Like the exterior, the ES’ interior makes neither friends nor enemies. It’s business as usual for Lexus, which means you’ll be treated to acres of glossy wood, sumptuous leather and a generally cohesive design that emphasizes user-friendliness over trendy style.

The center stack, inspired by the previous-generation RX, logically groups controls and, on our tester, featured Toyota’s excellent and intuitive navigation system. Our car’s optional Mark Levinson audio system places a priority on clear sound quality over thundering bass, not surprising given the ES’ target demographic.

We did find fault with a few materials that didn’t impress us as much as those on the Cadillac CTS. Namely, the dash top’s oddly shiny urethane and some of the plastic surrounding the center console. Surely Lexus could have spent a few more bucks on materials buyers are likely to expect at this level.