Lexus has revealed more images and details of its new ES, confirming that the seventh-generation version of the sedan has grown considerably in size.
Lexus South Africa has confirmed that the new ES will be rolled out to the South African market later in 2018.
Running on the brand’s new GA-K platform, the front-wheel-drive ES is a full 66 mm longer and 46 mm wider than its forebear, while its wheelbase has grown by 51 mm. Lexus says this new platform has also endowed the ES with “sharpened performance”.
Interestingly, the face of the ES is different depending on the model. The standard ES350 and the ES300h feature vertical bars that radiate out from the centre of the grille, while the ES350 F Sport adopts a blacked out cross-hatch pattern.
The seventh-generation ES furthermore uses a “fast roofline” rather than a traditional sedan shape at the rear, while the rump gains LED taillamps that wrap around the quarter panels. F Sport models add a rear spoiler, additional rear badging and a dark lower valance.
The ES350 is powered by the brand’s familiar 3,5-litre V6, now developing 224 kW and 355 N.m. This model also gains a new eight-speed automatic (torque converter) transmission.
In some markets, there will also be an ES250, powered by an all-new 2,5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine. Then there’s the ES300h, which employs the brand’s fourth-generation hybrid drive system, coupling an Atkinson-cycle 2,5-litre four-pot with an electric motor to form a self-charging hybrid system.
It’s not yet clear whether Lexus plans to position this new ES to effectively fill a gap set to be left by the GS sedan, which will reportedly go out of production at the end of its current generation.
