We’ve spent some time in the 2025 Lexus ES 350 this week, and one thought keeps coming back to our mind – “no worries”. The quality, the sterling reputation for reliability, customer care and the way it goes about its business, the ES 350 surrounds you in goodness. Is it the right car for you? Let’s find out!
Good Looks
The ES 350 starts its presentation with handsome lines and an attention to detail that says prestige. This is a vehicle you’d be happy to have in your driveway.
While the ES is not trendy, for 2025, the return of the Black Line Special Edition package gives it a nice shot of attitude.
The front is pure Lexus. Where the huge spindle front grille used to seem excessive, in today’s market, it’s much more accepted. And we like it better than some of the large honkers on certain BMWs!
Bracing the grille are Bi-LED headlamps with LED swoosh-like signature lights giving an angry look. Lower side grilles finish off the looks. Adding to the goodness, our tester was an F SPORT model, that gets a unique front bumper and grille surround.
The profile has a coupe-like stance that Lexus says was inspired by the LS Sedan. A small greenhouse and high shoulder line gives off a sporty vibe. The Black Line Special Edition serves in some extra attitude, with black mirrors and a black lower molding – a perfect match for the blacked-out 19-inch, F SPORT alloy wheels. A tasteful F SPORT badge on the front fender says this is more than your garden-variety ES.
The rear, like the front is a sleek presentation, with L-shaped LED taillights, sport bumper and two large exhaust pipes poking out below the rear fascia offering up some sporty promise. A small touch, but one we like is the Black Line blacked-out rear lip spoiler.
Our tester’s Ultra White paint was the perfect canvas to show off the blacked-out bits and made the design look sleek and cohesive. Even though they’ll only be making 1,000 of the Black Line models, Lexus gives you a nice choice of exterior colors, along with Ultra White, there’s Iridium Cloudburst Gray, Obsidian, Caviar, and Matador Red Mica – finding one you like should be easy.
Sporty Luxury
Inside, the feeling is pure luxury, with a sporty vibe thrown in for some added spice.
Open the door, and you feel the wide sweep of the dash and infotainment system, while a large center console helps create a driver’s cockpit.
Sit down into the well-contoured sport seat covered in NuLuxe faux leather and they are nicely supportive, heated and cooled as well. A thick-rimmed leather F SPORT wheel and a chunky shift lever put a feeling of control in your hands.
There’s a digital dash display that will be familiar to anyone who’s driven a Lexus F SPORT, with a racy 8,000 rpm and a digital speedo serving up some visual thrills. On our tester we also enjoyed the optional widescreen, 12.3-inch touchscreen info-tainment system, that looks great and makes access super easy. You can also say “Hey Lexus” and call up all sorts of features hands free with voice control.
Tech is state of the art with wireless Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, Wi-Fi and wireless charging. Cloud Navigation is along for the ride as well, and our favorite, an actual volume knob. Yay. Lexus fans will also appreciate the analog style clock – tasteful!
The climate control panel is below, and easily accessed, and easy to decipher the moment you get in. While the ES 350 is a bit of a sea of black inside, the Hadori Aluminum trim adds some bling. As you’d expect in a Lexus, the quality of materials is superb, with plush materials, handsome details, and just a feeling that everything was lovingly put together.
Those in the back feel well looked after too, with plenty of stretch-out legroom, even for taller adults. Trunk space is impressive, but we are a little surprised Lexus doesn’t provide a folding rear seat – all you get is a small pass through in the center, enough to probably get a set of skis in. We guess if you want to carry more, larger stuff, Lexus will be happy to point you to one of their many lovely SUVs, like the RX model.
F SPORT sportiness
Driving the ES 350 is a pleasant surprise.
In the past, we found the ES so skewed to luxury that it was really a snooze for those who like some excitement.
But this recent F SPORT has turned the tables. OK, it’s not a BMW or an Audi, but it is involving enough to keep a driver engaged – and we take that as a win.
There’s actually a choice of three engines in the ES lineup, a 4-cylinder, a 4-cylinder hybrid, and on the ES 350 like our tester, a 3.5-liter V6. This is a familiar engine that sees duty in many Lexus and Toyota products, and it’s a sweetheart, with 302 horsepower, and a nice throaty snarl – in fact in some models with a free-flowing exhaust, like the previous Camry TRD, it was positively scintillating.
Here in the ES its more subdued, but you still get plenty of push when you give it the gas, and there’s a throaty exhaust note that will make you smile.
Turn the knob protruding on the instrument panel to Sport mode, and the quick shifting 8-speed automatic makes sure 0-60 comes in right around 6-seconds. Quick enough to zip around, but not so fast that you draw undue attention. Steering wheel paddle shifters add to the fun.
We’d also say 302 horsepower is about all you’d want to put through the ES’s front wheel drive – you can feel the occasional tug on the steering wheel as the front tires are dealing with all that power.
We have more good news, thanks to the upgraded suspension on the F SPORT models. The steering has nice weight and precision, and the ride is a beautiful combination of firm and responsive, while still serving up the smoothness and quiet you’d expect from a Lexus.
This is not a car that goads you on to finding a twisty road, but when you do, the handling is surefooted, progressive, and rewarding. It’s the kind of overall balance we expect as cost of entry in European cars like the base BMW 3 series and Audi A4 – that’s good company, and it’s a crowd the ES models really didn’t hang with before. Call us pleasantly surprised!
We’re not surprised that the ES 350 has a full enchilada of driver assist features that Lexus calls Safety System 2.5+, and that includes Automated emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, adaptive cruise control, lane departure and lane keep assistance, and blind-spot warning. It is all exceptionally well-integrated and easy to use.
ES The One for You?
As one of the entry-level Lexus sedans, you can get into the ES 250 starting at $43,215. For a handsome, spacious, well-equipped and beautifully built sedan that’s good value. We’d also point out that the smaller, IS 250 which is a bit sportier, starts just below that at $41,610.
Our ES 350 F SPORT Handling started at $48,500. Add in the Black Line Special Edition package ($1,500), Head up display ($500), Power rear sunshade ($210), Smart Access Card Key ($100), Lexus 12.3-inch Touchscreen display ($1,030), Power trunk with kick sensor ($550), Premium Paint ($500), and Panoramic View Monitor ($835). Add in $1,150 for Destination, and we rang the bell at $54,875.
Competitors? We’d also look at the Acura TLX, comparably-equipped and featuring standard all-wheel-drive, it leans more towards sport than luxury, but is a handsome, enjoyable sedan and it comes in a little less, at $52,195. Those with European tastes will want to take a test drive in the gorgeous new BMW 5-series, but you’ll pay for the privilege at close to $70,000 – and that’s still with a turbo 4-cylinder that’s 50 horses down from the ES.
Handsome, luxurious and surprisingly good to drive. No worries! The Lexus ES 350 F SPORT is a great premium sport sedan!
Ben Lewis grew up in Chicago, and after spending his formative years driving sideways in the winter – often intentionally – moved to sunny Southern California. He now enjoys sunny weather year-round — whether it is autocross driving, aerobatics, and learning to surf.