For over 30 years, the Lexus ES has dutifully served as the brand’s midsize sedan offering. Now, the 2026 Lexus ES is “reimagining the luxury sedan,” in Lexus’s words, with an interesting powertrain variety, available as either a hybrid or an EV. Even though Cadillac does not have hybrid or electric sedans, the 2026 Lexus ES will rival the Cadillac CT5 when it goes on sale next year.
Interestingly, the new Lexus ES technically rides on the same platform as the outgoing generation. Toyota’s GA-K platform is highly versatile, underpinning the Toyota Camry and Crown hybrid sedans, the Toyota Sienna hybrid minivan, and most Lexus crossovers, namely the NX, RX, and TX. This new version of the platform is designed to accommodate both hybrid and BEV powertrains.
The base Lexus ES 350h is powered by a hybrid 2.5L I4 powertrain, while the ES 350h gets a stronger 2.5L I4 hybrid setup. A continuously variable automatic transmission routes power to the front or all four wheels. The EV options are the single-motor, front-wheel-drive ES 350e and the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive ES 500e. If the output of these motors is similar to the powertrain options in the Lexus RZ, they’ll make about 200 horsepower with FWD and 300 horsepower with AWD.
Lexus hasn’t revealed many specific details regarding performance, efficiency, or range. This may be because the car was unveiled at the Shanghai Auto Show, and range and efficiency ratings will vary depending on which government agency is testing them. The luxury brand does estimate that the 2026 Lexus ES 350e will achieve a 300-mile range when riding on 19-inch wheels.
Possible future Cadillac EV sedan
The all-electric version of the new Lexus ES will compete with the Tesla Model 3, the BMW i4, and the fancier trims of the Hyundai Ioniq 6, but it won’t have a direct GM rival. We caught a brief glimpse at what could be an electric replacement for the Cadillac CT5 back in November, and we reported in March that no ICE-powered replacements are planned for the CT4 or CT5. These sedans will go away after they live out their current lifecycle, leaving an uncertain future for Cadillac sedans in general.
Comments
TOO UGLY HORRIDUS
Give me the Cadillac….eeeesh!!
The crappy caddy has nothing on lovely lexus.
There’s a good reason they are #1 sellers in the market.
Except for a proper rear drive chassis, better styling and tech? Lexus doesn’t sell on product attributes but because they’re riding on the backs of Toyota’s reliability. Don’t kid yourself in thinking that this gussied up Camry is a good luxury product.
I purchased Lexus until they took out the V6 out. I had 97000 miles on the suv and never had a single problem. Only took it back for oil changes and new brake lining
V6 is returning for 2026 then I will go back. I currently have a Cadillac and no problems to date
WOW, looks like the corolla. Awful.
Wow. They ruined that car with the design.
That thing is just plain U-G-L-Y!!!
So they’ve taken the design from their very successful line of SUVs and applied it to a sedan. This will do well for them. Especially the hybrid.
Looks aside, what blows me away is that these manufactures keep leaning into sedans, going EV and Hybrid vs abandoning them all together like GM.
Why can’t GM do the same? The CT4 and CT5 can exist with ICE engines and think about a V-Series with a hybrid set up like the E-Ray? PHEV with decent range makes way more sense, requires smaller batteries but retains the range.
Ugly exterior, ridiculous screen inside, and without an ICE version, not a chance.
Beachy – I’ll assume you read the article….and saw where it’s offered as a hybrid as well as an EV. Guess what hybrids have? An internal combustion engine. Furthermore, all Camry models are hybrid now, and it does not appear to be hurting the brand at all….and it gets 50mpg. At this point in time, a hybrid seems to make a lot of sense to a lot of people. And, Toyota’s hybrid system is quite simply, the best.
stubborn Mary does not want hybrid’s Why NOT ?????
It’s nothing like it used to be, but none the less, there’s a good number of sedans being introduced and/or refreshed. Just none from GM or Ford. How sad.
Cadillac still has the 2 sedans, but being ICE they are most likely on the chopping block anyhow. Both Buick and Cadillac need several EV or PHEV sedans and now.
Nothing about that looks like a luxury car. The exterior looks more Camry-esque or generic Chinese and the interior tries to be minimalist in the Tesla vein with the end result being a car that doesn’t feel at all premium.
Hybrid? Great! But… what an ugly car!
OMG that is one hideous sedan! Why are all the car maker making these ugly looking things? And just as ugly on the inside…More and more plastic, and less and less car…ill keep my paid cars, screw that ugly crap
Another sedan is ruined by the curse of the 2020’s Malaise era aka no smooth responsive V6, weird quirks, dark ugly cheap looking wheels, cold uninviting interiors, tacked on iPad touch screens and generic styling.