2002 Lexus ES 300

With its new ES 300, Lexus has soared well past the original concept of a leather-lined, upgraded and more-expensive Camry. The first ES (the ES 250, introduced in 1989) was just that. Lexus engineers simply Lexified the top-of-the-line Toyota in case their bigger car's $35,000 price tag (lofty then for a Japanese car) scared customers away. From an engineering standpoint at the time, Lexus opted to focus on its then revolutionary LS 400, a car that first startled—then soon scared—the Germans. In hindsight, the LS provoked a Teutonic turnaround that manifested itself in better customer service, longer service intervals, and a host of great new products—plus a few old ones that soon received V-8 heart transplants.

Distinctive styling will further set apart the 2002 ES from its Camry sibling. Large, wraparound lights make a bold statement. Self-leveling HID headlamps are an option.

Fast-forward to 2001: The LS is now a 4.3-liter luxury sedan that, fully optioned, has a sticker in the $60K range. The Lexus product line has expanded, with a sub-range of sports models and two hot-selling SUVs. The company has sold more than a million cars and trucks in North America. In an era where Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz are racing to command the lower end of the expanding "entry-lux" segment, Lexus is solidifying its position there and, at this moment, seems unconcerned with having the lowest price point. "We can't be everything to everyone," says CEO Denny Clements. He's happy that 65 percent of ES buyers are already Lexus loyalists.


Instead, product planners have carved out what they believe is the perfect, heavily contented first step to status. It helps that this category is growing in both directions—spurred by affluent baby-boomers, double-income his-and-her achievers and striving singles. What they have in common is that they want it all.

Standard shoes and socks are V-rated summer treads on brushed-aluminum wheels. All-season tires and chrome rims are optional.

Accordingly, the new ES 300 is a noticeably bigger car: Compared to its predecessor, the 2002 model has a 2-inch longer wheelbase and is 2.5 inches taller. The interior, at 96.4 cubic feet, is bigger than a C-Class's. With its large, slashing headlamps, pointed hood and pinched grille, accented by a sweeping roofline and scooped side window outlines, the 2002 ES is more radically styled than the model it replaces—yet it's still comfortably and recognizably a Lexus. Thanks to computational fluid dynamics and lots of flush glass and clean surfaces, its coefficient of drag is an impressively wind-cheating 0.28.

Featuring Regency Leather and California Walnut accents, the ES 300's interior is undeniably Lexus.

Inside, the ES 300's interior has all the familiar Lexus touches: large, backlit instruments, neatly curved dash and armrest components and so on. Detail-attentiveness is apparent by the California Walnut-accented ashtray and a sunglass holder and glove-compartment drawer that, by design, open at the same relaxed speed. And there's a lot more: rain-sensing wipers, Regency Leather upholstery, an electronically controlled, seamless-shifting five-speed automatic, a sequentially controlled crush-zone body design, ABS, EBD electronic brake distribution, vanity lighting and even a purse hanger. This is why the ES's price, with a few extras, could inexorably close in on the $40K mark.