Toyota and Lexus are finally overhauling their ancient SUV lineup. The body-on-frame off-roaders will move to the new TNGA-F truck platform from the all-new Tundra. But it will also mean fleshing out the crossover lineup. And according to a report from Automotive News, Lexus has one coming that will be vital to the brand moving forward.
Automotive News says the new SUV will be called the TX. It will be based on the upcoming Toyota Grand Highlander crossover and be built in the same plant in Indiana. It may seat up to 8 passengers and offer a hybrid powertrain. It should arrive about six months after the Grand Highlander's mid-2023 debut. And it's a vehicle Lexus dealers have been waiting for.
Buyers use SUVs to haul families. And Lexus has never really had a dedicated family hauler SUV. The UX and all-new NX are too small for that sort of duty. The RX is a serviceable size for small families. But if a family needs an SUV bigger than that — which many of them do — Lexus doesn't have a compelling option.
The two bigger SUVs in the lineup are the GX and LX. Both are hulking Land Cruisers — not that that's a bad thing — pressed into service as luxury SUVs without being specifically designed for the task. And until Lexus updated the LX for 2022, both were ancient. The other Lexus alternative is trying to make do with the RX-L, a stretched three-row version of the RX.
Contrast Lexus's offerings with rivals BMW and Mercedes, who have been offering that exact large, tech-forward crossover that families want with the X7 and GLS. Adding the TX to compete directly with those luxury SUVs is about as much of a guaranteed success as Lexus could find.
