try. Anything you’d like to see or know about their new UX?
The chief engineer will be there? Any questions for them?
I’m there to be your eyes, ears, fingers and, yes, tongue, so let me know in the comments, and I’ll see what I can do.
Sound good? Great. Now I want to get some sleep.
Lexus, keeping it ugly.
Ask them where the original designers went and if they can be brought back. Lexus design has been mostly an eyesore for over a decade.
Why is the ’76 model so plain? Surely part of the “Lexus” treatment would’ve been whitewalls, fake wire-wheel covers and a vinyl top?
I’ve always liked the IS and the LS sedans but the ES always – to me – was so very clearly a “nice Camry”, or later, “nice Avalon“. With the IS you were clearly getting something that was more bespoke – and the LS, clearly so. There’s no current Avalon to compare to but I’m curious if it really feels like a premium upgrade in the way that the earlier models – next to their Avalon counterparts – really didn’t.
What does ES stand for?
How many colors is the interior?
Whats the lost power entry/exit situation?
Whats the Torch Trunk capacity?
Can we ask how much it weighs, or does nobody care about that anymore? I bet it weighs 3x what the ‘76 ES weighed.
ES-F?
Will the two door version have a hatch?
Do they know they guys at Toyota and can they tell them to give the next 86 a hatch?
Also I’d like all the stats to be presented in percentages compared to your 2CV.
My first car was a 2CV and I kept it as a benchmark.
My second car: passengers 100%, mass 125%, power 293%.
My most recent car: passengers 50%, mass 166%, power 790%.
Is LexusES the plural form of Lexus?
If so, does that mean they’re all sold as two-for-the-price-of-one?
If my daughter’s name is Alexis, does she get a discount on a Lexus?
Does Lexus know what happened to the last guy that brought my daughter home after 10 pm?
I thought you were going to learn about the new ES, not the UX. (Be careful of abbreviations when they use the same spelling as model designations.)
It kinda looks like it shares hard points with the Crown, just as the last ES was based on the last Avalon. Confirm the platform, and ask about their plans to impart the same personality and character you can find in card such as yer own 3CV.
What’s that black void beneath the headlight? Did something fall off?
Missing pieces of front fascias is like an onion tied to your belt. It’s the style of the time.
Lexus? Lexus. I don’t believe I’m familiar with that brand. They make cars, you say? Japanese cars? Well, don’t that beat all. Questions? No, no I can’t think of anything, but thank you for asking.
Okay. I got Mercedes to hypermile a new Charger, so Jason, how about you see how long a burnout you can do in the new Lexus?
I’d like to know how the controls on the steering wheel and below the infotainment system feel to use.
I’d also like to know how the ride quality is.
How does the steering wheel taste? Is it salty or bitter?
Depends who drove it previously. My wife’s steering wheel tastes like hand lotion.
Does it have toilet facilities under the rear seat?
Now when the, um, mature drivers run into various objects while parking or pulling into the garage, the front of the car cleverly disguises it all. A very analog solution for the non-digital natives who will buy this.
Who beat this poor Mirai into this shape, and what will their punishment be for abusing it thus?
Designing cars in the accounting department now Lexus?
How long does it take for the guys on the assembly line to fit the pre-crumpled hoods onto the new cars?
How much for actual bumpers and uncrushed body panels?
And does this mean the death of the gaping maw Predator grilles?
Waa wondering the same thing about the grill. It looks positively restrained in the story’s pic.
While I’d assume that’s a shot of the hybrid, it’d be cool if the it also served as a vestigial styling cue somehow on the EV version, as I’ve never liked the blank rocketship nose cone treatment like on Teslas.
In Europe this car replaced the GS. So my question would be how does it conceptually compare to it as well as in the drive. And is Lexus shying away from driving pleasure?
Is it a liftback?