The mid-size luxury sedan market is getting a major shakeup this year. Both BMW and Mercedes are fielding new talent in the form of the 2024 5-Series and all-electric i5, and the 2024 E-Class. So what has Lexus done to prepare for this battle? Almost nothing.
The sum total of the changes Lexus has announced for the 2024 ES amount to an optional technology pack and a new ‘Vapor Chrome’ finish for the dinky 18-in wheels that come standard on the ES Ultra Luxury and are optional on the Luxury (there’s an oxymoron if ever I saw one).
Base, Luxury, F Sport Design and F Sport Handling grades can all be ordered with the Technology Package that includes a 12.3-in touchscreen with Lexus Interface connectivity, voice control functionality, a head-up display, the ability to receive over-air updates and the brand’s SmartAccess Card Key. All of those options were available individually last year, as far as we can tell, they’ve just been bundled together for 2024.
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Other than that, it’s business as usual. The lineup of 250, 350, 300h powertrains and the five trims available last year is carried straight over, though inevitably prices have crept up. The most affordable ES, the base 350, cost $42,490 as a 2023 model but will set you back $43,190 dressed for 2024. At the other end of the scale the MSRP of the ES300h Ultra Luxury hybrid swells from $52,840 to $53,480, to which you’ll need to add $1,150 for delivery.
You might argue that Lexus didn’t need to do much more to take the ES into 2024. It’s the best-selling non-SUV Lexus by far and has dominated the gas-powered North American midsize luxury sedan space for years. In 2022, for example, the ES was more popular than the BMW 5-Series and Mercedes E-Class put together.
But the Germans were old cars then and are brand new for 2024. Now it’s the five-year old ES that’s looking old, not to mention lacking a fully electric option. The Lexus will probably still cruise home ahead of the BMW and Mercedes in the sales tables, helped by the late arrival of the Germans, which doesn’t go on sale until the end of the year, but surely it can expect to lose some market share along the way.
