The facelifted Lexus ES sedan has been unveiled in China sporting a revised grille and lights, as well as a much larger touchscreen in the cabin.
Up front there’s a new insert for the spindle grille that has horizontal slats instead of vertical ones; redesigned headlight internals with double L-shaped driving lights; and larger fake side air intakes.
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At the rear, the tail-light graphics have been updated to include the car’s new double-L signature. There are also tweaks to the lower bumper garnishes, and the Lexus word mark replaces the brand’s L-in-a-circle logo.
Step inside, and the big change is the adoption of the brand’s 14.0-inch infotainment touchscreen, at the bottom of which is climate control strip with physical knobs on either end. The current car has a smaller 12.3-inch display.
To accommodate the larger screen setup, the central vents have been moved to the bottom of the main section of the dashboard.
In China there are two drivetrain choices: the ES 200 with a 127kW/206Nm 2.0-litre four-cylinder coupled to a continuously variable transmission driving the front wheels; and the ES 300h with a 160kW hybrid setup featuring a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine and Toyota’s e-CVT system.
The front-wheel drive hybrid drivetrain is carried over from the ES currently in showrooms, and isn’t the upgraded 170kW system seen in latest Toyota Camry.
The current Australian ES range kicks off with the ES 250, which has a 152kW/243Nm naturally aspirated 2.5-litre four-cylinder engine, before stepping up to the ES 300h.
Although the updates unveiled this week in at the Guangzhou motor show haven’t been confirmed for markets outside of China, it’s highly likely the ES you seen here will soon grace Lexus forecourts across Asia, the US, Europe, and Australia.
Lexus typically completely renews the ES every five to six years, but this is the second facelift for the seventh-generation ES, which debuted back in 2018. This latest update should keep it fresh enough to soldier on for a few more years before a new model is released.
If rumours are correct, the eighth-generation ES will include an all-electric variant. It might even look similar to the spindle grille-free sedan teased a few years back when Toyota and Lexus teased their array of electric vehicles under development.
Stay tuned to CarExpert for more details about the revised ES as they’re announced for Australia and other global markets.
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