Lexus News: The 2013 Lexus ES Leaks Out Ahead of Beijing

[Blake Noble]

Unsurprisingly, various Chinese automotive news websites have leaked out images of the new 2013 Lexus ES today, ahead of its scheduled reveal at the Beijing Auto Show this April. It’s also unsurprising that the story hasn’t changed with Lexus’s Camry-based front-wheel drive sedan — it’s still the most expensive shade of beige money can buy.

The changes from 2012 Camry to 2013 ES mostly include exterior styling that’s pretty much the same as what you get with any other Lexus (IS greenhouse, the recent GS's Predator-like front fascia, and LS taillights) and an interior that looks as if someone broke into BMW’s design studio late one night just to dig sketches out of a company wastebasket. The headlamps and taillights now have integrated a few LEDs and the engine belches and whines through a dual exit exhaust out back. By the way, don’t expect anything unexpected with the power train choices — it’s still going to be the same 3.5 liter V6 engine and six-speed slush-box that you can buy in any off-the-shelf Camry. There’s also a good chance you’ll see the Camry’s 2.5 liter four-pot appear on the option list, given that the badge on the leaked Lexus read "ES250." It's also a safe bet the new ES will have mostly the same La-Z-Boy soft ride and handling characteristics of the current model and that we can rule out any sort of "ES-F" nonsense.

More images are up over at Chinese website autohome.com.cn, which gets the credit for the image we posted along with this article. Try not to fall asleep browsing through them.

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[daves87rs]

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