signdetres

Why buy a real Louis Vuitton bag when the fake looks almost as good as the real thing? When you begin to enter vehicle segments like the LS, price/value begins to become irrelevant and other factors like image and perception of quality come into play. It's statement/status symbol. The LS might be on the lower-end of the vehicles in its segment as far as status goes, it's still on the same list.

This is "Car Chat"

LeX2K

If the LFA is your standard for excitement you are going to be disappointed with just about every other car.

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

Well the LC is nice, but everything else has been incremental changes. What risks have they taken with engine choices? Or offered models?

Toys4RJill

arentz07

I kinda-sorta disagree. I think the IS has room to grow, as it is nowhere near large in its class, and it would need to fill the sport-sedan gap left by the GS. The IS is a strange car in terms of pricing and features compared to its competition. The 3-series and C-class have very broad price ranges with lots of features available at the upper end of the spectrum, whereas the IS seems to be deliberately capped out in the low-$50k range by having the F Sport and Luxury versions separated. However, if the IS was made to be a little more premium, it could easily have both the F Sport and luxury features and have a higher "fully-loaded" price - if it was a hair larger it could prove to be palatable for what would have been GS prospective customers. Just a theory. However I think the most likely is that Lexus will stay consistent with the segment and introduce only an incremental size increase.

JDR76

BippuLexus

I wouldn't say it'll "move it up a class". The Lexus IS300 already competes with the BMW320i while the IS350 competes with the 330i. All Lexus needs to do is add another power option. Maybe a detuned TTV6 into the Lexus IS and call it the IS400 to compete with the 340i and Q50 3.0T RS.

Most definitely. The IS300 will likely keep the same AR Turbo with the same HP/TQ specs for the masses.

Like I said - some people don't care but some people do care. If you get a car that isn't designed for the US Market, you are going to get zero say in features, options or direction of the cars. Every country has their own niche and trend, so when a China Market based product hits US Shores - it might not fly well with US consumers. There is a reason we don't have LWB 3 Series in the States.

1) This is "car chat". We are here to talk about cars - IE: the Lexus ES.
2) I didn't know there was a requirement that I have to buy the car to talk about it?

I get it, you like the Lexus ES, I like it too because I think its a good car. I only stated my opinion I'll never buy one because its still a Camry/Avalon re-skin with FWD costing close to 55K loaded. For 55 grand - I'll shop for another Lexus model or another brand.

+1 Agreed. When you enter the luxury car market, its more than just features and etc... The perception of image and the quality of the product counts too. While the Lexus LS isn't as high as prestige as a S-Class, I agree, its still on the same list. Building off that point is: the Lexus LS is 10 times more of a car than the Lexus ES and you are also not driving a FWD Camry/Avalon re-skin.

Yup - it is "Car Chat".

I agree. The Lexus IS has room to grow because its not a big car. However - I believe Lexus won't make it grow or if it grows, it'll be minimal.

I see where you are getting at with the Luxury features and F-Sport features melted together in one bigger package as an option. The Lexus LS is divided up like that also. I wish the Lexus LS500 F-Sport could get the executive package with Kirko Glass. I wish they were merge the packages together also but I think Lexus is going for like two different versions of the same car - like offering something to everyone.

Hoovey689

iTrader: (16)

All right everyone, the GS news is disturbing, but keep the discussion about the 2019 7ES. If you want to talk about the GS, please start a new thread.

LeX2K

What do you mean by risks? What is an example of a model that is "risky". I certainly don't think the ES would the best model for Lexus to go way off the script considering how successful it has been.

All4Lexus

Ok. Back on topic, regarding something about the 2019 7ES that no one is really talking about...

2018 ES350: 268 horsepower and 248 pound-feet of torque
2019 ES350: 302 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of torque (increases of 34 hp and 19 lb-ft)

2018 GS350: 311 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque

Btw 2019 ES350 and 2018 GS350: Only 9 hp difference, and 13 lb-ft (97.1% of GS350 hp capability, yet lighter)

https://www.cargurus.com/Cars/compar...-350_d917_d920

note: 2018 GS350 curb weight: 3,726 to 3,891 lbs
2018 ES350 curb weight: 3,571
2019 ES350 curb weight: 3,649

The 2019 ES350 car has also grown in most dimensions.

It’s 2.6 inches longer and 1.8 inches wider than its predecessor, with a 2.0-inch longer wheelbase.

The 2019 Lexus ES 350 is now a 300+hp car and still lighter in weight than the GS350. In short, it adds up to a potentially better driving experience and be more fun to drive than the 2018 generation and earlier ES350. It may not be a GS, but horsepower performance-wise -- it has creeped up to 97% of a GS, and horsepower out performs a 2018 BMW 530I(248hp) by 54hp. (note: BMW 540i clocks in at 335hp).

Allen K

iTrader: (4)

Going a little off topic so we can continue this via PM or start a new thread. Agree that the ES wouldn't be the place to take a risk.

Risk probably isn't the best word for it, but I'm referring to models/variants that aren't expected to sell like the ES/RX. IS-F was a big risk for them, but then they failed to follow up with one for the current gen. From an engine standpoint, they've been using variants of the 3.5L since 2005? Sure incremental updates have been made since the introduction, but very similar outputs since then. Awesome in 2005, kind of meh in 2018.

Toys4RJill

I would rather see Toyota pour all their resources into the ES model than spread the money between a separate ES and GS model. Just my opinion on the matter.

peteharvey

I don't think they have put that much money into this new 7ES.
I suspect the money has been channelled into "electrification" - which is the way to the future...

sorptd

Here is a nicely done 360 spin video of the F sport exterior. Just like the Camry XSE, the new platform has done wonders to the proportions of the car, looks really good IMO.

RNM GS3