It was officially released today. Will be available for sale in less than two months.

http://lexus.com/2007es_preview/index.html?s_ocid=20467

Click on the pictures to see the car and click on "Model Info" to see that specs.

In my opinion I think the 2002+ ES had bar-none the nicest interior and most luxurious features/feel/ride of mid sized entry level luxury car on the market. BUT with that said, even though it was never intended to be a sporty car (that's the IS' job), the drivetrain was still horribly sloppy. The transmission's shifts were so soft and sloppy it was downright annoying, and the 3/3.3L V6, while smooth/quiet, just felt dated in terms of powerband, fuel milage, etc.

The 3.5L is the all new GR-series motor shared with other cars like the IS350, Avalon, the new Camry, and so on... albeit yet another flavor.
So I guess what I'm saying is with the new motor and new transmission I'm very optimistic that they fixed the one thing I felt sucked about the previous generation car.

The interior looks very familiar in some ways, much like the previous gen, but with a little more of the current Lexus interior styling theme... a few less curves here and there, more contrast and edges.

 

hmmm, well at least it looks less like a camry this time.

 

I still think of Camry when I see the front end... the profile reminds me of the new Lucerne.

The interior looks nice, though the gauge cluster looks rather barren.

 

It's not a Camry at all

 

Another Yawn-mobile from the king of Yawn-mobiles... Thanks for the info though Threxx.

 

Interesting. To me it looks extremely Camry now.

I may even like the Camry's dash better than the ES's now (I think I liked the previous ES330 dash better than this ES350).

As with the Camry, though, it has an impressive powertrain now.

 

Supposedly the chassis underneath the new ES has been beefed up noticably over that in the Camry, the noise levels are significantly reduced compared to the camry (they've always been lower but this time they're going so far as to say the new ES is actually quieter than the LS400 which was in production until 2000 and during its reign known as the quietest production car on the road).

The old Camry interior was boring and ugly, the old 02+ ES interior was flat out gorgeous for that price range of car. IMO I think the Camry's interior improved dramatically and the ES' interior improved only marginally (at least in looks).

 

So what's the weight? I notice that the fuel mileage estimate is down 1-2mpg from the same Camry engine.

It have been bumped up one weight category like the Accord hybrid.

Amazing that 88 pounds costs them 4mpg city and 3 hiway. Well, not really that amazing given the EPA's weight categories. But it goes to show how unreliable the EPA numbers are.

 

The weight has not yet been published but the ES350 only suffers a decrease of 1mpg city and 1 mpg highway compared to the V6 automatic 07 Camry.

The 4-cyl and 4-cyl hybrid Camry models of course get far better milage, but they aren't really intended for the sam people who'd consider the ES.

 

Nice, but why is push start so popular? It would drive me nuts to have to put my key in or whatever then push the button. Maybe you don't need to put your key in, but the old key-in-ignition, crank starter process seemed the best for me.

 

Right. I was comparing the 2005 Accord hybrid with the 2006 model. Same powertrain. They added a spare tire, a moonroof, and some electronics feature that I forget. Net gain of 88 pounds. 29/37 goes to 25/34.

If I recall correctly, the EPA categories are in multiples of 250 pounds. So an 88 pound weight gain turns into 250 on the rollers.

Of course, there also appear to be some rules that let the 2004 CTS-V tag along on the Corvette ratings somehow. So that when the 2005 Corvette comes out using the LS2, the CTS-V is now all alone with the LS6 and suddenly the EPA numbers drop precipitously. I've never seen explained exactly how that works.

Anyway, I'm guessing that the mileage drop between the Camry/Avalon and the ES350 is due to weight gain, especially given your comment about a heavier chassis.

 

Heh... you don't put any key in. There is no key, period. It's a thin card that you keep in your wallet. As you walk up to your car the car recognizes which driver is approaching it and adjusts the seating position accordinly as well as lights up the puddle lamps around the car to help you see. Reach for the door handle and magically it knows it's you and lets you in. Close the door and reach for the illuminated push button, push, and it starts.

Never ever reach in your pocket. Not for a key, not for a keyless entry remote... nada. Even for the trunk.

Personal preference options include whether you want it to auto lock when you walk away, and whether you want it to auto unlock the passenger doors as well or just your door (and you let the passengers in by using the button on the door)

 

Eh, nothing special here..

 

I like the way the sunroof looks but that's about it.

 

Some more info, as well as some new pics at the bottom of this article:
http://clublexus.com/index.php/artic...iew/7499/1/10/