Source: https://www.motor1.com/news/175659/2...spied-testing/

 

Interesting that they are testing with the A6 and E class...

That shoulder line is very Camry-esque. I can't wait to see this

 

if it's being compared to e class, a6 perhaps, how will gs differentiate itself?

 

rxsf, great minds (see post times)

 

haha, what happened to those rumors about the GS being dropped? It wouldn't be the end of the world to move the ES slightly upmarket. Id rather not get into the rwd/fwd argument here.

I may be biased but that E class looks goooood

 

Looks like they're going away from the full Spindle? Hard to say with the camo. I like the wheel fitment, very sporty (for an ES).

 

There seem to be two different grill designs most likely regular and F sport. The car looks lower and wider with much nicer stance.

 

Looks good so far. Sporty, tapered headlight shape and very nice rims on the first car. I just hope they don't give it a dumpy, chopped off butt, like so many sedans are now getting. A decent trunk would visually lead to a more substantial appearance and class, without actually having to be bigger.
So it's testing with an E Class and A6. That throws me. I don't look at either of those two cars as competitors. Both are at least $10k more, the ES seems smaller than at least the E Class, and leases for nearly half the price. It is more in line with the C Class and A4.
Lastly, has it been confirmed there will be an F-Sport package? I'd love to see that on a luxury car, but wonder how much more it would infringe on potential IS buyers. The IS's role is specifically "sport," and "F-Sport" means sport all the way.

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Proportions look pretty good, TNGA does wonders.

I expect the front styling to be baby LS.

God that black E-class looks so bland:


I see these around often and they're just uninspired bland black taxis.

 

What gives, it looks like a Camry!

Seriously, the new Camry and the 2018 LS share a similar C-pillar shape with the current ES. The way the rear glass flows into the angled trunk lid also echoes the new LS and current ES. I think they're benchmarking the E-class for passenger comfort and space, the current ES has loads of space inside and it's only an inch shorter than an E-class.

 

It looks like a full spindle to me. From what I can tell, I see a lot of LS500 lines on the front.

I think an F Sport package will be a nice addition to the ES (if executed well). I doubt an F Sport ES would infringe on the IS any more than the F Sport CT200h has. I don't see them as comparable.

 

Unless the rumors were true, the GS gets canceled and the new ES will take over. Based on the images so far, we can clearly see that ES will have both, an F-Sport and the base models. Who knows what Lexus strategy is at this point. The fact that they are testing the car against the top 2 German mid size sedans is alarming.

They may do something crazy like, cancel the GS350 and GS200t, and have an ES fill those gaps instead. GS-F and GS450h may be the only cars left in the GS lineup, which would make it more unique.

 

Given how sporty the new Camry looks, this isn't the worst thing in the world. If they keep doing what they've done in the past and make a more luxurious Camry, they've probably done enough to have a winner. I wonder if adding an AWD option is in the cards?

 

I think it is a decent strategy; assuming that the powertrain will get some incremental gains too (i.e. Camry has same 4-cyl but bumped up output). Curious to what the Avalon would look like too as part of this TNGA revamp.

 

This ES looks smaller than the current one. Are they going back to basing it on the camry rather than the avalon?

I like how the rear fenders look bulky and have some dimension, rather than slab sided. Gives it a sporty look from the front quarter angle.