The Lexus ES 350 is right up there with some of Europe's finest executive sedans.

The 2022 Lexus ES 350 is now available for a base selling price of $41,875 and comes with a reasonably long list of upgrades in the form of the interior, exterior, and safety features, making it quite value for money. The V6 motor of the ES 350 remains unchanged, and it is still one of the best of the lot for munching miles with utmost comfort. The ride quality is top-notch, and the interior comes filled with utmost premium materials too.

The Lexus ES 350 is supremely refined and turned out to be one of the best in terms of safety performance. The infotainment is very intuitive and feels very premium. Competing with the likes of the Acura TLX, BMW 5 Series, and Audi A6, here are 10 things you need to know before getting the 2022 Lexus ES 350​​​​​.

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The 2022 Lexus ES 350 comes with no changes in terms of powertrain and hence it retains the same tried and tested 3.5-liter naturally aspirated VVT V6 motor producing 302 hp and 267 lb-ft of torque. This motor comes mated to an 8-speed torque converter automatic transmission and the power is put down through the FWD drivetrain.

Even though the motor is not as exciting as the ones offered by the rivals, the refinement is where this motor truly shines. Even when gunning the motor on the highways, it sounds sweet and refined. There is more than adequate performance on tap, and the low-end performance is even superior to the rivals. The transmission is adequately fast and offers seamless shifts too.

Coming in at a base MSRP of $41,875, the 2022 ES 350 easily beat the European rivals when it comes to value. In comparison to the much more expensive Audi A6 and the BMW 5 Series, the ES 350 comes filled to the brim with all the tech and features that you could think of, making it a better family sedan.

All the interior and exterior features like semi-aniline leather upholstery, heated and powered seats, powered trunk, wooden inserts, navigation system, and many more are offered with the Ultra Luxury package of the ES 350, which is not very expensive. In comparison, the rivals from Audi, BMW, and Volvo miss out on these features as standard and the optional packages are insanely priced too.

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One of the biggest reasons why many prefer the Lexus ES 350 over the more fun-to-drive propositions, is due to the superb ride quality it offers. Even though it comes with a front and rear independent suspension system, similar to the Toyota Camry, the ride quality is sublime, and the passengers are never going to be uncomfortable.

Drive the car slowly, and you would be amazed at how it soaks up any unevenness well on the road due to this well-calibrated suspension system. Even the biggest of the potholes are also filtered out with no issues and the suspension works silently too. While driving at the highway speeds, the ES 350 retains its magic carpet ride quality, with no major vertical movement.

Being a mid-size luxury sedan that is more focussed on comfort and luxury, Lexus has managed to impress us with its top-notch interior quality and refinement. Touch any part of the cabin and you would be surprised with how remarkable the materials are. The entire dashboard and door cards come covered in premium leather and soft-touch plastics.

Other elements, like the chrome inserts, wooden inserts with certain optional color schemes, and plush semi-aniline leather upholstery add to the premium factor of this mid-size sedan. The refinement level is top-notch, and you could only hear external noises like road-noise, tire noise, and wind noise if you concentrate too hard. The sound deadening is excellent, too.

The 2022 Lexus ES 350 is a letdown in terms of driving dynamics, especially when compared to the more sure-footed rivals like the BMW 5 Series and the Acura TLX. The steering is very light and lacks a bit of feel and feedback, which could be felt when pushing the car to the limits. However, the electric power steering felt quite precise and direct.

When driving the car enthusiastically, take the corner a bit too fast, and you would know about the limitations of the front-wheel-drive architecture. The car feels very front heavy and that results in high understeer. This does bog down the driving experience quite a bit.

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The 2022 Lexus ES 350 comes with 12" front rotors and 11.1" rear rotors, and the braking performance turned out to be more than adequate for the segment. Even with a heavy curb weight of 3,690 lbs, the car managed to do the 60-0 mph braking test in a respectable 110 feet.

Apart from the excellent braking hardware, the long list of standard features like ABS with EBD, automated emergency braking, hill hold control, brake assist, and many more also contribute to the excellent braking performance of the ES 350. The initial bite was top-notch, and the brake fade was very minimal. When stomped on the brake pedal from high speeds, the impressive braking progression coupled with no front-end dive helped the car to come to halt with no drama.

Being powered by a 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6 motor and an 8-speed automatic transmission, similar to the Toyota Camry TRD, the fuel efficiency is almost identical too. The ES 350 managed to give out 22 mpg in the city and 32 mpg on the highway, which equates to combined gas mileage of 26 mpg.

With a 15.9-gallon fuel tank capacity, the car could also do 508 miles of highway range, which is pretty impressive. In comparison, both the BMW 5 Series and the Infiniti Q50 offered a slightly lower combined gas mileage. However, the Acura TLX offered a combined gas mileage of 27 mpg, which is 1 mpg more than the ES 350.

The car has seen no compromises on the safety front. When compared to the outgoing model year, this 2022 iteration of the Lexus ES 350 receives a few more standard driver-assistance features like pedestrian detection, cyclist detection, a new oncoming traffic intersection detection system, and more.

Apart from that, all the safety features which were previously standard with the Lexus Safety System + 2.5 like the automated emergency braking, lane departure warning, lane-keeping assist, adaptive cruise control, etc are standard too. With superb build quality on offer, the car received the highest 5-star rating in the NHTSA crash test and a good rating in most of the subsections of the IIHS crash test.

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Unlike the 2021 model which comes with a non-touchscreen setup, the 2022 Lexus ES 350 comes with touchscreen compatibility as well. However, the standard 8" infotainment system remains unchanged, and we are more than happy with the interface and the menu layout. Both the display quality and touch sensitivity are top-notch.

This infotainment comes filled with all the connectivity features like Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, Bluetooth, aux, USB ports, Wi-Fi hotspot, and many more as standard. All the entertainment features are offered too. Apart from that, there is also an optional 12.3" infotainment system which makes the cabin looks a bit more premium.

Ever since the seventh generation of the Lexus ES 350 arrived on the market back in 2018, it has been famous for its striking exterior design. The car is mainly highlighted by the quirky front-end design with its massive spindle grille with neatly embedded Lexus logo, sharp LED headlights with striking LED DRL and the masculine hood design. All of these are carried forward to the 2022 iteration, and the car doesn't get any major design changes.

Offered with 9 standard colors and 2 optional colors, the ES 350 looks very different from the other European and Asian rivals out there. The color-keyed rear spoiler and the 18" 10-spoke alloy wheels are optional extras, and they make the car look a bit sportier. Apart from that, the side and rear profiles take forward the subtle character lines, fender flares, and beautiful LED taillights.