Lexus ES 350

The Lexus ES (officially called the Lexus ES 300, ES 330, ES 350, or ES 300h depending on the year) is a comfort-oriented mid-size luxury sedan. Although it is essentially a quieter, and more luxuriously appointed version of the Toyota Camry V-6, the front-wheel-drive Lexus ES has all along offered features and options not available in the Camry and in its more recent iterations has been stylistically more different than the top-selling Toyota sedan. The ES has typically offered more power than the Camry V-6, too.

It's a bit confusing to track the model through the years, as the nomenclature (and engine size) didn't necessarily change at times when the rest of the car was redesigned.

First introduced for 1992, the Lexus ES 300 helped establish the Lexus name and won customers to the brand for its comfort, style, and reliability. Although the first couple of generations of the ES dabbled on the sporty side in some variations, with the third-generation ES that was introduced for 2002 Lexus focused the model even more toward mainstream luxury sedans. It was again called the ES 300 for its first two years, packing a 210-horsepower, 3.0-liter V-6. This model had an even roomier interior than before and included all the extras you would expect to come standard on a luxury car today; a navigation system and excellent Mark Levinson sound-system upgrade were among the options.

For 2004, the ES 300 was given a very slight refresh and new standard equipment, then was renamed the ES 330, gaining a 3.3-liter V-6 making 225 (or 218) hp.

Then the ES was given a redesign for 2007, gaining an even larger V-6—this time, a 272-horsepower, 3.5-liter V-6, with a six-speed automatic transmission. This ES 350 had an even plusher ride than before, with excellent soft-touch and wood trim. A number of new tech features—including adaptive cruise control, a pre-collision system, park assist, and adaptive xenon HID headlamps—were offered for the first time in this model.

But there were definitely some downsides to the ES; for one, it wasn't a good pick if you wanted to stand out; in recent model-year reviews of the ES 350 we noted the bland exterior, lack of personality, and near absence of driving feedback but also mentioned the comfort, quiet interior and strong but muted performance that this model did so well. Safety was excellent, too.

There were certainly plenty more upsides, though. Resale value for the ES, no matter what the model year, has been top-notch; so has reliability. One final note of advice: This latest ES 350 has been sold in a single trim level, but you could push the bottom-line price surprisingly high by adding option packages.

A new ES 350 is planned for the 2013 model year, joined for the first time by a hybrid ES 300h model. Both once again share running gear with the Toyota Camry; the ES 350 sports a 268-hp V-6 and a six-speed automatic and front-wheel drive, while the Hybrid has the 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle hybrid four. The improvements in the interior packaging are similar to those in the Camry, and the new ES' styling is considerably more muscular than the last-generation "L-finesse" look, especially inside, where the horizontal theme from the larger GS sedan has been adopted. Tech and safety features are upgraded to include Entune app connectivity and lane-departure warning, but leather is no longer standard--a synthetic leather is, though the real thing's available as an option.