Jeremy Bass•12 Mar 2013
NEWS
No F Sport for reprised Lexus ES
Lexus looks to its upcoming ES to keep “traditional” buyers happy as the IS gets the youth treatmentLexus might be after a younger buyer, but not so much that it’s prepared to leave behind the older, more genteel demographic on which it got rich. That’s become the raison d’etre for the soon to return ES lineup. The company’s second model to market after the LS in the early 1990s, it’s set to return Down Under late this year after a 12-year absence.
Looking at how much work Lexus has put into distancing its brand from that of parent company Toyota, the ES’s front wheel drive layout and basics shared with Toyota’s prosaic US Avalon (it’s grown from its Camry days) may seem dissonant. But there’s method to it, evidenced by the absence of an F Sport variant, corporate manager of marketing and aftersales, Peter Evans, told motoring.com.au in the company’s garage at the recent Top Gear Festival.
The F Sport badge doesn’t fit the ES’s target market. While Lexus actively courts younger buyer demographics, particularly with its GS and IS ranges, the ES is designed to retain what Mr Evans describes as “traditional” Lexus customers. That is, the group to whom it owes its early success: older buyers less concerned with performance and handling than ride and interior qualities.
The real value in the FWD platform is visible from the B-pillar back, he said. “The biggest benefit is the space it opens up in the rear (without the transmission tunnel). This ES has as much rear legroom as an S Class Mercedes, and room for five sets of golf clubs in the boot. We see it as perfect for people like empty nesters wanting to go away for a weekend with another couple, that kind of thing.”
Sales success in the US, where the ES is the company’s biggest selling line, and market research suggest little or no issues in the way of brand dilution. “A lot of Audi models are FWD. And BMW’s just announced a future full of FWD product. It’s not an issue,” he said.
Nor is the fact that it shares the Avalon platform. “Again, think of what Audi shares with Volkswagen. When [Toyota and Lexus] talk about platform sharing, what it amounts to is shared fender-inners, firewall and cross-member. That’s it. It leaves a lot of room for different product.
“Keeping the shared element to around the engine bay, the main advantages are in NVH and frontal crash numbers. It means crash performance carries over from one model to the next – they only have to get it right once.”
At this point, the company is looking at two ES variants – Luxury and Sports Luxury. “It’s early and that may change – we don’t have to finalise specs until three months before production.”
True to the Lexus formula, each will trump competitors on kit for the price, with little or nothing available in the way of individual component options. “That’s basically been our formula to date – pricing around equivalent European platforms, but with a lot more equipment. In the European models, you have to start ticking option boxes to match it, and that can add $20- or $30,000.”
Benchmarking a 535i against the new GS at launch time, the company found the $129K BMW had blown out to $157K optioned up to match the $99,900 GS350 F Sport.
On ES pricing, he said it’s too early to confirm, beyond reiterating what’s already been reported. “We’re presuming we’ll be able to position it as they have in the US and Canada, between IS and GS.”
The Luxury variant’s sticker will most likely start with a 6, then. “We certainly see room for a high-spec combination of space, luxury and equipment at a value price alongside an E Class or even a C Class. You’ll probably end up paying more for a well-specced [but palpably smaller] C Class than you would for an equally or better equipped ES,” Mr Evans added.
Also in keeping with the new model’s target demographic is the choice of power. While the ES 350 gets a 3.5-litre V6, it’s the 204kW one from the RX 350 rather than the higher-tech 233kW one from the IS and GS lines.
Still under consideration is the Camry-sourced 2.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid package available in Japan and the US. “We’re very keen to get both out here, but it’s just a matter of confirming with [ES chief engineer Toshio Asahi] that it’s viable for ADR compliance.”
Mr Evans expects to see a realignment of the company’s buyer loyalties later this year with the launch of an all-new IS lineup in Q3 before the ES arrives in Q4.
He said the company expects the ES will cannibalise its smaller sibling’s local customer base. “But there’s a fair bit of room for that. We’ve found three distinct buyer profiles for the IS – it’s the most heterogeneous segment in the market. While most have one clearly dominant buyer group, the IS-C Class-3 Series-A4 sector has three different buyer profiles. We’re betting the ES will find appeal with one of those three – the older group.”
Does this mean repositioning the IS? “I think you’ll find the next IS repositions itself. It’s more aggressively styled, in a way we think will make the appropriate statement. Particularly the F Sport, with its LFA-style dash, and the hybrid variant (IS 300h).”
At the same time, the new IS is larger and more versatile than the runout model, with more rear seat space, more boot space and a split-fold rear seat.
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Written byJeremy Bass
Our team of independent expert car reviewers and journalists
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