Top Safety Pick

2013 Lexus ES 350

midsize luxury car / 4-door sedan

Crashworthiness

Rating overview
Evaluation criteria	Rating
Moderate overlap front: original test
Side: original test
Roof strength
Head restraints & seats

Crash avoidance & mitigation

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle
Optional system	Advanced

Other available safety features

Optional blind spot detection
Optional lane departure warning

Key

G
Good
A
Acceptable
M
Marginal
P
Poor

Superior
Advanced
Basic

Some ratings use a scale of Poor to Good. Others range from Basic to Superior.

Moderate overlap front: original test

Rating applies to 2013-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Lexus ES 350 4-door

The Lexus ES was redesigned for the 2013 model year. There are now two models, the ES 350 powered by a V6 gasoline engine and the ES 300h, a hybrid with both a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine and an electric motor. Moderate offset frontal ratings apply to both models and are assigned by the Institute based on a test of an ES 350 conducted by Toyota.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Chest
Leg/foot, left
Leg/foot, right
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics

Technical measurements for this test

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1203
Footwell intrusion
Footrest (cm)	6
Left (cm)	8
Center (cm)	4
Right (cm)	4
Brake pedal (cm)	4
Instrument panel rearward movement
Left (cm)	2
Right (cm)	1
Steering column movement
Upward (cm)	0
Rearward (cm)	2
A-pillar rearward movement (cm)	1

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTF1203
Head
HIC-15	212
Peak gs at hard contact	no contact
Neck
Tension (kN)	1.3
Extension bending moment (Nm)	27
Maximum Nij	0.30
Chest maximum compression (mm)	20
Legs
Femur force - left (kN)	1.5
Femur force - right (kN)	3.0
Knee displacement - left (mm)	3
Knee displacement - right (mm)	5
Maximum tibia index - left	0.50
Maximum tibia index - right	0.67
Tibia axial force - left (kN)	2.4
Tibia axial force - right (kN)	3.7
Foot acceleration (g)
Left	44
Right	58

About the original moderate overlap front test

Side: original test

Rating applies to 2013-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Lexus ES 350 4-door with standard front and rear head curtain airbags and standard front and rear seat-mounted torso airbags

The Lexus ES was redesigned for the 2013 model year. There are now two models, the ES 350 powered by a V6 gasoline engine and the ES 300h, a hybrid with both a 2.5-liter 4-cylinder gasoline engine and an electric motor. Side ratings ratings apply to both models and are assigned by the Institute based on a test of an ES 350 conducted by Toyota.

Evaluation criteria	Rating
Overall evaluation
Structure and safety cage
Driver injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Driver head protection
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck
Torso
Pelvis/leg
Rear passenger head protection

Technical measurements for this test

Test ID	VTS1205
B-pillar to longitudinal centerline of driver's seat (cm)	-14.0
Negative numbers indicate the amount by which the crush stopped short of the seat centerline.

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1205
Head HIC-15	379
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.6
Compression (kN)	0.2
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	44
Lateral force (kN)	1.5
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	30
Average deflection (mm)	25
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	3.56
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.33
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	1.9
Acetabulum force (kN)	1.5
Combined force (kN)	3.4
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.5
L-M moment (Nm)	23
A-P moment (Nm)	-53

Evaluation criteria	Measurement
Test ID	VTS1205
Head HIC-15	66
Neck
Tension (kN)	0.1
Compression (kN)	0.3
Shoulder
Lateral deflection (mm)	14
Lateral force (kN)	0.7
Torso
Maximum deflection (mm)	23
Average deflection (mm)	20
Maximum deflection rate (m/s)	4.66
Maximum viscous criterion (m/s)	0.23
Pelvis
Iliac force (kN)	0.4
Acetabulum force (kN)	0.9
Combined force (kN)	1.1
Left femur
L-M force (kN)	0.9
L-M moment (Nm)	39
A-P moment (Nm)	137

About the original side crash test

Roof strength

Rating applies to 2013-18 models

Tested vehicle: 2013 Lexus ES 350 4-door

Rating applies to both the ES 350 (tested) and the ES 300h (hybrid) models.

Overall evaluation
Curb weight	3,558 lbs
Peak force	18,556 lbs
Strength-to-weight ratio	5.22

About the roof strength test

Head restraints & seats

Seat type: Power leather seats

Overall evaluation
Dynamic rating
Seat/head restraint geometry

Technical measurements for this test

Seat type	Power leather seats
Geometry
Backset (mm)	11
Distance below top of head (mm)	14
Seat design parameters
Pass/fail	Pass
Max T1 acceleration (g)	14.1
Head contact time (ms)	56
Force rating	1
Neck forces
Max neck shear force (N)	0
Max neck tension (N)	415

About the head restraint & seat test
Currently, IIHS tests apply only to front seats.

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle

System details

Optional Pre-Collision System

Package name

Optional Pre-Collision System with Dynamic Radar Cruise Control

Overall evaluation

Applies to 2013-15 models

Advanced

with optional equipment

This system meets the requirements for forward collision warning.
In the 12 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 6 mph.
In the 25 mph test, impact speed was reduced by 4 mph.

About the original front crash prevention test