Things are usually a straight-laced affair for the Malaysian car buyer where segmentation is concerned. For sedans, once you get past the entry-level B and general C-segment there's the D, categorically built along the lines of executive-badged stuff (Toyota Camry, Honda Accord, Nissan Teana, Mazda6 et al) before heading right into the luxury executive movement, in which the likes of the BMW 5 Series, Mercedes E-Class and Lexus GS reside.
Of course, there's virtually nothing sandwiched in between that, at least nothing in terms of pricing or a corresponding sense of occasion. By that, I don't mean loading up an executive sedan with gear and tagging it as premium, which is the usual path taken to offer a differentiation - a bigger lump and more mod cons does not a new animal make, well, not beyond making it mutton dressed as lamb anyway.
Now, something straddling close to the premium offerings in fit and finish, maybe even size, with added snob appeal but without the associated price tag would be just the neat bit. Until now, there has been no such choice, but the arrival of the Lexus ES has altered that landscape.
The sixth-generation model opens up a new bridge between the two worlds, but depending on how you look at it, the ES can be viewed as an entry-level luxury sedan or a very high-end premium exec offering. The brigade thinking along 'half-empty' lines will undoubtedly look at it as a larger, better dressed Camry; Lexus, on the other hand, will tell you that it's not a glorified XV50. So, which then? New-found fox in the box, or a sheep disguised in wolf's clothing?
Full story and photo gallery after the jump.
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