Compare the2023 Toyota Camry HybridVS 2023 Lexus ES

Safety
Warranty
Reliability
Engine
Fuel Economy and Range
Environmental Friendliness
Brakes and Stopping
Suspension and Handling
Chassis
Passenger Space
Cargo Capacity
Ergonomics
Recommendations

Safety

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In the past twenty years hundreds of infants and young children have died after being left in vehicles, usually by accident. When turning the vehicle off, drivers of the Camry Hybrid are reminded to check the back seat if they opened the rear door before starting out. The ES doesn’t offer a back seat reminder.

The Camry Hybrid has standard Whiplash Injury Lessening Seats (WIL), which use a specially designed seat to protect the driver and front passenger from whiplash. During a rear-end collision, the WIL system allows the backrest to travel backwards to cushion the occupants and the headrests move forward to prevent neck and spine injuries. The ES doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

Both the Camry Hybrid and the ES have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, post-collision automatic braking systems, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, rearview cameras, available blind spot warning systems, around view monitors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Toyota Camry Hybrid is safer than the Lexus ES:

	Camry Hybrid	ES
OVERALL STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
	Driver
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Neck Injury Risk	20%	24%
Neck Compression	13 lbs.	30 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	432/527 lbs.	524/628 lbs.
	Passenger
STARS	5 Stars	4 Stars
Chest Compression	.7 inches	.8 inches
Neck Injury Risk	21%	33%
Neck Stress	136 lbs.	159 lbs.
Neck Compression	45 lbs.	62 lbs.
Leg Forces (l/r)	266/310 lbs.	473/518 lbs.

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does side impact tests on new vehicles. In this test, which crashes the vehicle into a flat barrier at 38.5 MPH and into a post at 20 MPH, results indicate that the Toyota Camry Hybrid is safer than the Lexus ES:

	Camry Hybrid	ES
	Front Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
Abdominal Force	136 lbs.	160 lbs.
	Rear Seat
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	289	300
	Into Pole
STARS	5 Stars	5 Stars
HIC	164	326
Spine Acceleration	35 G’s	36 G’s

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

Side impacts caused 23% of all road fatalities in 2018, down from 29% in 2003, when the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety introduced its side barrier test. In order to continue improving vehicle safety, the IIHS has started using a more severe side impact test: 37 MPH (up from 31 MPH), with a 4180-pound barrier (up from 3300 pounds). The results of this newly developed test demonstrates that the Toyota Camry Hybrid is safer than the ES:

	Camry Hybrid	ES
Overall Evaluation	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Structure	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
	Driver Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	249	403
Neck Tension	290 lbs.	312 lbs.
Neck Compression	67 lbs.	89 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	ACCEPTABLE
Shoulder Deflection	1.1 in	1.54 in
Shoulder Force	290 lbs.	379 lbs.
Torso Max Deflection	1.18 in	1.38 in
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	ACCEPTABLE
Pelvis Force	937 lbs.	1026 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD
	Passenger Injury Measures
Head/Neck	GOOD	GOOD
Head Injury Criterion	185	197
Neck Tension	45 lbs.	134 lbs.
Torso	GOOD	GOOD
Torso Deflection Rate	5 MPH	10 MPH
Pelvis	ACCEPTABLE	MARGINAL
Pelvis Force	1049 lbs.	1205 lbs.
Head Protection	GOOD	GOOD

For its performance in IIHS driver-side and passenger-side small overlap frontal, moderate overlap frontal, updated side impact, headlight, daytime pedestrian crash prevention, and nighttime pedestrian crash prevention testing, the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety grants the Camry Hybrid its highest rating: “Top Safety Pick Plus” for 2023, a rating granted to only 29 vehicles tested by the IIHS. The ES is only a standard “Top Safety Pick” for 2023.

Warranty

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Camry Hybrid for 1 year and 15000 miles longer than Lexus pays for maintenance for the ES (2/25000 vs. 1/10,000).

There are over 5 times as many Toyota dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Camry Hybrid’s warranty.

Reliability

J.D. Power and Associates’ 2022 survey of the owners of three-year-old vehicles provides the long-term dependability statistics that show that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Lexus vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Toyota above average in long-term dependability. With 34 more problems per 100 vehicles in the first three years of ownership, Lexus is rated lower.

From surveys of all its subscribers, Consumer Reports’ January 2023 Auto Issue reports that Toyota vehicles are more reliable than Lexus vehicles. Consumer Reports ranks Toyota first in overall reliability. Lexus is ranked second.

Engine

The Camry Hybrid’s 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid produces 5 more horsepower (208 vs. 203) than the ES 250 AWD’s standard 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder.

As tested in Motor Trend the Toyota Camry Hybrid is faster than the ES 300h 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid:

	Camry Hybrid	ES
Zero to 60 MPH	7.4 sec	7.8 sec
Quarter Mile	15.6 sec	16 sec
Speed in 1/4 Mile	92.6 MPH	90.6 MPH

Fuel Economy and Range

On the EPA test cycle the Camry Hybrid gets better mileage than the ES:

			MPG
Camry Hybrid
	FWD	LE 2.5 4-cyl. Hybrid	51 city/53 hwy
		SE/XLE 2.5 4-cyl. Hybrid	44 city/47 hwy
ES
	FWD	2.5 4-cyl. Hybrid	43 city/44 hwy
		3.5 DOHC V6	22 city/32 hwy
		F Sport 3.5 DOHC V6	22 city/31 hwy
	AWD	2.5 DOHC 4-cyl.	25 city/34 hwy

Environmental Friendliness

In its Green Vehicle Guide, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) rates the Toyota Camry Hybrid higher (7 out of 10) than the Lexus ES (5 to 7). This means the Camry Hybrid produces up to 8 pounds less smog-producing pollutants than the ES every 15,000 miles.

Brakes and Stopping

The Camry Hybrid stops much shorter than the ES:

	Camry Hybrid	ES
60 to 0 MPH	125 feet	140 feet	Motor Trend

Suspension and Handling

The Camry Hybrid has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The ES’ suspension doesn’t offer rear gas-charged shocks.

The Camry Hybrid LE executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver quicker than the ES 300h (27.8 seconds @ .62 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Camry Hybrid LE’s turning circle is .6 feet tighter than the ES’ (37.4 feet vs. 38 feet).

Chassis

The Toyota Camry Hybrid may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 200 pounds less than the Lexus ES.

The Camry Hybrid LE/XLE is 3.8 inches shorter than the ES, making the Camry Hybrid easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Camry Hybrid uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The ES doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

Passenger Space

The Camry Hybrid has .8 inches more front headroom, .4 inches more front hip room, 1.8 inches more front shoulder room, .3 inches more rear hip room and 1.4 inches more rear shoulder room than the ES.

Cargo Capacity

The Camry Hybrid has a much larger trunk than the ES (15.1 vs. 13.9 cubic feet).

The Camry Hybrid’s standard rear seats fold to accommodate long and bulky cargo. The ES doesn’t offer folding rear seats, only a ski pass-through.

Ergonomics

The Camry Hybrid’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The ES’ standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

Recommendations

Both are recommended, but Consumer Reports® chose the Toyota Camry Hybrid as its “Top Pick,” the highest scoring vehicle in its category, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Toyota Camry outsold the Lexus ES by over seven to one during 2022.