Lexus ES Is Cheaper to Lease Than a Toyota Camry
By Brett Foote

A rather odd development, indeed.

 

If you're thinking about leasing and see that a Lexus ES has a better lease rate than a Toyota Camry, I'd suggest carefully checking the lease agreement. Make sure you understand any incentives and see if the lease conditions, like mileage limits and wear-and-tear policies, fit your driving habits.

 

I think the Lexus ES looks so much better than the Camry.

Camry is too blah for me but the ES with leather seats, oh yeah

 

Cheaper? No…. Better value? Probably…

 

And the new Camry is a 4 cylinder hybrid with no V6 option. You can still, for now, get the 3.5 in the ES, though I'm guessing the ES that leases cheaper than a Camry probably has the 4 cylinder as well.

 

One's been out for five years, the other is all new. Logical and it happens...

 

You can get heated and ventilated leather seats in Camry XLE now.

But yes I agree the ES is more of a looker.

 

Possibly & to move more ES's.........

 

Out of curiosity I went to the Lexus website to check it out. I had no idea that a Lexus ES250 AWD even existed. That appears to be the cheapest trim.

With all due respect for owners, that car must be really gutless. I’m sure it’s not purchased for acceleration or performance, but wow, a car like that would have been panned for being fake luxury a few years ago.

 

While the ES in the original article here is the ES350 comes with the fairly strong V6, I recently had a loaner ES250 AWD and it was pretty terrible. I would not own one. Power was okay, but the engine was really, really coarse. The 4 cylinder hybrid drivetrain in my parent's RAV4 was smoother (and more powerful) than that. I was seriously surprised at how much I disliked it. Shame, as the rest of the car was pretty nice.

 

When I get them as loaners I have to spin them to 4500-5k rpm to feel like the LS460 at 2200-2700.....driven the same way in terms of felt TQ it got 2 mpg less than my 460 last time I had one on the exact same route lol!

It was fun in a flog it to redline sort of way but then when I saw the MSRP I laughed aloud at how they think they can charge that. Didn't ride all that great nor was it quiet, very Camry plus sort of feeling.

 

that’s the problem with many of these cars with undersized engines. You gotta rev them a lot to drive normally, to the point where they get worse gas mileage than a larger displacement engine. And not only do you get worse gas mileage, you get less refinement in the process as well. Seems like a double fail for a supposed luxury car to me.

 

I mean I could just limit rpm but then I am SLOW vs car that I should by rights be able to easily outpace considering what I spent. I don't like spending a lot to just be a part of normal traffic and not have ability to just MOVE

 

I rented a Camry 2.5, and I had to rev the engine over 3500 to get the same amount of power that my engine makes at 2000 to 2500 RPM. And of course 4 cyl. Sounds like crap. Other that it was a pretty nice driving car. Rides smoother than my GS, but doesn’t feel as athletic.

 

The ES 250 engine option is available for all trims across its entire model lineup—Base, Luxury, Ultra Luxury, and the F-Sport Design (variant.) But I feel that a true luxury or high-end vehicle needs a powerful engine. The base engine might be sufficient for some, but if I were considering an Ultra Lux. trim, or any trim for that matter, I just wouldn't be able to reconcile the Ultra or the Luxury with that considerably underpowered engine. Considering that the ES 250 can have the same features and equipment as the ES 350 Ultra Luxury, I wouldn't call it "fake" luxury, but that anorexic engine does kill the overall "luxury" vibe for me. I considered a test drive of a 250 before ordering my special Order 22 350 Ultra Lux. The GM that I've known for a decade strongly advised against it, saying, "You definitely do not want it, especially..." before trailing off, likely to spare me from potential disappointment.