The Lexus ES is a 4-door hardtop Sedan (automobile) / sedan (1989–2001) / 4-door notchback sedan (2001–present) from Lexus, built from 1989, in the age of turbocharging and the first electronic engine management.
Where it came from
The Lexus ES is a luxury sedan marketed since 1989 by Lexus, the luxury division of Toyota, across multiple generations, each offering V6 engines (except for the eighth generation) and a front-engine, front-wheel-drive layout (all-wheel drive is optional for latter generations). The first five generations of the ES used the Toyota Camry platform, while the latter generations are more closely related to both the Camry and the Avalon. Manual transmissions were offered until 1993, a lower-displacement inline-four engine became an option in Asian markets in 2010, and a gasoline-electric hybrid version was introduced in 2012. The battery electric version was later introduced in 2025. The ES was Lexus's only front-wheel drive vehicle until 1998, when the related RX was introduced, and the sedan occupied the entry-level luxury car segment of the Lexus lineup in North America and other regions until the debut of the IS in 1999.
The ES name stands for "Executive Sedan". However, some Lexus importers use the name, "Elegant Sedan". Introduced in 1989, the first generation ES 250 was one of two vehicles in Lexus's debut range, along with the LS 400. The second generation ES 300 debuted in 1991, followed by the third generation ES 300 in 1996, and the fourth generation ES 300/330 in 2001. The first- through fourth generation sedans shared body styling elements with Japan-market Toyota sedans, and a domestic market equivalent, the Toyota Windom (Japanese: トヨタ・ウィンダム, Toyota Windamu), was sold until the launch of the fifth generation ES in 2006. The word "Windom" is a combination of "win"
Under the skin
The record carries the shape — a 4-door hardtop Sedan (automobile) / sedan (1989–2001) / 4-door notchback sedan (2001–present). The engine, output and weight have not yet reached the open record, and MotorJury does not guess at them.
In context
Its family tree is legible: assembly was at Toyota, Aichi (Tsutsumi plant), Japan. Its contemporaries in the catalogue — the Mazda MX-5, the Subaru Legacy, the Ford Explorer — show what else the money bought that year. Nearby in the Lexus catalogue sit the Lexus ES (V20) and the Lexus GS 450h.
What it costs now
The money question first: $26,800–$65,000 is the typical asking range today, and running it — fuel and maintenance at its age — costs about $2,855–$4,315 a year. Insurance sits around $1,930–$3,420 a year. The figures are class-level estimates from the federal record, with the formula on the methodology page; the model-year pages carry complaints, recalls and repair costs year by year.
Lexus1989
Lexus ES (V20)