oldgrump

I stand corrected.......the present Camry did come out as an '07. The present GS came out as an '06. The "new" ES would not be a car that I would buy anyway until it reaches about "half-life", and it'll have to be a helluva upgrade.

MadMax96

As much as it would be nice for the engine to be a bit bigger, I doubt that'll happen. These days it's all about getting power from smaller engines to maximize MPG. I wouldn't be surprised if they made it a bit smaller, add direct injection or a turbo (Sonata anyone?).

If Hyundai can muster 270hp out of their 2.0L DI, turbo engine, expect Toyota to up the ante big time.

While I doubt they'll throw a 4-banger in the ES, I certainly think that Toyota is more than capable of producing an engine around 3.0 Liters with DI and/or a turbo making 300+hp without a hit to fuel economy.

LexBob2

It will be interesting to see what they do with the engine in the next gen ES. The 3.5 V6 is still class competitive in terms of performance and fuel economy, maybe the engine will remain the same.

I read that the upcoming new GS will probably stick with the 3.5 DI engine so maybe the ES will too.

One could argue that as long as the ES remains FWD there is a limit to how much HP you want to put through the front wheels.

MadMax96

I agree - when I was shopping for cars I kept coming back to the ES. The MPG is so much better than the TL and G35 (I was shopping 2007 models at the time). I totalled my 07 last month and had a chance to try something else.. again the ES fit the bill the best for me so it was replaced with another.

You also make a good point with power through the front wheels. 300hp would require a strong arm to keep this sucker straight if you stood on it.

Skynet27

So far the rumor mill has the 2013 ES staying with the 3.5 engine just with minor tweaks for better fuel economy and maybe a little more horsepower no more then 10 or so though. I doubt we will see DI in it and it would take an act of god for a turbo to be fit on a Lexus from the factory it's just not in the brand image. A hybrid version is coming as well (with the discontinuation of the HS250) but another year or two down the pipe. All lexus cars were redesigned in the 2006-2007 model years because of the rollout of Lexus in other overseas markets like Japan due to this all our cars are getting a little long in the tooth.

Darkfin

A harbinger of the new ES? Mark August 23 on your calender if interested...