Ian J. Parsley

The truth is there is nothing reliable out there about the 2025 ES at all; I would share your doubts, instinctively, but I note also that the 2025 Camry in North America is only available as CVT hybrid but has an AWD option.

Back to the topic, the answer would appear to be yes (as I currently have one on order). What I know is that all should be revealed/confirmed mid/late May. I am aware of the potential for an AWD option (or even, potentially, that AWD will be standard). Looking at the site, others have already noted the rise from 215hp to 245hp (though the car is definitely still FWD there). There is also now no F-Sport option, seemingly. I have also spotted that the finance offer on the base model (now referred to just as "Premium" in the UK) specifies blade scan technology (for the auto-high beam), whereas IIRC the MY24 "Premium Edition" did not have that and indeed the current base model is still listed without it on the configurator. So I suspect the price rise will include at least an element of higher spec and higher performance. Are we also to assume this is the final year of this generation (the 7th of the ES worldwide)?

We have both an ES and a UX in the household (both hybrid), and I don't notice this difference. If anything, I would say the ES is better, though there's not much in it.

On the OP, I obviously was much more charmed with by IS than you were, as I really liked mine. Then I came to an ES via an NX (which I wasn't so keen on only because SUVs really aren't for me). I'd safely say you'll not be disappointed. The ES is a surprisingly easy car to drive given its size, maxes out in comfort, and for a front-wheel hybrid really doesn't drive badly at all.

Just as a general rule, if you're not sure whether it's your Lexus or your iPhone that is the issue - it's your iPhone!

A belated welcome to this section of the forum. I don't find the ES that rare here in NI, tbh; I do roughly 1000 miles a month and I'd typically see another one on average every day, I would say. My instinct is that is rather more often than you would see a GS (but admittedly that is not a totally fair comparison, given there is no IS now).

What I found - and of course everyone is different - that you begin automatically to adjust your foot so that in the end it seems to behave "normally" (it'll always be a CVT, of course). I guess it's a bit like going from manual to auto for the first time - initially it's strange but before long it's second nature.

Agree entirely re the press. The CVT "howl" is a complete non-issue. The touchpad is not great when you first get in the car but you soon (i.e. within a few days) get used to it. One thing re the "pads" - your brake pads don't really get much use in a CVT/hybrid. Instead, down to the last 5mph, it is more like a bicycle (if you imagine) as the chains essentially go the other way to slow you down. If you haven't driven a CVT/hybrid it is weird at first (I found it that way too in my first IS) but again, you soon get used to it.

Thanks. Actually I already had it set to "Only Visual", so unfortunately that doesn't solve the problem. So I have just left DRCC off!

And - sorry to be a complete novice! - how did you get to "Excess speed"?

For the record, I turned this function on but soon turned it off again because it added an incredibly annoying audible warning every time you head downhill. Upon the speed rising by 2mph (even if you are below the limit), it decides to warn you by sounding the alarm. I can find no way to turn this off.

I think the question is that if, for example, you are going from a 40 zone to a 60 zone and the car recognizes the sign saying 60, you should be able to move from 40 to 60 merely my holding (and, implicitly, then releasing) the "+" button. It should know to go from 40 to specifically 60. To answer the question, no, I haven't been able to get it to work; but then, conversely, I've struggled to find when I would ever have any use for it. I wonder if the requirement is for the sign specifically to have been caught by the road sign recognition system rather than just assumed by the sat-nav? I just don't know. Like I say, it doesn't bother me at all, but it's a fun side point!

I actually saw a car I bought in 2008 at a roundabout the other day! In some ways I was pleased to see it was still going!

This is, fortunately or unfortunately, just how the Lexus brand works in Europe. Essentially they give your four or five set packs/trims and you decide. The advantage from their point of view is it is easy to plan the vehicles, administer shipment and so on; the disadvantage is the lack of choice. That said, at least it is fairly clear what precisely you are getting (and this applies also if you are buying used).

That sounds different! I must take a picture some time!

I have "PUSH" on my MY20; don't see much difference at all, actually - the charger looks the same size as mine too.

Lexus Link... I've essentially given up and just stick to CarPlay but I genuinely think the issue is with my phone. Apple seem to have cut off the auto-tethering.

Honestly, you were wise to go with the UX rather than the CT or NX. In our family we've just swapped a CT and an NX for a UX and ES and, notwithstanding a WiFi connection problem discussed elsewhere (which tbh is more to do with Apple than Lexus), we wouldn't look back. The UX is streets ahead of the NX for driving experience and even comfort, in my view. The latter is a fine car of course, but it doesn't eat the bumps as well as a premium SUV really should; the UX has fixed that. (The CT is a lovely wee car but it's ten years out of date.) The only marginal criticism of the UX is the lack of boot space, but you can take down the back seats and there is space under the luggage compartment so even that is not as severe an issue as you might think or as the reviewers claim.

Yes, I have the same problem on my ES with an iPhone 10. Actually it now never connects (since the last IOS "update"), I always have to enter the password - which completely defeats the object because the practical outcome is I can't download journeys sent to the car without a complete rigmarole.

Yes, you are wise to stick with the ES. I don't really see what practical advantage AWD would bring; indeed, tbh, I'm not sure why they're doing it. It's a perfectly fine driving car FWD; FWD is much improved generally which is why all manufacturers (even BMW) are moving in that direction. I had four Volvos from 2000 to 2013 and do really like them - they're certainly where I would go back to if I left Toyota/Lexus and they have always been underrated in reviews (if anyone is looking for a cheap, used, well equipped executive car the Volvo S80 cannot be overlooked, for example). However, I do take the general point that they are not quite the same quality-wise and reliability-wise.

I guess, genuinely, the answer to that is that CarPlay and Android Auto weren't originally available on the ES; they were thrown on to the 2020 model as an afterthought. I can't say it bothers me mind - I use the phone-sized slot to place the phone, or just feed the lead to the centre part.

The IS and CT have already been removed from Lexus Ireland (not sure about the RC). To be honest, I went in in July to replace my NX with an IS and came away with an ES; once finance calculations come in, they are clearly trying to promote the latter so if anything they emerge cheaper (new, anyway). It's anyone's guess what the future holds. I'm not sure anyone really saw the emergence of SUVs (electric vehicles were maybe a little more predictable); ten years from now we'll be all autonomous driving and perhaps even a different more temporary style of leasing. Lexus' objective in the UK and Ireland, as ever, will be to be niche rather than mass sales no doubt.

The additional point is that even mentioning a relatively new tech gizmo will draw attention to the car and the brand. They will appeal to people whose personality type is to be first to the new tech - IIRC that's around 5% of the population, which doesn't include me but it's better than nothing. I'm just glad to have the reverse tilt on my mirrors - I've never actually had that before!

Welcome on board. I've just traded in my 2017 NX F Sport (for an ES, after my wife got a UX) and had no issues at all! One thing on the margins just to watch was that occasionally the buttons in the centre (above the control pad) got stuck - so be sure to keep that area clean. That was it! These things don't really break...!

I've seen a UX in it and it looks great. Just one thing though - if you ding the paint on it, will it be easy to fix...?!