The 7th generation Lexus ES debuted as a 2019 model. For 2022, it was refreshed. For 2023…it’s getting refreshed again?!
The best-selling sedan for lexus the es got a redesign in 2019 for the seventh generation and 2022 they gave us a nice refresh very minor but still welcome but for 2023 we could be getting an extra refresh over at creative trend they’re talking about some updates coming to the new lexus es for 2023 and it looks like it’s going to be getting a lot of the same
Treatment that the ux will be getting we should be getting official announcements if this comes to be true by summer which coincides pretty well with toyotacon hqc 2022 the exterior is getting some minor changes like we saw on the nx for the hybrid models it looks like the emblem is going to be completely blacked out instead of the blue accents that’s kind of a
3d effect in there the lettering of the hybrid badge on the side skirt has been abolished we saw that on the nx of course there’s no hybrid demarcation other than on the back of the vehicle where it says 300h 350h depending on what car you’re talking about the lexus badge of the bottom left rear tailgate is abolished that’s talking about the f sport badge it will
No longer be on the trunk lid it will be on the sides of the vehicle as you see in this image here on the nx for example all wheel drive models get all-wheel drive but we already have that on the es 250 and there are no more es models with all-wheel drive at least coming in here in 2023 we’re still expecting the l badge the lexus badge to continue on the back of
The new es a 2023 even though that the redesigned lx and nx have lexus lettering and the new rz will have the lexus lettering instead of the traditional badge on the back on the interior of the 2022 model we got a touchscreen which is definitely welcome we still have the touch pad here this is a japanese model obviously it’s right hand drive but you also have these
Digital side mirrors here that are not legal here in the united states the clock just like on the ux is supposed to be abolished for the 2023 model year but the size and the quality of the screen is to stay the same and it will get the new lexus interface and get rid of the touchpad which is i’m totally okay with but there are times that using a touchpad is pretty
Easy and and when you’re driving in addition to the ux getting rid of its cd player like we saw the reading of the cd player on the lx and nx redesigns it looks like the cd player is also gone here on the es they’re supposed to bring these buttons these climate buttons for the seat and the steering wheel probably the sunshade as well down here they’re going to
Move the cup holders kind of to the side of the shifter or maybe right here at the bottom of the shifter two side by cup holders it’s kind of hard to say this is of course a right hand drive model and those buttons for the heating and the cooling of the seat could be behind the shifter but the layout will change it’s just kind of hard to envision at this point in
Time i do like the old cup holder though on the es i know you can pop this up and it reveals two more but this cup holder is awesome because it is adjustable you flip this little piece up and you can put your tall drinks in there as well they talk about the cheapness of the interior the hard plastics that’s not going to change this is not a redesign the materials
Are going to stay the same they confirm that there’s no uh electrified all-wheel drive option on the hybrid coming at least not yet we’ll probably have to wait for a redesign for the 2025-20 model year for that to happen they say that there’s a special edition of the 2023 index coming which could be exclusive to japan but it seems like every year lexus gives us
A black line special edition of the vehicles just a little bit different trimmings interior exterior so i typically don’t get that excited over them but there are instances where they do look pretty cool switching gears honda crv next model be launched in north america so we should have an announcement this summer in theory because it’s supposed to be a redesign
For the 2023 model year now they’re investing over 1.3 billion dollars over the next six years to electrify their honda honda of canada manufacturing plant in ontario and we’ll see a next generation crv hybrid it’d be nice if they replaced their current cvt clutch based hybridized system that’s kind of hard to understand and just put an automatic transmission in
There i know that they’re just cvt based though mainly honda at this point look the new integra is getting a cvt so yeah don’t expect like the 10-speed auto for example to slot into the crv that would probably start knocking on the doors of the acura rdx but from what i’m hearing the crv could be larger could offer three rows of seats even kind of like the new
Tiguan for example or even some of the korean counterparts that have three rows of seats but we’re going to keep moving over automo news russian invasion is adding cost to evs because of the raw material costs especially nickel going stratospheric at this point could add eight thousand dollars an additional cost to the tesla model why they’ve already increased the
Prices recently to the tesla models of the past month or so so much for that upfront pricing model right it uh it’s great but you’re also victim to market swings like this when it comes to electric car makers that can change the prices of their cars at any given time or traditional automakers will wait till next year the next model year to just increase those prices
The mercedes-benz eqs models could also be 11 000 more expensive versus 2021 models it depends on if mercedes really wants to jack up the prices of their already expensive cars we know tesla is not shy about jacking the prices at any given time so they can make sure that they’re being profitable i get it what’s crazy is norilsk nickel the world’s largest producer
Of high-grade nickel using ev batteries is based in russia german chemicals giant basf which manufactures nickel and cobalt for automotive battery said is not signing any new agreements with norelsk other manufacturers are suggested that they’re going to do the same nickel is typically traded at ten thousand dollars to twenty thousand dollars the past decade but
Is now trading for around a hundred thousand dollars per ton and that is the most expensive part of any battery pack is the nickel inside of it so if you’re hoping that evs would be becoming cheaper any day now in a year now it doesn’t look like that’s happening volkswagen has gone on to say that they’re expecting supply chain and raw material disruptions up until
2026 that is absolutely insane to project that far but they’re probably right so the new car market especially when it comes to evs is just gonna get hammered with the profitability therefore we’re going to get hammered with the msrps just getting stratospheric hopefully fingers crossed we can find boundaries that are not lfp that gets us away from nickel and cobalt
That has really high energy density sodium based batteries i’ve heard is a thing and also very safe and reliable but those haven’t been mass produced in vehicles quite yet but anyways guys i’m gonna there a quick little update about lexus honda and the overall car market especially when it comes to evs it’s gonna get really really expensive i hate to be the bear
Bad news but maybe just don’t buy an ev until things are affordable for most of us anyways guys i’m going to there thank you so much for watching if you enjoyed today’s coverage make sure you smash the like button subscribe for more japanese and korean auto news catch the next one peace you
Transcribed from video
The 2023 Lexus ES 350 is getting a MAJOR upgrade… By Kirk Kreifels
