It seems the arrival of the sixth-gen Lexus ES on our shores is more than likely, as reader Lam Thye has kindly sent in these snapshots of what appears to be a Lexus Malaysia brochure for the Toyota Avalon-based FWD luxury sedan.
The brochure uncovers the specs of three variants: ES 250, ES 250 Luxury and ES 300h. The former two are powered by a 2.5 litre Dual VVT-i twin-cam four-cylinder engine that produces 181 hp at 6,000 rpm and 235 Nm of torque at 4,100 rpm. With the aid of a Super ECT- and AI Shift-equipped six-speed auto, the Lexus ES 250 does the century sprint in under ten seconds and can exceed 200 km/h.
The Lexus ES 300h sees a 2.5 litre single VVT-i twin-cam Atkinson cycle four-cylinder unit (158 hp at 5,700 rpm and 213 Nm of twist at 4,500 rpm) joining hands with a 105 kW electric motor that’s fed by a 650V nickel-metal hydride battery for a combined 202 hp output.
Equipped with an eCVT system, the Lexus ES 300h does 0-100 km/h in 8.5 seconds before maxing out at 180 km/h. Its boot holds 425 litres of luggage (ES 250: 490 litres).
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All variants get 17-inch aluminium wheels wrapped in 215/55 tyres, LED DRLs, auto adjustable and folding door mirrors, puddle lamps, keyless entry and start, a sunroof, an eight-inch Electric Multi-Vision Screen, auto tri-zone air-con and much more.
Among the extra equipment that the ES 250 Luxury and ES 300h have over the base ES 250 are self-levelling HID headlamps with washers, sat-nav and side window sunshades. The range-topping ES 300h gets a 15-speaker Mark Levinson sound system and Hill Start Assist all to itself.
Safety kit is standard across the range – 10 airbags, VSC, traction control, EBD, tyre pressure warning system and whiplash injury-lessening front seats. Bear in mind that all this has yet to go official, so there may be some changes along the way.
The only question left is when, and how much? We can safely expect the Lexus ES line-up to cost more than the IS range (RM270-383k) but less than the GS range (RM366-465k) when it launches sometime in Q4 this year. Click here for more info on the sixth-gen Lexus ES and a treasure trove of pictures.
