Get ready for another crossover coming from Lexus. The three-row RX L isn’t enough as Automotive News reports that Lexus will debut a three-row crossover that sits about the RX called the TX.
Over five years ago, Lexus dealers said they had a problem. Customers with families weren’t finding what they wanted in the LX, GX, or NX. And the RX lacked the third row for people that wanted it. With a Toyota Highlander being too common, Lexus customers bugged dealers for a three-row RX. Dealers, in turn, bugged Lexus corporate and Lexus responded by introducing the RX L in 2017.
But that’s not enough, because the third row in the RX sucks. With its 23.5 inches of legroom, it’s nearly unusable save for small kids. A Toyota GR 86 has more rear legroom. So dealers have asked for something else, and Lexus has responded again.
A new three-row SUV is coming called the TX. This new SUV will slot above the RX L and be based on the forthcoming Toyota Grand Highlander, which is a terrible name by the way. Apparently, dealers have wanted an SUV above the RX for years because they don’t like putting those customers onto a GX or LX. This probably doesn’t happen very often anyway. One dealer said that the TX can’t come fast enough.
The only vehicle that we have right now in that size is the RX L. It’s done a nice job for us, but it’s not the vehicle we’re waiting for,” Iacono, a partner in the 17-store Bram Auto Group in the New York City area, told Automotive News. “The design and who the TX will attract is a much younger buyer than what we have now — younger buyers in their 40s or 50s with families — and those are buyers we need in our showrooms. This vehicle is going to do just that. It’s everything we want it to be.
On one hand, introducing a model above the RX makes sense. The Lexus SUV lineup goes UX, NX, RX, GX, LX. It’s a big jump to go from the RX to GX. On the other hand, it’s an interesting move by Lexus as this vehicle comes across as more of what dealers want than customers want. Dealers don’t want you leaving without buying something — anything — from them. Lexus should just give dealers a new RX.
RX generations tend to go five years between redesigns. The current RX was introduced in 2015 so it’s due for one. It would make more sense (and probably be cheaper) to just introduce a next-gen RX that’s larger and comes in two versions rather than introducing an all-new model that could possibly make their best-selling vehicle redundant.