2020 Lexus ES 350 Review

Name: 2020 Lexus ES 350 Review
Brand: Lexus

Price Range: $21,259 - $37,998

+231

The 2020 ES 350 offers ample power, surprisingly good handling, and Lexus' hallmark focus on comfort and serenity. Some rival German sedans can be sportier, but the ES remains one of today's best all-around performers.

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2020 Lexus ES 350 Review

by the Edmunds Experts

What's new

No substantial changes for 2020
Part of the seventh ES generation introduced for 2019

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 2020 Lexus ES 350 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 8A) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.09 per gallon for regular unleaded in New York.}

Monthly estimates based on costs in New York

$146/mo

$201/mo

Avg. Large Car

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Reliability Ratings by RepairPal

4.5/5Excellent

#3 out of 68 among Luxury Midsize Cars

RepairPal Reliability Ratings are based on the actual cost, frequency, and severity of unscheduled repairs and maintenance on make/model data for select 2008-2022 vehicles. The reliability of a specific vehicle may vary depending on its maintenance and driving history, model year, trim, and features.

Cost

^{The average total annual cost for unscheduled repairs and maintenance across all model years of the Lexus ES 350 from 2008-2022.}

$364/yr

vs. $607/yr
for Average Luxury Midsize Car

Frequency

^{The average number of times this model is brought into the shop for unscheduled repairs and maintenance in a single year. RepairPal calculates this metric by tracking millions of unique vehicles over multiple years to determine an average number of visits per year (omitting small routine visits, e.g., oil changes).}

0.79x/yr

vs. 1.36x/yr
for Average Luxury Midsize Car

Severity

^{The probability that a repair will be a major issue, meaning the repair costs 3x the average annual repair cost for all models. This threshold will be higher for vehicles that have higher labor rates and parts costs (such as a premium brand).}

5.2%

vs. 10.5%
for Average Luxury Midsize Car

powered by RepairPal ^{Based on RepairPal reliability data as of 8/23/2023. Ratings are provided by RepairPal and Edmunds is not responsible for their accuracy.}

Lexus ES 350 Reviews

Owner Reviews

4.2

27 reviews

5(59%)

4(19%)

3(7%)

2(15%)

1(0%)

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Most Helpful Owner Reviews

better than prior generation

hjs, 04/14/2020

2020 Lexus ES 350 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)

The good: better ride, more supple and softer suspension with improved cornering abitity, better appearance inside and out, plenty of important standard features. mpg is good for class, I average 28-30 back and forth to work. Power is superb and instant. The bad: stereo sucks!! 95% of sound comes from front speakers no matter what you do. One time transmission slammed so hard in reverse …

F-Sport avoids looking like your grandparents car

Mark C., 08/07/2020

2020 Lexus ES 350 F SPORT 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)

Started leasing an F Sport ES 350 in Feb of 2020. Was a bit of an impulse buy. Was driving a 2012 Chrysler 300 before that had loads of service issues. While the 300 was very comfortable, it would lean too much in turns and was just boring to drive compared to this car. The F-Sport gets dinged for not having more powerful engine, but the 302 HP is plenty unless you want to race high … horsepower opponents on a regular basis. It is front wheel drive which might bother some, but it hasn't impacted daily driving experience in my opinion. The car will get up and go, especially in Sport Mode. Car slides down the freeway at 85 mph with tachometer at less than 1800 RPM. The best part of the car is the handling. The tuned suspension makes going around curves and turning at speed feel solid and confident.... always! Brakes are good, never nervous about getting from 60 mph to 0. It is a very nice balance of being tight but not rigid. I bought this car instead of a 2017 Mercedes CLS 550 due to back seat issues. The Benz was essentially a coupe with tight seating in back for smaller individuals. I'm 6'3 and usually that means the back seat behind the driver seat is useless. This car can comfortably fit a grown family of 4 in it for a longer trip. Head and leg room in the back is excellent. Front driving position is good, but could use a little more leg room if I am splitting hairs. B pillar does impede vision for me with seat moved back fully. Interior is generally very nice. The gauges on the F-sport and brushed aluminum around the dash give it a tech-aggressive feel that I like. The upgrade to the high end stereo would have been nice, but it required changing the head lamp configuration to small LED lights which are not as attractive as the base head lamps in my opinion. It was also a $2800 package upgrade. Only complaints about this car are that the standard stereo. When all windows are up, the surround features work well, but it needs to be louder when driving at speed with sunroof open, windows down. Also, to use the Apple Car Play need to plug into the jacks in front of shifter. Cord has to travel back to arm rest from there. There is a phone slot in front of jacks, but doesn't work with larger screen phones. Would have been nice if that jack was in arm rest. Agree with comments about the touch pad; it isn't great when driving. Not tactile/ specific enough. Have to spend more time looking at screen and fiddling with it than you should be when in motion. Outside of that, you might have to get used to the newer body lines (I did) when considering this car, but the car has good width and length dimensions. It has more presence than an Accord, Nissan, or Infinity which tend to be rather narrow. Stance could be a little more aggressive, but overall this car delivers if you want something that is comfortable, quiet, with a little edge. I think the standard model of this car suffers from the smaller wheels and the more standard instrumentation when sitting inside it. You would also miss out on the improved suspension of the F-Sport, which is no small matter if you are looking for a driver's car. It is a very fun car to drive and spend time in during your daily commute. Love the reliability so far and customer service of Lexus. It will be hard to shift gears to another brand once this lease expires.

Mixed feelings after a year

JustinS, 08/27/2021

2020 Lexus ES 350 Luxury 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)

I purchased a 2020 ES 350 Luxury in June 2020 and sold it just over a year later in August 2021. This review will give you my impressions based on approximately a year of ownership and 14,000 miles of driving. THE GOOD: * Comfortable - the car was extremely comfortable no matter which seat you were in. Front seats were incredible and back seats have so much leg room and head room, you … feel like you’re in the LS and being chauffeured around. * Quiet - This car was dead silent when driving. The Luxury trim brings dual pane front windows, and I had the 18” noise reduction wheels. Anyone who rode in the car commented on how quiet it was. * Smooth driving experience - This car does a fantastic job isolating you from the day-to-day road imperfections. * Quick acceleration - I enjoy a nice quick car, and I always felt the ES had more than enough power. * Peace of mind in knowing that it “should be” mechanically reliable long-term. This engine has been around for a long time. Lexus IS known for reliability. I knew if I wanted to keep this car for 10+ years it would be perfectly fine. * Mark Levinson - Sound was really great when tuned correctly, with audio plugged in via USB, and volume up loud. If these weren’t the case, I found something a little bit off with the speakers compared to the Mark Lev systems I’ve had in other Lexus models (with the most recent being in a 2018 RX Hybrid, which sounded better to me even though the specs aren’t technically as good). 12 inch screen - this is a must-have in my opinion. The standard screen makes the car feel outdated whereas this was a bright, modern screen. I actually did not mind the touch pad and lack of touch screen whatsoever. * Luxury trim features were well worth the upgraded price. These included driver’s seat thigh extender, power rear sunshade, more details on seats and armrests, softer material on back of seats, additional wood trim, etc.) * No need for premium fuel. This car takes and recommends regular gas. * Maintenance costs were low. Other than the fit and finish issues that were all under warranty, I only paid for the standard 5k, 10k and 15k mile services. THE BAD: * Rattles - this car had rattles in both front doors and the dealership had to address them multiple times. When I traded the car in, it still had a rattle. They kept coming back. * Center armrest console - This thing creaks really bad when you lean on it. It drove me nuts. Also, the passenger seat was much too close to the armrest and whenever I would go around a corner or bend in the road, and I had a passenger, the seat leather would rub against the center armrest and make an annoying sound. I’ve never seen this on a car before. * Cupholders - The way the front cupholders are designed is terrible. The one closest to the dashboard is just fine, but the second cupholder closer to the driver was more of a square shape and my drinks (water bottle, or a cup from a restaurant) would also slide or slightly tip over. There’s also a button to expose or hide a plastic piece to control the depth but I always found it either too deep or too short and resulting in the drinks tipping over even more often. * Rear seats don’t fold flat. You’re basically limited to just the standard trunk and no way to accommodate larger items. * Dashboard easily scuffed - I’m not sure what material Lexus is using in this model but the slightest impact with the dashboard just above the glovebox resulted in scuff marks. It was so bad that even taking a brand new microfiber cloth to wipe dust off would scuff it. This is very common on the forums and there’s no fix. * Head-up display appeared crooked and blurry no matter how much I adjusted the rotation or position. I realized this was due to the windshield angle/design and the HUD was actually perfectly aligned, but this was frustrating being that HUD was one feature I loved in my previous 2018 RX 450h. Overall, I would give this car three out of five stars. It was a comfortable car and I know we will see these on the road for YEARS without issue, but I couldn’t get past the imperfections and I felt it was lacking personality on the outside.

Serene and Engaging

Loyal Lexus Driver, 03/05/2020

2020 Lexus ES 350 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 8A)

The 2020 Lexus ES offers a near perfect driving experience. This car allows you to be perfectly insulated from surroundings, but driver engaged at the same time. Excellent handling and the lane assist keeps you perfectly in lane, even around curves. The Bridgestone Turanza tires could be less roll-resistant but are quiet and comfortable. The seats are very comfortable - perforated …

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2020 ES 350 Highlights

Trim:

Base

Base MSRP Excludes Destination Fee	$39,900
Engine Type	Gas
Combined MPG	26 MPG
Cost to Drive	$146/month
Seating	5 seats
Cargo Capacity All Seats In Place	16.7 cu.ft.
Drivetrain	front wheel drive
Warranty	4 years / 50,000 miles

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Safety

Our experts like the ES 350 models:

Blind-Spot Monitoring: Uses radar to detect when vehicles are alongside and alerts the driver to potential side collision due to a lane change maneuver.
Lexus Enform Safety Connect: Provides automatic collision notification, stolen-vehicle location, an emergency button inside the cabin, and enhanced roadside assistance.
Lexus Safety System+ 2.0: Bundles a variety of standard safety features, including forward collision warning, automatic emergency braking and lane keeping assist.

NHTSA Overall Rating

The National Highway Transportation Safety Administration offers independent analysis.

Frontal Barrier Crash Rating
Overall4 / 5
Driver5 / 5
Passenger4 / 5
Side Crash Rating
Overall5 / 5
Side Barrier Rating
Overall5 / 5
Driver5 / 5
Passenger5 / 5
Combined Side Barrier & Pole Ratings
Front Seat5 / 5
Back Seat5 / 5
Rollover
Rollover4 / 5
Dynamic Test ResultNo Tip
Risk Of Rollover10.5%

IIHS Rating

The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety uses extensive crash tests to determine car safety.

Small Overlap Front Driver-Side Test
Good
Small Overlap Front Passenger-Side Test
Good
Moderate Overlap Front Test – Original
Good
Moderate Overlap Front Test – Updated
Not Tested
Side Impact Test – Original
Good
Side Impact Test – Updated
Not Tested
Roof Strength Test
Good
Rear Crash Protection / Head Restraint
Good

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2020 Lexus ES 350 Review

Price & Payment

2020 Lexus ES 350 Review

What's new

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 2020 Lexus ES 350 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 8A) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.09 per gallon for regular unleaded in New York.}

Reliability Ratings by RepairPal

Cost

Frequency

Severity

Lexus ES 350 Reviews

Owner Reviews

Most Helpful Owner Reviews

Trending topics

better than prior generation

F-Sport avoids looking like your grandparents car

Mixed feelings after a year

Serene and Engaging

2020 ES 350 Highlights

Safety

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2020 Lexus ES 350 Review

Price & Payment

2020 Lexus ES 350 Review

What's new

Cost to DriveCost to drive estimates for the 2020 Lexus ES 350 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 8A) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.09 per gallon for regular unleaded in New York.

Reliability Ratings by RepairPal

Cost

Frequency

Severity

Lexus ES 350 Reviews

Owner Reviews

Most Helpful Owner Reviews

better than prior generation

F-Sport avoids looking like your grandparents car

Mixed feelings after a year

Serene and Engaging

2020 ES 350 Highlights

Safety

People who viewed this also viewed

Related Used 2020 Lexus ES 350 info

Vehicle reviews of used models

Shop similar models

Shop used vehicles in your area

Popular new car reviews and ratings

Research other models of Lexus

Research similar vehicles

Other models

Join Edmunds

Cost to Drive^{Cost to drive estimates for the 2020 Lexus ES 350 4dr Sedan (3.5L 6cyl 8A) and comparison vehicles are based on 15,000 miles per year (with a mix of 55% city and 45% highway driving) and energy estimates of $3.09 per gallon for regular unleaded in New York.}