2013 Lexus ES: 50 Shades Of Beige

Derek Kreindler
by Derek Kreindler
2013 lexus es 50 shades of beige

The steamy erotica novel “50 Shades of Grey” is apparently inciting the passions of housewives across Manhattan. Good to know that Lexus has something for the good people of Boca Raton, Florida, in the form of the new Lexus ES.

The ES350, with its 6-speed automatic gearbox and 3.5L V6 is a restyled, lighter version of the usual ES. A car that gets dumped on by those whose ego outweighs their real-world experience. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but it achieves its goals competently.

The big news this year is a new ES Hybrid, dubbed the ES300h. Using the 2.5L 4-cylinder and Hybrid Synergy Drive from the Camry Hybrid, the ES300H will supposedly hit 40 mpg combined – let’s see how the ES and the upcoming Lincoln MKZ Hybrid square off against one another. New Lexus family styling both inside and out means a GS-esque look for the exterior, and the slightly infuriating Lexus Remote Touch controller that will be a challenge for less tech-oriented members of the AARP – and believe me, there are many who appreciated the ES350 precisely because it didn’t have an iDrive or MMI stalk.









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  • Ponchoman49 Ponchoman49 on Apr 05, 2012

    Wow it looks even duller, plainer and more slab sided than the current one which I didn't think was even possible. The front is totally the opposite and looks like something out of a sci-fi flick. The interior looks interesting save for the dreary black and gray color choices. Lexus along with other companies seriously need to start offering some different interior color choices other than the war depression generation black and gray look that are really starting to bore consumers to death these days. Time for something different guys.

  • FreedMike FreedMike on Apr 05, 2012

    Revisiting the thread about the Lincoln MKZ from the other day, one look at this car tells you why the MKZ has a good shot at being a success.

  • Master Baiter "...but the driver must be ready to step in and take control. The system is authorized for use during the day but at speeds lower than 40 mph..."Translation: It's basically useless, and likely more stressful than piloting the car ones's self.
  • Alan My friend has a Toyota Kluger (made in 'murica). A Highlander. These things are based on a Camry platform. I have driven the Kluger we had at work and I find them quite boring even for a SUV. An appliance. I hope this will deliver some driving pleasure. I found the Camry a better boring vehicle.
  • Alan Most Lexii look good to reasonable.....................until you see the front ends with their awkward grilles. It actually would look normal on a GWM, LDV or any other Chinese vehicle.
  • Tassos These last months, every day seems to be another great, consequential piece of news for Tesla, who does not just DOMINATE, it OWNS the US and FREE WORLD BEV market.It is the ONLY (repeat ONLY) maker that builds its huge best sellers at a PROFIT, ie, SUSTAINABLY. FOrd EV is bleeding 3 billion in losses. GM hides theirs, and I bet they are even HIGHER. VW has spent a huge no of billions and its ID series has been an UTTER FAILURE.Toyota, already 12 years too late, is yet to try. I doubt they will succeed to dethrone TESLA.
  • Tassos Again: I never took VOlvo seriously in the last 20 or so years.Chinese Volvo-Geely has a dizzying number of models, I have lost count how many,YET its sales and market share in the US has always been DISMAL these last 20 years.It ranges from a pathetic 0.5% to 0.8% of the US market.For comparison, Toyota has 15% and GM has even more. Tesla has almost 10 TIMES VOlvo's share, with a PITTANCE of really TWO Models, the 3 and the Y, as the S and the X hardly sell any copies any more.So why do we keep reading articles about Stupid VOlvo?Because they have the best PR department of any maker.
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