Lexus Es350E vs Lexus RX350

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?

This is a BIG moment for the Lexus RX in Australia. And I'm not just referring to the spindle grille that adorns the front-end of this all-new model (though it too is almost commercially massive).

I'm talking more about the vehicle itself, and its importance to the Lexus brand here. The RX is one of Lexus' best sellers in Australia, and so this new one – which welcomes a new platform, new powertrain options and an all-new F Sport Performance trim level – is a big deal.

So, does it live up to the hype (and to its German competition)? Join me as we figure all that out ahead of the RX's debut here in early 2023.