2022 Lexus ES First Look | The attractive midsize luxury sedan grows more user friendly
5Until recently, the Lexus ES sedan has been classically Toyota: Pretty boring, incredibly competent and refined, and ... essentially a plus-size Camry wearing a luxury badge. This changed with the arrival of the current-generation ES, which featured sleek, attractive styling and perhaps one of the best integrations of the luxury brand's current design language (and in-your-face hourglass-shaped grille design). As a bonus, the ES grew more athletic and engaging, without sacrificing the quiet comfort it's always been known for. Fortunately, Lexus has done nothing to the 2022 ES sedan to change any of that.
For its mid-cycle refresh (the update automakers typically gift a vehicle halfway through its life cycle), the Lexus ES sees an expected smattering of minor styling changes, tech upgrades, and fresh equipment. As before, the lineup consists of the recently introduced ES250 (with a 203-hp four-cylinder gas engine and all-wheel drive), ES350 (302-hp V-6, front-wheel drive), and the ES300h hybrid (electrically assisted, gas four-cylinder).
You Can Reach Out And Touch The Improvements
Chief among these changes is a new touchscreen infotainment display, which replaces the infernal touchpad-controlled setup of the current ES. Once endemic to Lexus products, the touchpad system is rapidly being erased from the lineup; it involved a laptop-style touch-sensitive pad on the center console that users dragged their fingers across to manipulate an on-screen cursor, like on a computer, to highlight and click on-screen widgets. If reading that left you cross-eyed, well, now you get why the setup was less than successful.
Now, instead of changing radio stations, selecting navigation inputs, or scrolling your Bluetooth-paired phone contacts as though you were using a laptop computer while driving, you can simply punch the screen with your finger. To facilitate this newfound directness, Lexus shifted the infotainment display 4.3 inches closer to the face of the dashboard (and thus closer to the driver and front-seat passenger). An 8.0-inch screen is standard, while a massive 12.3-inch display is available. The touchpad remains on the center console, but you no longer need to use it.
The Grille Stays, But There Are F'n Changes
Visually the ES sedan gains a new mesh design for that big ol' grille, with a series of overlapping "L" shapes emanating from the central Lexus badge. Subtly revised headlights flank the grille, and out back, every ES wears a fresh rear bumper design with some minor detail changes to the exhaust outlet-mimicking elements down low. Some new wheel designs and two new gray paint colors round out the cosmetic updates.
When the current ES debuted for 2019, it was big news that it added an F Sport styling option. For 2022, Lexus is expanding the F Sport treatment deeper into the ES lineup, offering it for the first time on the ES300h, in addition to the ES250 AWD and ES350 trims. The F Sport kit includes 19-inch wheels with a dark finish, as well as a darkened grille, a trunklid spoiler, and an F Sport-branded steering wheel, front seats, and gauge cluster.