Push and Pull: 2021 Lexus ES Gains All-wheel Drive

by Steph Willems

Published: August 20th, 2020

push and pull 2021 lexus es gains all wheel drive

As expected, the traditionally front-drive Lexus ES will enliven its rear axle for the 2021 model year.

Like its sister sedan, the Toyota Avalon, the ES range will see the addition of an all-wheel drive model motivated by the automaker’s stalwart 2.5-liter four-cylinder. A powerhouse it is not, but come winter, the ES 250 AWD could be a respectable motorist’s best friend.

Lexus announced this product as well as a sporty-looking Black Line Special Edition model Thursday. And because appearance packages rank mighty low on the interest scale, let’s dig into that AWD model.

The return of the ES 250 designation heralds a drop in power, but, thanks to a rear axle that decouples from the rest of the driveline when not needed, the car’s combined fuel efficiency of 28 mpg still tops that of the 3.5-liter units found in the FWD ES 350 models. An eight-speed automatic handles shifting duties. Power is rated at 203 horses, with torque remaining a mystery for now. In the AWD Avalon, the powertrain makes 205 hp and 185 lb-ft.

Being able to funnel 50 percent of the engine’s grunt to the rear wheels might just boost the appeal of a sedan that has the unfortunate distinction of being a sedan in 2020. All passenger car segments are in trouble; as such, Toyota, by adding optional AWD to the Camry, Avalon, ES, and even the Prius, hopes it can persuade some buyers to leave that tempting crossover in the rear-view.

Interestingly, Lexus decided to make the F Sport option available on the AWD model. Sportier looks, a firmer suspension, and 19-inch wheels can adorn your four-cylinder upper-midsize sedan, if you so choose.

As for the Black Line, it’s a front-drive, 3.5-liter V6 proposition only. There’ll also be just 1,500 produced for U.S. consumers. Based on the F Sport grade and arriving in three colors (Ultrasonic Blue Mica 2.0, Obsidian, and Ultra White), the Black Line ES 350 dons a two-tone interior with contrasting stitching, a rear lip spoiler, black side mirrors, and darkened wheels and lug nuts.

Underwhelmed? Don’t be! Black Line buyers will further distance themselves from their lowly ES 350 peers with a two-piece set of Zero Halliburton luggage. Inside these cases, a driver could place pants, shirts, and even a variety of drawers, plus a bottle of blended scotch whisky for that cold night in the cabin. Should you become separated from your carry-on and medium travel case, the “Zero Halliburton for Lexus” logo should leave no doubt as to their owner.

Elsewhere in the 2021 ES lineup, the ES 300h hybrid ditches its nickel-metal hybrid battery for a lithium ion battery, with the new unit now placed under the back seat. That should free up some trunk room.

A useful upgrade appearing in Luxury, F Sport, and Ultra Luxury models is blind spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert, while all ES models see Lexus Safety System+ 2.0 as standard equipment. That bundle brings together a pre-collision system, lane departure alert with lane tracing assist, all-speed dynamic radar cruise control, and road sign assist.

[Images: Lexus]

#AllWheelDrive #AWD #ES #Lexus #LexusEs #LexusES250 #NewCars #ProductPlanning #SpecialEditions

Steph Willems

More by Steph Willems

Comments

Join the conversation

2 of 19 comments

Jerome10 on Aug 20, 2020

Ouch. This seems a bit stupid. Why did they not add AWD and keep the V6? Or just make that the standard powertrain. Now you get to choose do you want power, smoothness, buttery amazing Lexus 3.5L V6 (a unique selling point in this market of turbo 4s) or give all that up for AWD? I suspect the AWD is gonna win. In my part of the world I think almost everyone views it as a must have. It is helpful, don't get me wrong, but everyone wants it. So AWD will win, they'll say "see...nobody cares about the V6!" and in a few years the V6 will go out of production and you'll get your choice of I4 with or without hybrid battery or AWD.

Like Reply
Googly on Aug 20, 2020

What I do not understand is why does no Lexus ES model offer heated rear seats, not even in an option package, while it is available in the Toyota Avalon. I checked it in Specifications and Optional Packages on the Lexus site. Even some economy cars with leather or fake leather seats have heated rear seats now, for example the Honda Civic.

Like Reply

Recent Comments

Varezhka I have still yet to see a Malibu on the road that didn't have a rental sticker. So yeah, GM probably lost money on every one they sold but kept it to boost their CAFE numbers.I'm personally happy that I no longer have to dread being "upgraded" to a Maxima or a Malibu anymore. And thankfully Altima is also on its way out.
Tassos Under incompetent, affirmative action hire Mary Barra, GM has been shooting itself in the foot on a daily basis.Whether the Malibu cancellation has been one of these shootings is NOT obvious at all.GM should be run as a PROFITABLE BUSINESS and NOT as an outfit that satisfies everybody and his mother in law's pet preferences.IF the Malibu was UNPROFITABLE, it SHOULD be canceled.More generally, if its SEGMENT is Unprofitable, and HALF the makers cancel their midsize sedans, not only will it lead to the SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST ones, but the survivors will obviously be more profitable if the LOSERS were kept being produced and the SMALL PIE of midsize sedans would yield slim pickings for every participant.SO NO, I APPROVE of the demise of the unprofitable Malibu, and hope Nissan does the same to the Altima, Hyundai with the SOnata, Mazda with the Mazda 6, and as many others as it takes to make the REMAINING players, like the Excellent, sporty Accord and the Bulletproof Reliable, cheap to maintain CAMRY, more profitable and affordable.
GregLocock Car companies can only really sell cars that people who are new car buyers will pay a profitable price for. As it turns out fewer and fewer new car buyers want sedans. Large sedans can be nice to drive, certainly, but the number of new car buyers (the only ones that matter in this discussion) are prepared to sacrifice steering and handling for more obvious things like passenger and cargo space, or even some attempt at off roading. We know US new car buyers don't really care about handling because they fell for FWD in large cars.
Slavuta Why is everybody sweating? Like sedans? - go buy one. Better - 2. Let CRV/RAV rust on the dealer lot. I have 3 sedans on the driveway. My neighbor - 2. Neighbors on each of our other side - 8 SUVs.
Theflyersfan With sedans, especially, I wonder how many of those sales are to rental fleets. With the exception of the Civic and Accord, there are still rows of sedans mixed in with the RAV4s at every airport rental lot. I doubt the breakdown in sales is publicly published, so who knows... GM isn't out of the sedan business - Cadillac exists and I can't believe I'm typing this but they are actually decent - and I think they are making a huge mistake, especially if there's an extended oil price hike (cough...Iran...cough) and people want smaller and hybrids. But if one is only tied to the quarterly shareholder reports and not trends and the big picture, bad decisions like this get made.