The former I completely disagree with, again you have your views, I have mine....reading the 'Lexus Story' (an excellent read btw) will clear much of that up for you .....the ladder part I do agree with however.....imagine that!?

Bottom line is.....in 100 years, who's going to care anyways lol....so let's get back to the thread at hand....the 2010 ES.

 

The IS is the entry level car as the IS 250 is the cheapest USDM vehicle. The HS slots between the IS/ES. Lets not forget the IS offers the only 4 cylinder engine, the diesel 220d in Europe.
Does the IS have 350/F-sport/IS-F? Yup. Still it is the entry level model until the new CT hatch comes next year.

Looking at the print ads for the new LaCrosse, it has mentioned the ES 350 and Acura TL. I expect the Lacrosse to beat the ES in a comparo b/c the days of the ES being fairly reviewd passed in the early/mid 1990s. Today if the car doesn't drive sporty (even if its intended market is not sporty) it gets dismissed.

 

I think you hit the nail on the head. Most of the enthusiast publications do usually dismiss the ES, while consumer oriented ones generally rate it high.

 

I stand corrected.

 

Wow I think that looks horrible. The new cutout in the bumper looks like a catfish mouth, the fog lights look like a tacked on afterthought, the new grille looks tacky, the chrome on the sides looks cheap, and those wheels look specifically Camry-esque IMO.

Very poor job on the refresh, IMO.

 

Are the slats in the grille now colored the same as the body? If so, that may be what is giving me the "Camry" vibe.

 

Never been a big fan of the ES, but I think the changes give the car a bit more presence. More interested in seeing the interior changes.

 

The grill looks Avalon-esq to me. I agree on the fog lights - Not well integrated at all. I'm hoping this is some kind of prototype or something and the final version will be better. A guy can only hope I guess.

 

^ Unfortunately I think this is probably the production car if it's sitting at a dealership. I have been examining the photos and not only does the grill look larger and more chromed out, but it does look like the slats are body colored which is a dead ringer for a Toyota. I may be wrong as these pics aren't the best quality but that is how it seems. I cannot think of another Lexus product that does this same thing, so I don't know why they would do that

The current ES looks a lot classier than the one pictured:

 

I really thought they were going to do something more like this, considering that no other sedan in the lineup has foglights that aren't integrated into the opening in the bumper...well...aside from the HS:

 

@Mister Two

Thanks for posting those pics.

Anyways, interesting stuff. IMHO, with this MMC facelift, this makes the ES look better than before.

Unfortunately, where I'm from though, this car is the least-selling Lexus vehicle in the local lineup. In fact, a salesman from Lexus Manila told me that they are only projecting monthly sales for the ES350 to be at 2-3 units per month.

Reason: For most carbuyers, they would only see the ES as something that conflicts with our Asian Camry.





Nevertheless, I welcome this facelift as something that is positive

 

That would have been hot! I wish the ES would raise the sporty notch just one hair. I know they can't trip into IS territory, but the lower front intake is fluttering away in old world Jaguar days.

 

While i agree with the fog light area, the chrome on the sides looks cheap? This is how it is on the LS, RX, and GS hybrid. does it look cheap on those models? And i dont think the grill is colored to match the body. might just be a graphite color (like the sport rims on lexus models). Also the rims are more like the old IS rims.






and also the Asian camry looks soo damn good

 

The chrome on the GS and LS looks more thought out...from what I can see in these (low quality, not the best) pictures, the chrome on the ES looks like an afterthought.

As for the wheels, the Southeast Toyota dealers have been offering a rim identical to that one on the Camry for the last few years. It's offered as an aftermarket dealer option and the wheel is made by Enkei. While I do see that it looks similar to the old IS wheels, considering the ES's similarities to the Camry and these wheels which now look identical, it's too close of a resemblance IMO.

 

As it gets closer to the rollout of the '10 ES (Sept?) we should be getting more/better pictures.