You might want to check your facts. For one, the ES is about $10k less. As far as advertised range, they don't look too far apart. The BMW has a 10% larger battery, too.

2026 BMW i4 Range Comparison (Estimated):

• i4 eDrive40 (RWD): 307–333 miles.
• i4 xDrive40 (AWD): 268–287 miles.

2026 Lexus ES Electric Ranges (Estimates)

• ES 350e (FWD): ~300–307 miles.
• ES 500e (AWD): ~250–276 miles.

 

Any information on when the sales start in the US? They said in April but nothing yet.

 

I called my local dealerships this week and they don’t really have any available as of right now. My local dealerships are still going to training currently right now. They are quoting me middle of May end of June that they should be getting some shipped from the plant but none of them really know especially because it’s not showing up on their inventory list yet.

 

According to Lexus of Concord, it is coming soon (May):

 

I hope they have some that don’t have the other extras with it….. especially since we can’t order exactly what we want smh. But I’m excited that at least one is on its way to USA

 

Buy the BMW for more money, higher depreciation, higher maintenance cost and less dependability for a few more miles of range REALLY!!!!

 

Not sure about the depreciation and maintenance on a Lexus EV since this is pretty much a new venture for Lexus. I suppose we could assume it’s better than BMW, but there are plenty of other choices.
Lexus EVs are down on horsepower and range compared to others.
I like performance, so would like as much power as possible as long as it’s within my budget.
Also, it seems to me an EV that is based on a gas engined car isn’t the best idea either.

 

Model 3:
RWD EPA 272 mi range, 0-60 5.8
Long Range AWD EPA 303 mi range, 0-60 4.3
Performance 341 mi range, 0-60 3.0
Warranty 8 years 100k mi.

Model Y:
RWD EPA 260 mi, 0-60 5.9
Performance AWD EPA 279 mi, 0-60 4.7
Long Range AWD EPA 310 mi, 0-60 3.6
Warranty 8 years 100k mi.

ES350e FWD EPA 307 mi, 0-60 7.4
ES500e AWD EPA 279 mi, 0-60 5.1
Warranty 10 years 150k mi

TMC is very conservative with driving their batteries hard, limiting supercharging speeds, limiting 0-60 discharging speeds and limiting range - to preserve their battery packs for the long run.
TMC "bi polar" performance batteries should be released later this year for faster charging, faster discharging for higher performance and longer range.

i4, i5 and Audi Q8 e-tron platforms - are all ICEV converted platforms.
Benz EQE and EQS and e-TNGA are dedicated EV platforms, however they are still compromised because they are heavily related to their ICEV siblings for components.
That is why e-TNGA is still FWD with single lower link MacPherson strut suspension.
Main advantage of dedicated EV platform is bigger battery pack.

Over the past 30-40 years, ES does not sell for performance nor handling.
ES sells for other reasons.

 

Well another thing is the ES is vastly larger than anything in its price range. The BMW i5 starts at 68k which is still a bit smaller. I know the i5 is a class up.

Lexus isn’t looking to sell a ton of these so I think they have a target here they will hit.