Lexus reveals upgrades on US-spec 2023 ES

MANILA: For the 2023 model year, the Lexus ES will still give customers a wide range of options to suit their varied interests and lifestyles. Lexus ES, the best-selling sedan in the brand's portfolio, comes with new trim and material options, the Lexus Interface multimedia system, and a redesigned center console. The ES family is growing as well with the addition of F Sport Design and Handling, an exciting grade with enhanced design and performance.

The 2023 Lexus ES is the most engaging ES ever, thanks to the added variety with three available powerful engines, all-wheel drive, and a number of F Sport versions.

The Lexus ES range offers customers the best of all worlds in terms of expressive design, thrilling performance, and human-centered craftsmanship.  The 2023 Lexus ES exterior is a carryover from the 2022 model, but inside, passengers will find a redesigned center console, a new location for the cup holder, a new sunglasses holder, and an available wireless charger.

The 2023 ES embodies continuous innovation with the introduction of the new, cutting-edge Lexus Interface multimedia system with a higher-resolution touchscreen display.

A reimagined user experience is provided through the Lexus Interface multimedia system and connected services. The system includes the latest touchscreen display with a standard eight-inch or optional 12.3-inch screen that has greater resolution and anti-glare technology similar to that seen in smartphones. Users can connect with the system using simple touch and voice commands.

Lexus Interface features a Voice Assistant that may be activated by voice command or by pressing a button on the steering wheel. For voice-activated commands, simple statements like "Hey Lexus" will activate the system. The Voice Assistant, which was created with a human-centered approach, enables passengers to engage with the new multimedia system in a way that seems natural and intuitive. The system's dual microphone design, improved noise-cancellation technology, seat detection, and speaker location capabilities enable a voice-first approach, giving front-seat occupants a more extensive and interactive experience when accessing media, their phones, and vehicle settings like the climate control.

Safety Connect and Service Connect, a set of services that can help drivers stay safe while driving, are now available with up to a 10-year trial subscription.

Drivers and passengers can use the Cloud Navigation, Destination Assist, and Intelligent Assistant features with a Drive Connect trial or subscription. Drive Connect's Cloud Navigation service offers real-time traffic, route information, and Points of Interest (POI). Google POI data is integrated to guarantee the latest search function. Additionally, Destination Assist provides 24/7 live agent support to help locate the next destination. The functions of the Voice Assistant are expanded by the Intelligent Assistant. Weather and location-based notifications, as well as address and POI search with navigation through Intelligent Assistant, are available convenience features. Integrated Streaming provides integrated audio streaming functionality with a WiFi Connect trial or subscription. Interface services require a 4G network.

Lexus Interface also supports standard wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility, as well as dual Bluetooth phone connectivity.

Since the seventh-generation Lexus ES' F Sport debuted, it has drawn interest from a younger, more diverse customer base seeking more aggressive sedan style and performance that has been refined on the racetrack.  All three powertrains — ES 250 AWD, ES 350 and ES 300h — are available in F Sport Design.

The Premium Package for the F Sport Design includes 19-inch Gloss Black split-five-spoke alloy wheels and F Sport exterior design elements, such as distinctive front bumper, grille surround, and rear spoiler. Intuitive Park Assist will be standard for 2023. Among the available features are Mark Levinson sound system, 12.3-inch screen Lexus Interface, Head-Up Display, power rear sunshade, panorama roof, triple beam LED headlamps, and power open/close trunk with kick sensor on F Sport Design.

A new F Sport Handling grade will also be available on the 2023 ES 350 and ES 300h, further upgrading the looks and sportiness of the sedan. The ES F Sport Handling comes with Sport+ and Custom Drive modes, F Sport-tuned Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS), heated F Sport steering wheel, and Hadori aluminum trim, aluminum pedals, and black headliner.

F Sport Handling customers will have the option to go even further with available options including a 17-speaker Mark Levinson sound system, 1,800-watt PurePlay Surround Sound system and a Lexus Interface with a 12.3-inch  power touchscreen display, Head-Up Display, and power rear sunshade. Premium triple-beam LED headlamps and a power open/close trunk with kick sensor are available as options for the F Sport Handling grade.

The 2023 ES is available in 11 exterior colors: Eminent White Pearl, Iridium, Cloudburst Gray, Obsidian, Caviar, Matador Red Mica, Moonbeam Beige Metallic, Sunlit Green, and Nightfall Mica, Ultra White, and Ultrasonic Blue Mica 2.0.

Ash Bamboo interior trim has been added, and Rich Cream interior color has been replaced with Macadamia, giving Lexus ES owners a wide range of interior options that vary by grade but all ooze exquisite craftsmanship befitting of luxury. NuLuxe-trim options are standard in Palomino, Acorn, and Black interiors with Striated Black film on base ES models. When the Premium package is added, the ES base models get NuLuxe-trim in the Macadamia color in addition to their option of Ash Bamboo, Open-Pore Brown Walnut, or Open-Pore Black trim. The semi-aniline leather trim options for the Luxury and Ultra-Luxury models are Palomino, Macadamia, Acorn, and Black with the option of Open-Pore Black, Open-Pore Brown Walnut, and new Ash Bamboo trim.

Fans of F Sport Design have two great options to choose from: the Palomino NuLuxe-trimmed interior with Open-Pore Brown Walnut trim or the Black NuLuxe-trimmed interior with Open-Pore Black. Black, as well as the two F Sport Handling-exclusive colors Circuit Red and White, are available with NuLuxe trim. Hadori Aluminum trim is the only trim available with these colors.

The Lexus Safety System+ 2.5 active safety system, which was carried over from 2022, is standard on the new 2023 ES. The purpose is to lessen the strain on drivers, assist in preventing accidents, and further minimize traffic-related injuries and fatalities.

Pre-Collision System (PCS), which is intended to detect daytime bicyclists and pedestrians in low-light scenarios and to detect approaching vehicles before right turns and pedestrians crossing the street from the direction the vehicle was traveling toward when it started to make a right or left turn, is recognized by the single-lens camera and millimeter-wave radar. Emergency Steering Assist helps the driver steer the vehicle inside its lane when instructed to do so.

Lane Tracing Assist (LTA), on the other hand, uses AI technologies to aid the assist range, resulting in a smooth and constant steering assist. LTA is an advanced driving support function that assists steering to keep the vehicle in the center of the lane.

Dynamic Radar Cruise Control (DRCC), which regulates acceleration and deceleration so that the distance to an immediately preceding vehicle is constant within the speed set when driving on motor-vehicle-only roadways, now includes a curve speed-control function that decelerates the vehicle in advance in accordance with the size of an approaching curve.

Both the ES 350 and ES 250 AWD have a starting price of $42,490 (approximately P2.4 million). The first-ever ES F Sport Handling, which is specific to the ES 350 and ES 300h, will be sold with a starting price of $48,950 (approximately P2.8 million) and $49,985 (approximately (P2.9 million), respectively. The ES 300h is priced at $43,690 (approximately P2.5 million). The 2023 Lexus ES will be rolled out in US dealerships later this year.

Photos from Lexus

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