2026 Lexus ES Up Close: Brave New World
Holy moly. If the all-new 2026 Lexus ES is a good indicator of what’s to come from the luxury brand, you might need to forget all you know about Lexus. This marks the most significant stylistic departure for the marque since the advent of the signature spindle grille with the fourth-generation GS sedan for the 2013 model year and one of the most seismic shifts in brand ethos since the advent of the F Sport performance sub-brand.
Related: All-New 2026 Lexus ES Offers Stepped Electrification with PHEV and EV Powertrains
It’s a big deal, and not just because the new ES is offered exclusively with electrification. That’s right: Buyers have a choice of either a hybrid or fully electric powertrain, with the former comprising the familiar naturally aspirated 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine augmented by two electric motors. Available in front- or all-wheel drive, the hybrid powertrain offers a combined 243 hp against the single-motor electric ES 350e’s 221 hp and the dual-motor ES 500e’s 338 hp. Lexus says that range is expected to be 300 miles for the single motor and 250 for the dual.
That’s decent, but I personally believe this might not be enough to concern the existing competition from BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Tesla. It’s not like there’s less car to haul around, either; compared to the outgoing ES, the 2026 model’s 116.1-inch wheelbase spans an additional 3.1 inches, with overall length sneaking up to the big-poppa LS at 202.3 inches. Even the width and height swells, with 2.1 inches of width counterposing a growth in height up to 4.5 inches.
Sleek and Striking Looks
In person, the 2026 ES is a striking car to behold regardless of whether you think it’s handsome or not. It’s future-forward without coming across as too conceptual, and though this example’s Sonic Copper paint does much of the heavy lifting for curb appeal — or maybe that’s curb “attention” — more time is needed with a less bright color to determine just how wild this looks out in traffic.
Again, I’m not sure I particularly like the design, I’m simply impressed at the balance of cohesion and relative avant-garde aspects that make it so fascinating to look at. If the exterior style is a bridge too far for fans of traditional Lexuses, one glance at the interior will slide the Lexus purists into a state of catatonia. There’s a whole heap of modernist product design present here, with smooth, untextured surfaces, massive screen real estate, ambient lighting and minimal physical controls.
It’s sleek and a bit anodyne, not unlike a corporate headquarters that’s nice, neat and just the right amount of character so as to not be soul-sucking. I’m a particular fan of the synthetic, 3D-printed bamboo-like material used on some of the surfaces that lends a bit more warmth. The most interesting bit is found on the steering wheel horn cap, where the traditional circled-“L” Lexus logo is scrapped for fully spelled-out “L E X U S” badging.
Old world money, meet new world aesthetics. With such a comprehensive redesign, I’m looking forward to my first crack at it sometime next year.
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