For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the Chevrolet Impala are height-adjustable, and the rear seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Lexus ES Series has only front height-adjustable seat belts.

Both the Impala and ES Series have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Impala has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The ES Series' child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can't know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

Both the Impala and the ES Series have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front and rear side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front-wheel drive, height-adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, daytime running lights, rearview cameras, available crash mitigating brakes, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rear parking sensors and rear cross-path warning.

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration does 35 MPH front crash tests on new vehicles. In this test, results indicate that the Chevrolet Impala is safer than the Lexus ES Series:

New test not comparable to pre-2011 test results. More stars = Better. Lower test results = Better.

There are over 12 times as many Chevrolet dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Impala's warranty.

The Impala has a standard “limp home system” to keep drivers from being stranded if most or all of the engine's coolant is lost. The engine will run on only half of its cylinders at a time, reduce its power and light a warning lamp on the dashboard so the driver can get to a service station for repairs. The ES Series doesn't offer a lost coolant limp home mode, so a coolant leak could strand you or seriously damage the car's engine.

J.D. Power and Associates' 2019 Initial Quality Study of new car owners surveyed provide the statistics that show that Chevrolet vehicles are better in initial quality than Lexus vehicles. J.D. Power ranks Chevrolet 6th in initial quality, above the industry average. With 5 more problems per 100 vehicles, Lexus is ranked 8th.

The Impala's standard 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 90 more horsepower (305 vs. 215) than the ES 300h's standard 2.5 DOHC 4 cyl. hybrid. The Impala's 3.6 DOHC V6 produces 3 more horsepower (305 vs. 302) than the ES 350's standard 3.5 DOHC V6.

As tested in Motor Trend the Chevrolet Impala is faster than the ES 300h 2.5 DOHC 4 cyl. hybrid:

The Impala has 5.3 gallons more fuel capacity than the ES Series Hybrid's standard fuel tank (18.5 vs. 13.2 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Impala has 2.6 gallons more fuel capacity than the ES Series' standard fuel tank (18.5 vs. 15.9 gallons).

For better stopping power the Impala's brake rotors are larger than those on the ES Series:

The Impala stops much shorter than the ES Series:

For better traction, the Impala has larger standard tires than the ES Series (235/50R18 vs. 215/55R17). The Impala Premier's tires are larger than the largest tires available on the ES Series (245/45R19 vs. 235/45R18).

The Impala LT's standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the ES Series' standard 55 series tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Impala LT has standard 18-inch wheels. Smaller 17-inch wheels are standard on the ES Series. The Impala Premier's optional 20-inch wheels are larger than the 19-inch wheels optional on the ES Series.

The Impala has standard front and rear gas-charged shocks for better control over choppy roads. The ES Series' suspension doesn't offer gas-charged shocks.

The Impala's drift compensation steering can automatically compensate for road conditions which would cause the vehicle to drift from side to side, helping the driver to keep the vehicle straight more easily. The ES Series doesn't offer drift compensation steering.

The Impala LT handles at .84 G's, while the ES 300h pulls only .78 G's of cornering force in a Motor Trend skidpad test.

The Impala LT executes Motor Trend's “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.8 seconds quicker than the ES 300h (26.6 seconds @ .67 average G's vs. 28.4 seconds @ .6 average G's).

Because it has more passenger and cargo room, the EPA rates the Impala a Large car, while the ES Series is rated a Mid-size.

The Impala has 5.1 cubic feet more passenger volume than the ES Series (105 vs. 99.9).

The Impala has 2.4 inches more front headroom, 3.4 inches more front legroom, 2 inches more front shoulder room, .6 inches more rear legroom and 2.6 inches more rear shoulder room than the ES Series.

The Impala has a much larger trunk than the ES Series (18.8 vs. 16.7 cubic feet).

To allow full utilization of available cargo room, the Impala's trunk lid uses concealed beam hinges that don't intrude into the trunk. The ES Series' useful trunk space is reduced by its intrusive beam hinge.

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

The Impala has a 1000 lbs. towing capacity. The ES Series has no towing capacity.

Consumer Reports rated the Impala's headlight performance “Good,” a higher rating than the ES Series' headlights, which were rated “Fair.”

The Impala offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The ES Series doesn't offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Insurance will cost less for the Impala owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Impala will cost $515 to $5070 less than the ES Series over a five-year period.

According to The Car Book by Jack Gillis, the Impala is less expensive to operate than the ES Series because typical repairs cost much less on the Impala than the ES Series, including $163 less for a starter, $253 less for front struts, $756 less for a timing belt/chain and $726 less for a power steering pump.

Consumer Reports® recommends both the Chevrolet Impala and the Lexus ES Series, based on reliability, safety and performance.

The Chevrolet Impala outsold the Lexus ES Series by 17% during 2018.