2026 Lexus ES First-Drive Review: An Honest Luxury Sedan, Now in EV and Hybrid Flavors

The 2026 Lexus ES arrives on a new platform for its eighth generation with an unchanged mission: unmatched comfort in a luxury sedan. What has changed—significantly—is everything else. A pivot to only hybrid and electric drivetrains headlines Lexus’s focus on efficiency, while the new ES’s styling plays it safe at the cost of striking looks.

To showcase its newest creation, Lexus hosted its media drive in La Jolla, California, an affluent San Diego neighborhood where Lexuses, Benzes, Porsches, and the like rule the roads. A luxury sedan makes complete sense in a place like this, and the 2026 Lexus ES might just be the quintessential car you’d find on the driveway of these cliffside homes. During my time behind the wheel of the 2026 Lexus ES350h, ES350e, and ES500e, I got to roam the streets in comfort like a true La Jollan.

The Basics

The eighth-generation ES drops the full gas powertrain. For the first time in the nameplate’s history, Lexus built a multi-pathway platform capable of supporting a gas-electric hybrid and two battery-electric powertrains under a single shared body. The result is three distinct variants: the ES 350h hybrid in FWD or AWD, the ES 350e battery-electric FWD, and the ES 500e battery-electric AWD. All three share the same exterior shell, interior architecture, 14-inch Lexus Interface touchscreen, and standard Lexus Safety System+ 4.0. What separates them is what’s under the floor and how that changes the experience behind the wheel.

Off the bat, the 2026 ES is a large sedan. By the numbers, it’s longer, wider, and taller than its predecessor, and if it were any bigger, you’d almost consider it a crossover. Design-wise, a commenter on our original reveal story said it best: “It looks like a mashup between a BMW and a Hyundai.” That said, it doesn’t quite stop traffic. Body lines on this generation are sharp like the creases on a paper airplane, but this is a trend all automakers seem to be following. A contrasting trim element along the lower bodyside of the door feels like an afterthought rather than a design statement, and the base 19-inch wheels with their plastic aero covers do no favors, giving it that premium feel. Step up to the available 21-inch alloys and the whole car clicks into place. They’re a meaningful upgrade and worth every penny.

Inside, the ES makes a stronger case for itself. The cabin is mature and uncluttered. Simpler personalities would say it’s serene, but I can imagine bolder souls calling it sterile. What you can’t argue with is its clean by design. A 14-inch touchscreen sits above a soft-touch panel of physical controls for climate, volume, and defrost. The overall dash and center console UX is intuitive, but I wouldn’t mind a few more buttons to keep things tactile. There’s definitely space for it.

What’s less distinctive is the synthetic leather on the steering wheel, which has a soft, foamy feel that doesn’t meet premium expectations. It’s a minor but noticeable mismatch. Similarly, the digital door latch system—push to open, pull for emergency release—proved finicky in practice. On more than one occasion, the door didn’t open cleanly on either input, which is an annoying quality note on a car at this price point. The driver-facing eye-monitoring system, which beeps when it detects your gaze leaving the road, was so sensitive that it became an immediate candidate for the off switch.

What really matters is how it drives. All three variants were driven back-to-back on the same coastal roads, which made the comparisons legible. The short version: every one of these cars is exceptionally pleasant and peaceful to drive. The ES has always been about refinement over performance, and this new generation delivers on that mission as well as any previous generation.

We’ve all heard the cliché of a luxury car that “drives on clouds.” The ES 350h drives as if that phrase were the north star of its engineering brief. Leading with its sixth-generation hybrid system—a new setup for Lexus producing 244 horsepower from a 2.5-liter four-cylinder paired with a front motor generator—it returns a generous EPA-estimated 46 MPG combined in FWD trim. On La Jolla’s mix of smooth coastal avenues and rougher neighborhood backstreets, the 350h was composed and effortless. Acceleration is adequate for everyday driving, but flooring it reveals the CVT’s whiny characteristics. Thankfully, that’s a rare occurrence, and the powertrain is so smooth in normal driving that the CVT is practically invisible. Light steering inputs, a calm ride, and near-total isolation from road noise make the 350h feel less like a car you’re driving and more like a room that happens to be moving.

The ES350e, Lexus’s first battery-electric ES, adds a layer of tranquility to that same character. The single front electric motor is quicker and more torquey than the hybrid off the line, and silent with no moving pistons. The 350e is so quiet you could drive through the world of A Quiet Place without attracting the creatures. With an EPA-estimated range of 307 miles on standard 19-inch wheels, it’s also the most practical choice in the lineup for most buyers.

The ES 500e ups the ante with a second rear motor for a combined 338 horsepower and DIRECT4 all-wheel drive, reaching 60 mph in 5.1 seconds. That’s quick for a luxury sedan of this size, but it doesn’t feel neck-snapping like other performance EV sedans on the market. Whether the AWD capability justifies the trade-off in range—276 miles versus the 350e’s 307—depends on where you live and drive. In Southern California, the answer is probably no.

The Executive Package deserves its own paragraph. Available exclusively on the ES 350e Luxury trim for $3,635, it transforms the rear passenger-side seat into something that belongs in a first-class cabin: a power-reclining seat with an ottoman, heated and ventilated cushions, a massage function, a pillow-style headrest, and controls for all of it built into the center armrest alongside rear window shade operation. When you recline into the Executive position, the front passenger seat automatically slides forward and its headrest drops, opening up the sightlines and giving the rear occupant a panoramic view of whatever’s outside. Parked at a viewpoint above La Jolla Shores with the ottoman extended, rear shade down, and the Pacific stretching out through the glass, it was genuinely difficult to find a reason to get out of the car. If you’re buying the ES 350e Luxury, don’t skip this package.

Pricing for the 2026 ES starts at $48,895 for the ES 350e Premium, $51,895 for the ES 500e Premium AWD, and $51,095 for the ES 350h Premium. The ES 350e Luxury—the trim level where the Executive Package is available—starts at $57,295 before options. The ES 500e Luxury AWD tops the lineup at $60,295. All prices include Lexus’s $1,395 destination fee.

For buyers choosing between the three variants, the decision is simpler than it looks. If you’re committed to gas-electric efficiency and want the hybrid’s 46 MPG, the 350h is it. If you’re open to electric and want the most range and the most serene experience, the 350e is the pick of the lineup. The 500e’s performance is real but feels slightly at odds with the ES’s DNA—the extra power is there when you want it, but in everyday driving, you’ll rarely need it.

The 2026 Lexus ES won’t convert driving enthusiasts, and it’s not trying to. It’s trying to be the best possible version of a refined, comfortable, luxury sedan—and on the coastal streets of La Jolla, with the Pacific in the mirrors and a cabin that insulates you from everything the world is throwing at the car, it’s very hard to argue it hasn’t succeeded.