Facelifted Lexus ES set for Shanghai launch

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Luke Wilkinson

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Lexus will unveil a facelifted version of its ES model at this year’s Shanghai Motor Show. The brand’s updated executive saloon will feature some styling tweaks to help keep it competitive with the Mercedes E-Class and BMW 5 Series.

Lexus hasn’t yet released a detailed breakdown of its updates for the ES but, judging by its teasers, the revisions will be minor. Up front, new headlamps are certain to appear, while a reworked version of the current car’s grille and front bumper are possibilities.


The rest of the car’s styling will remain largely untouched, though. Lexus’s teaser video provides a glimpse at the new car’s rear end which, apart from a slightly reworked tail-light signature, looks identical to the current car’s.

Inside, we expect it’ll be the same story. The current car’s eight-inch infotainment system and 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster will likely be transferred onto the new model wholesale, with the only differences being a few trim and upholstery revisions.

Technical specifications are also yet to be confirmed, but we expect the facelifted saloon will be offered with the same 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol-hybrid powertrain as the current car. The system has a combined output of 215bhp and offers a 0-62mph time of 8.9 seconds.

Lexus also says that its hybrid powertrain will return between 50.4 and 53.2mpg in the current ES, while producing as little as 119g/km of CO2.

The updated ES should arrive on UK shores later this year and, given the modest nature of Lexus’s updates, we expect prices will be comparable with the outgoing model’s, starting from around £36,000 and topping out at around £48,000 for the flagship Takumi model.

Now read our review of the outgoing Lexus ES here

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