This hotly contested segment has a clear benchmark; it is the Acura TL (and its 2-door cousin Acura CL). The TL succeeds in blending comfort, style, luxury, and sport into an efficient package at an affordable price. If you are leaning more toward the luxury scale, the Lexus ES 300 might be a more practical purchase.

We also recommend the sporty and Euro-flavored Audi A6, the comfortable Buick Park Avenue, the affordable and fast Infiniti I30.

America is still crazy for trucks, even when they're based on cars. Just ask Lexus. The ES used to be its most popular model by far, but that was before the RX 300 "crossover" SUV arrived to tempt a good many customers who might otherwise have bought an ES. With that and a relative lack of change in the car itself, ES sales been waning in recent years. The calendar 2000 total dropped 9.8 percent from '99 to 41,320. Though the ES is still the top-selling Lexus car, the RX is outselling it by better than 2 to 1.

The ES should stand pat through an abbreviated 2002 model year, after which a redesigned replacement takes over. Lexus hasn't announced an on-sale date, but we'd expect the '03 by mid-2002, about 6-8 months behind Toyota's redesigned 2002 version of ES-parent Camry.

Though details are sketchy, the ES/Camry update is said to be evolutionary, in part because these cars aim at mainstream buyers who generally don't like radical designs. Both remain front-wheel drive but will have a slightly sleeker look on a new platform. Dimensions will probably be enlarged, but only a little. ES should continue only as a V6-powered sedan versus Camry's array of 4- and 6-cylinder sedans and Solara coupes. The Lexus will again boast a little more power, extra standard features and higher prices than the stablemate Toyotas. As a Lexus, it should again have a few features not available on Camrys; an optional navigation system is almost sure to be one of them and would be new to this model.

The ES was also once the most affordable Lexus, but that changed with introduction of the smaller rear-drive IS 300 sedan, which goes for a bit less. Lexus is reportedly debating whether to the push the ES upscale, closer the larger 6-cylinder GS 300 sedan. We think that will happen, which implies a base price of around $35,000, up about $3500 from '01. However that issue is resolved, the ES will still emphasize soft-riding luxury over nimble handling, as the IS and GS already cater to the "sports sedan" market.