Lexus ES250 V20, 1 generation 06.1989 - 07.1991

With the launch of Toyota's new Lexus brand, premium car enthusiasts have been offered a line of luxury cars, the first step of which was taken in 1989 by the Lexus ES250, a front-wheel drive sedan equipped with a 2.5-liter engine. In fact, the car was an analogue of the luxury Toyota Camry Prominent sedan (V20), only brought to an even higher level of performance due to its equipment. The car is distinguished by an original, slightly forward radiator grille with horizontal ribs and the Lexus emblem, elongated front optics created in the fashion of those years, huge taillights with a small niche for a license plate, as well as powerful bumpers and frameless doors. Lexus ES250 as standard offered 15-inch alloy wheels, fog lights, chrome trim, full power accessories. Lexus standard radio cassette player in the 2DIN version includes a stereo cassette player, AM / FM radio, as well as an informative LCD display and high-quality speakers with six speakers. For comfort in the cabin there is an air conditioning with button control and a regulator with a scale of supported temperature. Standard fabric upholstery could be replaced with leather. In addition, additional equipment included: an electric driver’s seat, a CD player, a sunroof and other functions. Under the hood of the Lexus ES 250 is a 2.5-liter 2VZ-FE - V6 engine. This motor, which appeared on the market in 1988, took the top positions in the rating due to its characteristics. Based on the 1VZ-FE engine, it has an increased volume by changing the diameter of the cylinder, but with the same piston stroke. Due to modernization, it was possible to increase the power from 136 to 158 horsepower (at 5800 rpm) and the maximum torque from 173 to 216 Nm (at 4600 rpm). The engine was either paired with a 5-speed manual gearbox or a 4-speed automatic transmission. Lexus ES250 is created on the same platform with the Toyota Camry Prominent / Vista family with a wheelbase of 2.6 m. The suspension is completely independent on the shock absorber struts front and rear, ventilated front disc brakes, rear disc brakes. Steering - type “gear-rack” with power steering greatly facilitates control and is quite informative, while the steering wheel makes 2.9 turns from lock to lock.

 Among the standard safety measures for the Lexus ES250 are antilock brakes for each of the four wheels, an anti-theft system, fog lights, and a driver's airbag. In NHTSA crash tests, the car got good results: four out of five stars for protecting the passenger and three stars for protecting the driver in a frontal impact.

 Lexus ES250 - in many ways a typical representative of the Japanese automobile industry of the 80s. Among the advantages, it is possible to note the very high reliability and survivability of both the body and its units, which allows individual representatives of this generation to still run on the roads (most of them, however, are represented by right-hand drive Camry Prominent). However, given the considerable age of these machines, the choice of this model can be justified only in case of good technical condition.