Lexus ES

The 2022 Lexus ES 250 F Sport sits roughly in the middle of the brand’s medium sedan line-up, the F Sport badge denoting a sportier version of the relatively recent entry-level variant within the ES range.

Priced from $70,860 plus on-road costs, the ES 250 F Sport is powered by a 2.5-litre non-turbo four-cylinder petrol engine, sending 152kW and 243Nm to the front wheels through an eight-speed automatic transmission. It’s a familiar powertrain, but we’ll get to that in a bit.

The F Sport is $9240 more than the entry-level ES 250 Luxury, for which you’re getting a sporty exterior with special badging, ventilated sports seats with embossing, 19-inch alloy wheels, sports suspension, a power rear sunshade, head-up display, power-adjustable steering column with easy access and LED headlights – among other additions.

And it does look good. The F Sport cosmetic bundle lifts the exterior of the car (figuratively speaking), helping to emphasise its long, sleek appearance. Family, friends and neighbours all made positive comments about the ES during my time with it, and I received my fair share of confused looks from fellow road users – likely because I was driving a cool-looking Lexus but dressed like I couldn’t afford clothes.

But while Lexus calls the ES a mid-size vehicle – and it almost is when compared to its larger sibling, the LS – the sedan is a large vehicle by my eyes. The numbers tend to back me up too, the ES 250 being just 20mm shy of the Toyota LandCruiser Prado’s width and length – a vehicle placed firmly in the Large SUV category.

It does look good. The F Sport additions lift the exterior of the car (figuratively), helping to emphasise its long, sleek appearance.

Inside, it has a good amount of useable space without feeling cramped or oversized, and there was a chorus of ‘oohs’ and ‘ahhs’ from my friends in the rear seats as I taxied them back to our accommodation at the end of a wedding late one night.

The 12.3-inch infotainment screen is big and easy to read, though the graphics from the native navigation and media screens look dated and it isn’t always the most intuitive to use. Thankfully the infotainment system utilises a touchscreen, so occupants aren’t forced to use the tiresome Lexus trackpad mounted next to the gear selector.

Curiously, the Apple CarPlay system doesn’t appear to have a dedicated Home button, but after some faffing about I discovered the ‘back’ button on the trackpad was the way to access the CarPlay main menu.

The dashboard buttons, however, were appreciated; throughout the interior are actual, real-life buttons – not a piano black panel covered in fingerprints that requires increased attention to use while driving, as is the norm in many new cars today. The dual-zone temperature control thumb levers might not be the quickest way to make things cooler or warmer, but they are easy to use and the high-definition temperature display graphics are a nice touch, so to speak.

Sound quality from the 10-speaker stereo is very good, as was the ability to use the physical volume knob. But we seemed to be using watts to overcome the road noise generated in the cabin when driving at speed, suggesting the car could use some more sound deadening. And while there are worse cars to eat the highway miles in, the constant noise meant a higher level of fatigue at the end of my seven-hour drive to the wedding.

The ES isn’t overwhelmed with technology as with other cars in this segment – it has just the right amount of features and semi-autonomous driving tech, without making the driver feel as if they’re being forced to pilot the NCC-1701. It’s the right mix. On warmer days, I put on the seat ventilation, on cooler nights I enjoyed the seat heaters, while the electric boot opener allowed me to grab all my gear in one trip.

Lexus has done a good job of striking a balance between luxury and sportiness with both the exterior and interior. But on the road, that line becomes blurred.

Although the ES 250 and Toyota Camry share no interior or exterior panels, there is a lot in common underneath and the Lexus feels as such when driving.

The ES 250 has a kerb weight of 1680kg, which is to say it’s heavy. The addition of sports-tuned shock absorbers and other suspension components as part of the F Sport package dials in a few degrees of firmness, and while never uncomfortable, it doesn’t ever ride as you would expect from a luxury car. Nor does the vehicle ever feel even remotely sporty.

Although the ES 250 and Toyota Camry share no interior or exterior panels, there is a lot in common underneath and the Lexus feels as such when driving.

Feeling like a Camry isn’t necessarily a negative, to be fair. As someone who held Diamond status as an Uber passenger before lockdowns forced me to stay home, I always rejoiced when a Camry driver was assigned to ferry me about. The Camry may drive beautifully for a vehicle that starts at $30,990 before on-road costs, but on a so-called luxury vehicle costing $70,860 plus on-roads, it might leave you wondering if you got the short end of the stick.

That isn’t where the comparisons end, as the Lexus ES 250 shares the exact powertrain with the base-model Camry Ascent. However, the Lexus has an additional 185kg of weight to haul around, making it both slower and less fuel-efficient.

As you ask the car to accelerate from a low speed, essentially nothing happens, forcing you to gradually squeeze the throttle until the car realises it doesn’t have the cajones to do what’s being asked of it, drops down two gears and suddenly you rocket off while your passengers question your driving abilities. Time and again, I’d feed the car more throttle around town, wanting to merely accelerate to 50km/h, and it would fail to deliver even that without an embarrassingly over-the-top gear change.

I’d personally much rather have a more powerful and under-stressed engine than the unit found in the Lexus that seems to always be one step behind. Either a turbocharger or the torque of an electric motor, such as that found on the ES 300h, would do nicely.

When driving in the city, I was using around 7.7 litres of fuel for every 100 kilometres covered, with that number falling to 6.8L/100km after a 14-hour round trip at freeway speeds, matching the company’s combined fuel consumption figure.

However, add the fact that the Lexus ES 250 demands premium unleaded petrol as a minimum, and the car’s running costs might be higher than what you’re expecting – unless maybe you’re stepping out of a V8 Statesman.

Servicing intervals are every 12 months or 15,000km, with prices capped at $495 for the first three years. From 2022, Lexus will offer a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, bringing it into line with Toyota's factory warranty period.

I’d rather a more powerful and under-stressed engine than the one found in this Lexus that seems to always be one step behind.

Unlike some other popular makes, the semi-autonomous lane-tracking assist and radar cruise control systems in the Lexus work well on the freeway and on country roads. The system follows the lane nicely, giving you a gentle reminder when you’re perhaps relying too much on the technology, and never feeling like it’s being overly invasive or bullying.

The system only intervened once during my time with it, when I was reversing to pick up our talented photographer Jayden Ostwald during the shoot and the car decided I was trying to run him over and slammed on the brakes. Can’t prove anything.

Ultimately, the powertrain is difficult to look past. It’s frustratingly underpowered, which does nothing but highlight the transmission’s shortcomings. There’s an obvious lack of mid-range torque from its Camry motor, made worse by nearly 200kg of extra weight.

There is a Jekyll and Hyde thing going on with the ES 250 – but it isn’t a struggle of good and evil, rather it's a dichotomy of modern, sophisticated style versus an unsophisticated driving experience. The whole car feels like it deserves better, and perhaps the ES 300h is the remedy.

But while I found it uninspiring and lethargic, I can appreciate how the demographic of ES 250 buyers may find it perfectly adequate. Some may not want the complexity of a hybrid and will happily make do with a traditional internal combustion engine. For those who enjoy gently ambling up to somewhere adjacent to the speed limit, the Lexus does a fine job.

If you can look past the powertrain, the rest of the package is well executed and makes the 2021 Lexus ES 250 deserving of your attention.

2022 Lexus ES 250 F Sport specifications