Lexus Es350E vs BMW IX2

What's the difference?

Luxury vehicles are better because of the quality, reliability and care that Lexus has brought since 1990, upending the status quo like no other brand before.

The ES, however, has been an outlier.

Inexplicably inferior to the far-cheaper Toyota Camry on which it’s long been based on, the bloated mid-sized “Executive Sedan” series created especially for America ignored “The Relentless Pursuit of Perfection” ethos that Lexus originals like the LS, IS, LFA and even the most-recent NX have striven for.

The eighth-generation ES redesign, however, is different, despite remaining Camry -ased, with an extended, beefed-up body and platform, multi-link rear suspension featuring adaptive dampers, an advanced new operating system that drags connectivity into this decade and an electric option.

Suddenly, the ES is poised to lure Polestar 2, Tesla Model 3 and Mercedes-Benz CLA buyers with a high-quality electric vehicle (EV) from Japan brimming with technology, refinements, space and features, at a price that cannot be ignored.

Has the ES finally understood the Lexus memo?

Following its global launch in February this year, the second-generation 'U10' 2024 BMW X2 and iX2 have landed in Australia.

The coupe SUV range comprises four variants with turbo-petrol and pure electric models sitting alongside each other in showrooms with precious few visual differences.

That'll either be a good or bad thing, depending on how much you want to parade your choice to go for current or combustion.

More clear cut is the X2's new – and more sensible – position in BMW's SUV line-up. Rather than a quirky curio that's smaller and less practical than the X1, the 20cm longer gen-two X2 finally makes sense in BMW's X line-up.

To see if the driving experience and build quality live up the shiny new exterior, we've been invited to Tasmania to sample the new car's attributes on typically testing (and picturesque) roads.