Lexus has released a new set of teaser images for its upcoming TX model, a U.S.-built SUV aiming to compete with three-row German heavyweights. The images provide a glimpse of the interior, showcasing a three-row seating arrangement in what appears to be a 2+2+2 layout, as well as the distinctive Lexus-style door panel cards and a portion of the dashboard. The company also confirmed that the official reveal will take place on June 8.
The single image is tightly cropped on the
rear half of the new SUV and shows only the rear door and C-pillar. There’s
enough detail contained in the picture to confirm that the TX will be twinned
with Toyota’s new Grand Highlander, as early reports suggested, but it also
shows that the Toyota-to-Lexus conversion will involved more than swapping the
badges out and adding some extra leather.
Although the rear door and door handle
looks the same on both cars, the rear quarter window opening is slightly
different on the TX and the Lexus SUV’s rear lights wrap further around the
corner, cutting more deeply into the quarter panel. Lexus hasn’t released any
details about the technical makeup of the TX or when we might see it in full,
though we can presume that the launch will happen within a matter of weeks. But
to help us fill in the powertrain blanks were can look at what’s under the hood
of the 5,116 mm long Grand Highlander.
Toyota offers three powertrain options: a
265 hp turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine and a 245 hp 2.5-liter four-cylinder hybrid available with either front- or all-wheel
drive, and a 362 hp 2.4-liter turbo’d four banger that’s lifted from
the Lexus RX and comes exclusively with all-wheel drive. Unlike Lexus GX and
the even bigger LX, which both feature traditional body-on-frame construction,
the TX is a unibody SUV that uses Toyota’s TNGA-K platform, something that
should give it a better chance of matching the driving dynamics of other
unibody rivals like the BMW X5 and X7.
