Lexus to enter 7-seat crossover SUV segment with all-new TX

If you want a bigger Lexus, a model with three rows of seating, you cannot go wrong with the GX and the LX. But if you are the finicky type and find the body-on-frame setup of these SUVs less than ideal, the Japanese luxury automaker has the answer to your ‘Princess and the pea’ demands.

The first teaser of the upcoming 2024 Lexus TX is out. It only shows the top half of the vehicle’s rear, and it immediately reminds me of the Fortuner with its ‘floating roof’ effect using the blacked-out D-pillars, slim wraparound taillights, the shark’s fin antenna, and the roof spoiler. It does not have body cladding, but we expect other variants of the TX to get a sportier, more robust setup.

2024 Toyota Grand Highlander

What will set the 2024 TX apart from other Lexus three-row SUVs is its unibody platform based on the recently launched Toyota Grand Highlander, designed for better on-road handling. The ‘Grand’ variant would be a perfect base for the TX compared to the regular Highlander because its wheelbase has an extra 165mm, and the rear has an additional 24mm for more headroom.

What happened to the three-row RX L that Lexus launched in 2019 locally? Well, its absence in the current lineup of the Philippine distributor’s webpage is a clear indication of its status. The Japanese marque is moving forward with a roomier and bigger crossover SUV, and it will be called the Lexus TX.

As for the powertrain of this new crossover SUV, Lexus can take any of the two engines used by the Grand Highlander, a 2.4-liter turbocharged inline-four or a 2.5-liter hybrid four-pot that's shared with the Lexus RX. A few reports we have seen online also indicate that it might have much larger displacement engines – maybe a couple of V6 engines, one with hybrid technology – to set its performance apart from the Grand Highlander.

Lexus did not specify a launch date, but we expect it to happen within the year. Watch this space for more exciting details about the upcoming 2024 TX.