Finally a real video I managed to find that I can see the actual car!

 

This is plain ugly. Combo of Tesla and BMW 7. Crap.

 

In the RX line, the hybrid msrp is really no different than the ICE.

 

My comment about the looks exterior interior being hideous I have to say something good. The cruising range on the ES 350E of 425 miles is quite impressive. Plus a charging time from 10% to 80% in warm weather of 30 minutes is incredible. This does tell you where Toyota/lexus is going with their electric vehicles.

 

Here's my new favorite video about the 8th Gen.

 

Okay I changed my mind. Must have had a bad angle. I do like it.

 

Looking at that latest video, I can see all the shiny black plastic trim, again, very Toyota, which does not look luxurious in the least. I do not understand why Toyota has taken their models more upscale and brought Lexus down market in appearance. This new iteration is cold and harsh looking, not inviting inside or out. It won’t surprise me if after a year or two of weak sales, the ES gets dropped from the NA market. Perhaps that was calculated in their long term vision by shifting production back to Japan, anticipating that it would not make sense to continue production of this new generation in America expecting that it won’t sell well here, However good the car may be from a technical standpoint, it’s looks just won’t sway many new buyers to get one, and many repeat ES customers, like me, are really put off by this look.

As I look at this, it seems to have been designed heavily focused on the Chinese market. The styling cues, too many cutlines, that cheap looking Toyota interior, will not, I fear, sell well here in North America. Producing it in Japan makes sense if they are planning to sell a lot in China. And when you get down to it, Lexus may not care. Americans have clearly said that most do not care for a sedan anymore, but want CUV’s and SUV’s. Lexus, at this rate, is going to go the way of Infinity, hanging on, but becoming an ever more irrelevant player, beaten handily by the Koreans (who know how to make a luxurious interior).

Oh well, time will tell, as there’s nothing any of us can do about it.

 

Feels like companies just gather bunch of tik tok kids to design their products these days.

 

I don't see the ES getting cancelled anytime soon. It's a high-margin car and their best-selling sedan by far. If everybody hates the interior, they can always do a refresh. And the TikTok comment isn't far off the mark — to be blunt, Boomer buyers like me are rightly losing influence as we die off.

 

People said the same about the GS too. And to clarify I am only referring to sales in the US market. The ES lost its #1 sales position to the RX years ago and this will ensure that it slips farther down the sales ladder. I’m a Boomer as well, and acknowledge that the market generally couldn’t care less what I prefer. But regardless of age, fewer and fewer buyers want sedans like these. Even many of us in the geezer set have moved to CUV’s because they’re easier to get in and out of. So, yes, while reserving final judgement until I actually see and sit in one, I am not optimistic that this will be a winner in our domestic market.

I would also suggest that Lexus would not do a “refresh” to the interior if it is only not liked well here. Cars are global now, and while they do tweak packages and options for different regions, significantly redoing an interior just for the US simply won’t happen.

 

I agree that the new styling is geared toward the Chinese market. The Chinese like a large rear area while being chauffeured as a symbol of power and prestige. The Cadillac CT5 is also designed for the Chinese market and has more rear room with larger rear doors than front. When cross shopping it is one big reason I went with the ES. After seeing it you can't unsee it.

 

Sedans are dead. The more I drive my wife's RX, the more I prefer it over the ES. I'll run my ES into the ground but probably never purchase another.

 

Styling, overdone and complicated. Front doors look short, stunted, and busy. The class is gone on both exterior and interior. This is just new and shocking for the sake of being new and shocking -- has no real design, cohesion, philosophy behind it.

Before this, I thought it would be the rear-side profile that's awkward. Turns out it's the front door/charge port area thats weird. Too many lines going everywhere with no cohesion and flow. Just stuff grafted on stuff. Super weird.

Acceleration ranges from super slow to slow, at best.

No more V6s for you V6 fans. We called it long long ago.

Too bulky. This almost seems built on the US crown, not the Japanese one. But I don't know.

Apparently they're dropping the LS and replacing it with this.

Keep your old ESs. Gone is the classy era of the ES styling.

 

 

Better to drop the LS than to make a new one as ugly as this