2026 Lexus ES 350h Hybrid Road Test and Review

2026 Lexus ES 350h Premium+ ・ Photo by Brady Holt

For 13 years, Lexus ES buyers had a choice. They could get a smooth, powerful V6 engine. Or they could get a fuel-sipping gas-electric hybrid, pairing a four-cylinder gas engine with an electric motor.

The fully redesigned 2026 Lexus ES luxury sedan shakes up that choice. These days, for maximum speed and refinement, and efficiency and value for the money, you get a fully electric ES 350e or ES 500e. But when you don’t want an EV, you get the 2026 Lexus ES 350h hybrid.

The new ES 350h has a more powerful yet more efficient version of last year’s ES hybrid powertrain. It also brings all-new styling, a high-tech interior, and a lot more space than before. And while it costs more than before, at a starting price of $49,700, you still get a lot of luxury sedan for your money.

For this review, we just spent a week testing the new 2026 Lexus ES 350h to learn more about its pros and cons. If you’re a returning ES customer or are interested in a big, cushy sedan with great gas mileage, keep reading to see why the new ES 350h costs $15,000 less than a Mercedes-Benz E-Class – and whether it’s the right luxury car for you.

Big, Swoopy, and Edgy

You may know the Lexus ES as a luxury version of the mid-size Toyota Camry. But over time, it became a size larger than the Camry. And the new 2026 Lexus ES 350h is bigger than ever. At 202 inches long, 76 inches wide, and 61 inches tall, it’s 6 inches longer, 2 inches wider, and 4 inches taller than last year’s ES. By growing in all dimensions, it keeps familiar proportions, masking its size in pictures.

There’s no question that it looks new, though. The previous ES, sold from 2019 through 2025, wore Lexus’s previous-generation graceful yet sporty styling, with smooth lines, edgy details, and a big grille. The new generation looks like a sedan version of the all-electric Lexus RZ crossover – sharper edges, slimmer lights with big blacked-out areas below them, and barely any grille at all. The ES 350h hybrid follows right along with the electric ES models. Two other ES changes are a higher trunk (with a blacked-out area below the windshield, to look like the glass reaches almost to the end of the car) and a lightning-bolt black line on each side.

In photos, the front end and the lightning bolt have gotten perhaps the most attention. In person, though, the ES’s size gives it extra presence. You don’t find many cars of this size, and the ES’s body flows smoothly – details aside.

2026 Lexus ES 350h Premium+ ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Simplified Dashboard With a Big Screen

The 2026 Lexus ES introduces the brand’s next-generation infotainment system. It’s a big Tesla-style 14-inch touchscreen at the center of a simplified dashboard with straight lines. We’ve heard about some Lexus fans writing off the new ES interior as bleak and sterile. But we liked it.

First of all, the ES has a big difference from a Tesla. In a Tesla, the touchscreen is everything – all buttons, knobs, and the gauge cluster squeeze into the central screen. The ES has a 12.3-inch gauge cluster with the speedometer and other details. And a row of buttons lives under the touchscreen – a volume knob and a collection of climate settings. Lexus hides most of the physical buttons under a flush strip of rubbery trim for a cleaner look; standalone buttons would be even easier to find at a quick glance, but at least these work better than a touch-sensitive panel. The ES also moves away from some old Lexuses’ fussy touch-sensitive steering-wheel controls. Meanwhile, the ES’s screen itself is crisp and clear, and you can customize its view to show different side-by-side displays. And it supports wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto smartphone mirroring.

We appreciated the interior’s plush upholstery that coats the seats, steering wheel, dashboard, door panels, and center console. And Lexus dresses up the door panels with patterned upholstery, at odds with the rest of the cabin’s “keep it simple” vibe. Genuine leather seats aren’t available, but Lexus’s faux NuLuxe feels soft. Between its suitably upscale materials, modern technology, and relative ease-of-use, we’re counting the ES’s new interior as a win.

Two caveats: Some people will prefer something more visually stunning, rather than simple and restrained – either in the dashboard design or the digital experience. And others will want cutting-edge technology, rather than simple execution of everyday functions.

2026 Lexus ES 350h Premium+ ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Acres of Space

The bigger new ES also has more room than before. The previous generation was already a roomy mid-size sedan, and the new model improves further. The front seats are a little higher off the ground; this trades some of the old ES’s sportier vibe for a better view out, plus easier entry and exit. In this comfort-focused big sedan, that’s probably the right choice for many owners. And the backseat now has exceptional legroom, trouncing any other luxury sedan near this price. Some passengers will find it’s not quite as generous as it looks, since there’s limited foot space under the front seats unless they’re raised up. But even so, no one should feel cramped in the back of the new ES.

The trunk is a modest 13.3 cubic feet, down a smidge from last year’s already-petite 13.9 cubic feet. But with the trunk’s boxy shape and huge opening, it should be easy to make full use of the available space. The rear seat doesn’t fold down, though.

2026 Lexus ES 350h Premium+ ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Comfortable and Relaxed to Drive

Most of today’s luxury cars are sport sedans. Their suspensions are engineered to balance a comfortable ride with lively, high-performance handling capability. Between this approach and many luxury sedans’ oversized wheels, the result is that most of these cars can have surprisingly bumpy rides. 

The 2026 Lexus ES 350h is different. Its front-wheel-drive-based suspension focuses on filtering bumps from the cabin. (All-wheel drive is also optional, new to the ES hybrid.) It’s not a clumsy boat, holding the road well on sweeping curves. But the steering gets numb and vague in quick, sharp swerves. And our test car’s 19-inch wheels, while hardly tiny, aren’t as big as you’ll find on many rivals. For folks willing to trade a bit of ride smoothness for some extra flash, 21-inch wheels are an available option.

2026 Lexus ES 350h Premium+ ・ Photo by Brady Holt

No More V6

As we mentioned, last year’s Lexus ES had a choice between a gas-only V6 and a four-cylinder hybrid. This year, the V6 is gone. Some buyers will miss it. It sounded rich and accelerated quickly and smoothly, hitting 60 mph in an estimated 6.6 seconds.

The 2026 ES 350h isn’t as quick or as rich-sounding. A non-turbo 2.5-liter four-cylinder engine pairs with an electric motor for a combined 244 horsepower – not a ton of power for such a big sedan. (AWD brings a second electric motor to power the rear wheels, but total horsepower is the same.) It hits 60 mph in 7.3 seconds with front-wheel drive and 7.1 seconds with AWD. That’s enough to keep up with traffic, and it’s a second quicker than last year’s ES hybrid, but it’s not enough to be exciting. Lexus keeps most of the engine’s sound out of the cabin, but when you’re working it hard, you’ll catch its unenthusiastic hum.

For extra speed, the new electric ES models hit 60 mph in a near-silent 7.4 seconds with front-wheel drive and just 5.1 seconds with all-wheel drive.

2026 Lexus ES 350h Premium+ ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Sip Fuel

We do think the four-cylinder hybrid is a natural fit for the ES 350h’s low-stress driving experience. And it pays off in fuel savings.

As with other hybrids, the ES’s electric motor handles some of the car’s acceleration – meaning the gas engine doesn’t have to work as hard. At idle, cruise, or even under gentle acceleration, the gas engine can even switch off to provide quiet, gas-free acceleration. The hybrid system’s small battery recharges as you drive, without plugging it in.

The result is an EPA-estimated 48 mpg in the city, 44 mpg on the highway, and 46 mpg combined with front-wheel drive and about 2 mpg less with all-wheel drive. Our front-drive test vehicle did even better, averaging 48 mpg during a weeklong test. That’s exceptional for a roomy, reasonably quick sedan. Lexus recommends premium fuel, but the ES 350h can also run fine on less-expensive 87-octane regular when you don’t expect to work the engine hard. That's the natural way to treat this car anyway.

The BMW 550e is a plug-in hybrid that goes an EPA-estimated 33 miles at a time using no gas at all. The ES 350h can’t match that trick. But whenever you drive farther without plugging it in to recharge its battery, the BMW gets just 25 mpg.

2026 Lexus ES 350h Premium+ ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Higher Price, But Still a Bargain

As we mentioned, the 2026 Lexus ES 350h starts at $49,700. That’s a big jump from last year’s base price of $43,540 for an ES 300h hybrid and $42,140 for a V6-powered ES 350. But in addition to its extra size and speed, the base Premium model comes with a long list of standard features – a moonroof, heated and ventilated front seats, a heated and power-adjustable steering wheel, GPS navigation, 19-inch wheels, a power trunk lid, a built-in dashcam, a 10-speaker stereo, adaptive cruise control, and big 19-inch wheels.

Our tested Premium+ ($54,500) has a 17-speaker Mark Levinson stereo, a self-parking system, a surround-view parking camera, and the ability to use your phone as a key. AWD costs an extra $1,400. With its mandatory $1,395 destination charge, extra-cost paint, and a couple other small add-ons, our test car came to $56,670. That’s not much more than the base model, with nearly every box checked. And even a fully optioned ES 350h costs less than a German rival with no options.

2026 Lexus ES 350h Premium+ ・ Photo by Brady Holt

ES 350h vs. the Competition

The 2026 Lexus ES 350h sits between lower-priced mainstream-brand sedans and higher-priced luxury ones. And all of them are smaller.

Budget-minded customers will look first to the Toyota Crown, an odd-looking hybrid that replaced the Avalon as the brand’s flagship sedan. It’s well-equipped, comfortable, and economical, and it costs thousands of dollars less than the ES. It’s as tall as the ES but not nearly as long, and it’s curvier, giving it odd proportions along with less room. Its curvy dashboard is more traditional than the minimalistic new ES, and it has genuine leather upholstery. It also lets you pay extra for a powerful turbocharged hybrid engine, but it neither gets great gas mileage nor sounds great. Overall, we’d skip the Crown and either pay extra for the ES or really save money on a loaded Toyota Camry.

The ES 350h’s other top rivals are the BMW 530i and Mercedes-Benz E 350 sedans. With their turbocharged four-cylinder engines, they’re quicker and more agile than the ES 350h, and they still get gas mileage in the mid-30s on the highway (though much less in stop-and-go traffic). But they both have starting prices above $60,000, along with flashier but more convoluted dashboard controls and smaller backseats. The 5 Series also has the plug-in hybrid version we mentioned, but it costs $75,000.

If you’re interested in style and luxury but are indifferent to the ES 350h’s gas mileage, the Genesis G80 is low and long, opulently finished, effortlessly quick – and unable to crack 23 mpg in mixed driving.

Finally, if you miss the old V6 ES 350 but don’t need a huge backseat, the Lexus IS 350 compact sports sedan is still agreeably comfortable while retaining an old-school hearty-sounding engine.

2023 Toyota Crown ・ Photo by Brady Holt

Unconventional Yet Appealing

The redesigned 2026 Lexus ES 350h doubles down on some things that made the old ES so appealing, while also going off in new directions.

On the one hand, it’s bigger and cushier than ever. It has more interior space and a more absorbent ride. It also gets better gas mileage than any 2025 ES. It’s a master of comfortable, effortless competence.

On the other hand, its new interior and exterior styling risk alienating some loyalists – even if the controls remain easier to use than most rivals. Other folks will miss last year’s V6 engine, even though the hybrid has gotten quicker than before. We like how the new ES 350h came together.

When you expect zippy acceleration, sharp handling, and cutting-edge technological dazzle from your luxury sedan, the ES 350h isn’t for you. But if you like a gentle ride, a big backseat, and relatively simple controls, this comfortable, economical, and reasonably affordable Lexus will make you wonder what anyone sees in a Mercedes.

2026 Lexus ES 350h Premium+ ・ Photo by Brady Holt