The redesigned 2026 Lexus ES. Photo: Lexus USA.

2026 Lexus ES: Edison Buyers Guide

The most different ES in 35 years

Lexus doesn't reinvent the ES often — this is only the eighth generation of a nameplate that's been quietly outselling half the German lineup for three decades on comfort and reliability rather than flash. This one's a bigger jump than usual. The new car shares its underlying platform with Lexus's battery-electric models for the first time, and the whole lineup has gone electrified: no more plain-gas V6, no more ES 300h. In its place are three distinct powertrains built around one body. The ES 350h keeps the hybrid formula buyers already trust, now with 244 net horsepower and, for the first time on an ES hybrid, an all-wheel-drive option. The ES 350e is the new entry point into a fully electric ES — front-wheel drive, one motor, a 307-mile EPA range. And the ES 500e tops the range with dual motors, standard all-wheel drive, and enough torque to hit 60 mph in 5.1 seconds, quicker than any gas ES Lexus has sold.

If you've been shopping the old ES 350 or ES 300h, none of those trim names carry over. Every 2026 car is either an "h" (hybrid) or an "e" (electric) — worth knowing before you start cross-shopping listings, since a lot of search results and forum threads still describe last year's car.

Three lines, one dealership

Lexus of Edison sits at 711 US Highway 1, easy to reach from Highland Park, Metuchen, New Brunswick, Piscataway, South Plainfield, and the Route 1/Route 27 corridor generally — and, with the Outerbridge and Goethals bridges both close by, from Staten Island too. The store has been selling Lexus here since 2008 and carries the Elite of Lexus Award for customer service, a distinction Lexus doesn't hand out for free. Sales staff between them speak Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish, Arabic, Polish, French, Russian, and Serbian, which matters more than most dealership copy admits in a metro area this diverse.

Pick your 2026 ES

What buyers say about the store

The redesigned ES rides on a new multi-pathway platform shared with Lexus's electric lineup. Photo: Lexus.

Lexus of Edison carries a 4.4-star rating across more than 1,200 Google reviews, and the ES shows up by name across years of them. "We recently acquired a 2025 Lexus ES 350 from Lexus of Edison. My sales representative, Henry Li, was absolutely phenomenal," one recent buyer wrote. Another, on a certified ES purchase: "It was flawless experience buying [my] ES350 from Mr. Dale Johnson at Lexus of Edison." On the service side, a 2026 visitor described the new facility directly: "Just had my new [ES] serviced at Lexus RT.1 EDISON. Beautiful brand new showroom. I was there less than an hour."

The thread that runs through years of ES-specific reviews here isn't the car — it's the same two or three names doing right by people who come back for a second and third one. That kind of repeat business is hard to fake in a review section.

Owning one in Edison

The ES service & repair guide covers the maintenance schedule for all three powertrains, what LexusCare actually includes, and what a New Jersey winter does to tires and brakes on Route 1. The pricing & leasing guide covers New Jersey's flat sales tax, the surcharge that quietly applies to every 2026 ES trim, and what to expect on a lease.

Frequently asked questions

Is the Lexus ES basically a Camry?

They share a Toyota-family design lineage and, broadly, engineering philosophy, but the 2026 ES is not a rebadged Camry. It rides on its own multi-pathway platform — the same one underpinning Lexus's newest electric models — with Lexus-specific hybrid and BEV powertrains, cabin materials, and the Lexus Safety System+ 4.0 suite that isn't offered on the Toyota side.

How much does a Lexus ES 350 cost?

There is no "ES 350" for 2026 — that gas-only V6 trim was retired with this redesign. The closest equivalent today is the ES 350h hybrid, from $50,995 with destination, or the ES 350e electric, actually the cheapest 2026 ES at $48,795. If a listing anywhere still shows a plain "ES 350," it's describing the outgoing generation.

Is the ES cheaper than the IS?

Trim for trim, they land close, but the IS is a smaller sports sedan and the ES is the bigger, more comfort-oriented car — different jobs. Ask a product specialist at Lexus of Edison to put both in front of you; the size and ride difference is more obvious in person than in spec sheets.

How long will a 2026 ES last?

Too new for its own track record, but the nameplate's reputation for high-mileage reliability is well earned across seven prior generations, and every 2026 ES carries Lexus's 4-year/50,000-mile bumper-to-bumper warranty plus 6 years/70,000 miles on the powertrain. The hybrid system in particular is a sixth-generation design built on a decade-plus of Lexus/Toyota hybrid durability data.

Which 2026 ES is right for a New Jersey winter?

If all-weather traction matters more than range anxiety, the ES 350h AWD or the standard-AWD ES 500e are the safer defaults for Route 1 in February. The ES 350e is FWD only this generation — fine for most drivers, less reassuring on an unplowed side street.

Where can I see one in Edison?

At Lexus of Edison's new-inventory search on US Highway 1, or start with a no-obligation extended test drive before committing to a trim.

Three powertrains, one visit

Reading trim guides only gets a shopper so far with a redesign this significant — the driving character of the 350h, 350e, and 500e is genuinely different in ways a spec sheet undersells. Lexus of Edison keeps current-year ES stock next to its certified pre-owned inventory, so the comparison — and the trade-in conversation — can happen in the same visit.

All 2026 Lexus ES guides

• 2026 Lexus ES 350h
• 2026 Lexus ES 350e
• 2026 Lexus ES 500e
• Lexus ES service & repair in Edison
• 2026 Lexus ES pricing & leasing in Edison