Compare the2024 Toyota PriusVS 2024 Lexus ES

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 Prius 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.

Both the Prius and the ES have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact 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, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, driver alert monitors and available around view monitors.

The Insurance Institute for Highway Safety does 40 MPH moderate front offset crash tests on new cars. In this updated test, results indicate that the Prius is safer than the ES:

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 Prius is safer than the ES:

The Toyota Prius has achieved the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety’s (IIHS) highest rating of “Top Safety Pick Plus” for the 2024 model year. This distinction is based on its exceptional performance in IIHS’ rigorous battery of safety tests. Specifically, it earned an “Acceptable” rating in the latest, more stringent moderate overlap front crash test, a “Good” result in the updated side impact test, and a “Good” score in the revised pedestrian crash prevention test. The ES was last only a “Top Safety Pick” in 2023 but no longer qualifies.

Toyota pays for scheduled maintenance on the Prius 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 Prius’ warranty.

The battery on the Prius is in the trunk, which protects it from hot underhood temperatures that can degrade battery life. By keeping the Prius’ battery 20 to 30 degrees cooler, its life is increased by years. The ES’ battery is in the hot engine compartment.

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.

As tested in Motor Trend the Toyota Prius 2.0 is faster than the ES 300h 2.5 DOHC 4-cylinder hybrid:

On the EPA test cycle the Prius gets better mileage than the ES:

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

The Prius stops much shorter than the ES:

The Prius Limited AWD-e handles at .86 G’s, while the ES 300h pulls only .78 G’s of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Prius Limited AWD-e executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.4 seconds quicker than the ES 300h (27 seconds @ .64 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .6 average G’s).

For better maneuverability, the Prius LE’s turning circle is 3.6 feet tighter than the ES’ (34.4 feet vs. 38 feet). The Prius XLE/Limited’s turning circle is 2.6 feet tighter than the ES’ (35.4 feet vs. 38 feet).

The Toyota Prius may be more efficient, handle and accelerate better because it weighs about 450 to 600 pounds less than the Lexus ES.

The Prius is 1 foot, 2.8 inches shorter than the ES, making the Prius easier to handle, maneuver and park in tight spaces.

The front grille of the Prius 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.

The Prius has .5 inches more front headroom and .8 inches more front legroom than the ES.

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the Prius’ hatch uses gas strut supported hinges that don’t intrude into the cargo area. Its intrusive beam hinge reduces the ES’ useful trunk space.

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

The Prius LE’s standard 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.

Consumer Reports rated the Prius’ headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the ES’ headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

Both the Prius and the ES offer available heated front seats. The Prius Limited also offers optional heated rear seats to keep those passengers extremely comfortable in the winter. Heated rear seats aren’t available in the ES.

The Prius Limited’s optional Advanced Park can parallel park or back into a parking spot by itself, starting, stopping and changing direction automatically. The ES doesn’t offer an automated parking system.

Insurance will cost less for the Prius owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Prius will cost $500 less than the ES over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the Toyota Prius will be $13579 to $15447 less than for the Lexus ES.

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

The Prius/Prius Prime was chosen as a Car and Driver’s “Top Ten” for 2024 and 1 more times in the last 21 years. The ES has never been chosen by Car and Driver in their “10Best” issue.

Motor Trend selected the Prius as their 2024 Car of the Year. The ES has never been chosen.

A group of representative automotive journalists from North America selected the Prius as the 2024 North American Car of the Year. The ES has never been chosen.