With the 1989 launch of its LS400, Lexus vaulted itself into the luxury wars. Now, with the debut of the redesigned ES sedan, the Toyota brand hopes to redefine the entry luxury segment. In its early years, Lexus was not a brand that appealed to the emotions, acknowledged General Manager Bob Carter. The new sedan was "designed to appeal as much to one's heart as to one's head," he asserted, with Lexus putting more emphasis on exterior design, interior comfort and performance. To deliver the latter in the new ES350, there's a new 3.5 liter V-6 delivering 272 horsepower, and capable of leaping from 0-60 in just 6.8 seconds. Mated to a six-speed transmission, the powertrain delivers a combined 25 mpg, more than the old ES330. A more expressive design follows the lines of the new L-Finesse styling theme that has also influenced recent offerings such as the GS, IS and the upcoming LS460. The wheelbase of the '07 ES has been stretched two inches, its width by an inch. And though total length is unchanged, Lexus engineers were able to squeeze in significantly more interior space, a big plus for backseat passengers. The ES is "the anchor" of Lexus' unusual, two-entry-model strategy, paired with the more sporty IS sedan, which was updated a year ago. Carter said Lexus hopes to sell an average 70,000 ES sedans annually, slightly less than the brand's previous peak. But combined with 40,000 IS sales each year, that would give Lexus a larger share of the entry-luxury market than the segment's current leader, BMW.
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