By: IOL Motoring Staff
Johannesburg - The Lexus ES is a sedan that's all about luxury, with very little in the way of sporty pretences, but that didn't stop its designers from giving it some of the brand's eccentric styling zing.
The most notable changes take place up front, where the sedan now has a more aggro facial expression thanks to a redesigned 'spindle' grille with sharper edges and as well as new headlights with L-shaped 'arrowhead' daytime running lights and fog lights that have been relocated to the outer edges to give the car a wider look.
Moving to the side you'll see new 17-inch alloy wheel designs while the rear end is has been jazzed up with redecorated L-themed taillights and a new chrome number plate garnish. Three new exterior colours are available, namely Sonic Quartz (white), Black and Deep Blue.
You'll also find a few new garnishes in the cabin, including a smaller steering wheel, larger TFT information display and enhanced door surfaces. There's a long list of standard equipment, which includes a moonroof, powered leather seats, reversing camera, Blind Spot Monitoring, Rear Cross Traffic alert and much more.
However, in order to snip the price tag by R14 700, Lexus has removed the navigation system.
There isn't much in the way of mechanical changes to the 2016 ES, apart from structural reinforcements to stiffen the structure and improved sound deadening.
As before, power comes from a normally aspirated 2.5-litre petrol engine that's good for 135kW at 6000rpm and 235Nm at 4100 or a hybrid that mates an Atkinson cycle 2.5 to an electric motor for a combined output of 151Nm.
PRICES
ES - R464 200
ES 300h - R549 100