2016 Lexus ES Photos and Information: Effortless-Livin’ Luxury, Updated

We admire confidence, especially when it comes to auto design. So we tip our hats to Lexus, which has gone all-in with the grille. Controversial although it might be, the brand’s “spindle grille” does not look to have turned off sufficient buyers to stop it from spreading—literally—across all members of the Lexus lineup. Now it has reached the innocuous ES midsize sedan.

To be fair, the current-gen ES has dabbled in the spindle-grille scene to a small extent with its 2013 redesign, but now the refreshed model shows it is fully committed. The headlamps and fog lamps have in turn turn into jagged assemblages of metal and glass, considerably like these of the new 2016 RX. For a sporty coupe like the RC350, the present Lexus look is probably a lot more fitting. For the ES, it is fairly radical.

Modifications are subtler elsewhere on the vehicle. The taillamps adopt L-shaped innards like the rest of the Lexus lineup, while the chrome garnish spanning the rear seems a bit better integrated than prior to. Wheel designs are fresh, measuring 17- to 20-inches in diameter, and the tailpipes on the ES350 are now—are you sitting down?—rectangular. Oh, and the hybrid badge on the gas-electric model has changed. It nevertheless says “hybrid”, but it’s distinct.

Inside, new interior color combos and finishes consist of Flaxen brown, Parchment, and gray and black upholstery, as well as piano black, dark wood, Birdseye maple, or matte-finished bamboo trim. The center show among the instruments has turn out to be a 4.2-in TFT unit, and Lexus’s Remote Touch interface sprouts 2 “Enter” buttons on either side to make it simpler to, um, enter factors. Otherwise, there are no further alterations to report.

For the U.S. marketplace, the ES will not come with Lexus’ turbocharged 2.5-liter 4-cylinder—at least not yet—so the ES350 and ES300h hybrid remain the sole model offerings, although particular global markets (such as China, where the car is creating its international debut at the Shanghai auto show) will offer 2.- or 2.5-liter 4-cylinder engines underhood. The ES also will now feature the new low-price Lexus Security Technique+, which combines adaptive cruise handle, auto high beams, forward collision alert, auto-braking with pedestrian detection, and lane-departure warning.

Given the mild nature of this makeover, we don’t count on rates for the U.S. versions to adjust considerably from today’s $ 38,625 for the ES350 and $ 41,505 for the hybrid. Will the grille help or hurt sales for this traditionally sturdy-promoting entry sedan? We shall see how its usually benign consumer base reacts once sales commence, likely later this year.

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2016 Lexus ES Photos and Information: Effortless-Livin’ Luxury, Updated