The rake of the ES 330 combined with its streaked-back headlamps make a striking statement. The front end seems to slope down in one continuous curve, from the top of the windshield, over the sculpted hood and tidy dark grille, down to the smooth air dam under the almost seamless front bumper. The headlight cluster suggests silvery eyes pulled back at the corners.

Tail lamps trimmed in silver echo the design, stretching around the corners, as if reaching to meet the headlamps. The standard nine-spoke 16-inch alloy wheels complement the styling, while the optional 17-inch alloy wheels use a six-spoke design that gives the car a sportier look. Chromed door handles are easy to grab and do not require awkwardly flipping your hand over as they do on some of the other cars in this class.

When it designed the ES, Lexus set out to make it one of the the safest cars in the class. The passenger compartment is reinforced in critical areas and front and rear crush zones are designed to crumple and help absorb the impact of a crash.

The ES 330 is based on the same platform as the Toyota Camry. The underbody is smooth, nearly flat, contributing to exceptional aerodynamic efficiency (with a coefficient of drag of just 0.28), and the car is constructed using advanced composites and resin-steel sandwiches to further minimize the intrusion of noise.