2024 Lexus TX Hopes to Become a Better Family Hauler

Matt Posky
by Matt Posky

Lexus is hitting the public with a one-two punch this week. After showcasing the next-generation GX, the brand introduced an all-new model designed to replace the three-row RX L. However, where the RX was stretched as an afterthought, the TX was always designed with extra seating in mind. 


Sharing a platform with the Toyota Grand Highlander, the TX is an extremely large vehicle. But that’s the point, as the manufacturer was clearly trying to maximize interior volume without sacrificing cargo. Storage behind the rear seats of the RX L was unsuitable for long trips when fully loaded with people and the TX’s dimensions are supposed to remedy that. 

At a smidgen over 203 inches long, the TX doesn’t seem to have any direct competitors. The infiniti QX80 and GMC Yukon are a little too big, while something like the Acura MDX is a little too small. But that’s a good place for a new vehicle to be when the market is receptive. 


Lexus says the back row will be more spacious, comfortable, and easier to get into than what was available on the three-row variant of the RX. Additionally, the TX is supposed to offer more room for luggage, yielding 20.1 cubic feet of space without having to fold any seating. 

The base powertrain will be a turbocharged 2.4-liter inline-four offering 275 horsepower. That unit comes with a 10-speed automatic and should provide a 21 mpg combined EPA-certified economy rating when configured for front-wheel drive. But all-wheel drive is likewise available. 


Stepping up beyond the TX350 to the TX500h brings on board a hybrid system that takes the 2.4-liter to 362 horsepower thanks to dual electric motors offering default all-wheel drive. However, it’s not so much focused on saving fuel as it is promoting fun. The powertrain comes with a 6-speed automatic and is only available via the F Sport Performance trim. Still, it’s supposed to deliver 24 mpg (combined) and adds rear-wheel steering, adaptive dampers, and flashier 22-inch wheels. 

The above is already available on the Toyota Grand Highlander. What isn’t is the Lexus-exclusive plug-in-hybrid model (exclusive to the all-wheel drive TX550h Plus) that hybridizes a 3.5-liter V6 gasoline engine for a very agreeable 406 horsepower and 30 mpg combined fuel economy. It’s also supposed to be capable of allowing drivers to propel the machine 33 miles using the battery alone. But it comes with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) that’s not going to be for everyone. 


Interior inclusions are about what we’d expect with the LX seeming to focus a bit more on practicality due to its role as a family hauler. But there’s a massive 14-inch infotainment center as standard and the option to upgrade to a digital gauge cluster with a head-up display. 

Additional details are forthcoming, with Lexus yet to provide charging details for the plug-in variant and more comprehensive specifications on the rest of the line. But it’s basically an upscale Grand Highlander focused more on comfort without ditching practicality.


Pricing should reflect this with the Lexus TX starting a little higher than the three-row RX — so above $50,000.

[Images: Lexus]

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Matt Posky
Matt Posky

A staunch consumer advocate tracking industry trends and regulation. Before joining TTAC, Matt spent a decade working for marketing and research firms based in NYC. Clients included several of the world’s largest automakers, global tire brands, and aftermarket part suppliers. Dissatisfied with the corporate world and resentful of having to wear suits everyday, he pivoted to writing about cars. Since then, that man has become an ardent supporter of the right-to-repair movement, been interviewed on the auto industry by national radio broadcasts, driven more rental cars than anyone ever should, participated in amateur rallying events, and received the requisite minimum training as sanctioned by the SCCA. Handy with a wrench, Matt grew up surrounded by Detroit auto workers and managed to get a pizza delivery job before he was legally eligible. He later found himself driving box trucks through Manhattan, guaranteeing future sympathy for actual truckers. He continues to conduct research pertaining to the automotive sector as an independent contractor and has since moved back to his native Michigan, closer to where the cars are born. A contrarian, Matt claims to prefer understeer — stating that front and all-wheel drive vehicles cater best to his driving style.

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  • Teddyc73 Teddyc73 on Jun 12, 2023

    This thing almost looks like a joke. LIke one of those nondescript cars in auto insurance advertisements. For years people based Lincoln for being dressed up Fords. I wonder if people will do the same to Lexus for this thing. Also, what a dreary cold interior. This is from a luxury automaker?

    • Stuki Moi Stuki Moi on Jun 12, 2023

      Difference being: These days, being a "Dressed in anything" Toyota, is about the highest compliment one can give a car.


      The Lincoln quip was a result of dressing up a rattle trap in pseudo-fancy garb can't cover the crumbling innards for long. Very different from cautiously adding slightly more comfortable trappings to what is already world-beating platforms.


      By any even remotely conservative measure, they are overcharging for the changes (unless you're a die hard Japanophile, at least).


      But that's just the nature of attempting to run an industrial company in the neo-feudal era: The bottom 95% cannot afford to be relied on for any profits. Instead, they serve simply as a means to get volumes up to where reliability is made possible. All profits instead have to be made from the 30-then-10-then-5-then-1..... percent on the receiving end of the all-encompassing wealth redistributions which has been the only game in any Western town since 1971.




  • Kari Kari on Jul 02, 2023

    Wow....what an utterly ugly disappointment. Looks like a minivan on the outside and older on the inside than my 2014 Sequoia. Is that an ETCH-A-SKETCH for the console screen? Where is all the luxury that my 2019 Lexus LX had? No cool features or ambient lighting? PASS. Being a sassy mom of 2 teens, I'll stick with our 2023 BMW X7 iDrive40 all day long over this boring garbage.

  • Varezhka The biggest underlying issue of Mitsubishi Motors was that for most of its history the commercial vehicles division was where all the profit was being made, subsidizing the passenger vehicle division losses. Just like Isuzu.And because it was a runt of a giant conglomerate who mainly operated B2G and B2B, it never got the attention it needed to really succeed. So when Daimler came in early 2000s and took away the money making Mitsubishi-Fuso commercial division, it was screwed.Right now it's living off of its legacy user base in SE Asia, while its new parent Nissan is sucking away at its remaining engineering expertise in EV and kei cars. I'd love to see the upcoming US market Delica, so crossing fingers they will last that long.
  • ToolGuy A deep-dive of the TTAC Podcast Archives gleans some valuable insight here.
  • Tassos I heard the same clueless, bigoted BULLSHEET about the Chinese brands, 40 years ago about the Japanese Brands, and more recently about the Koreans.If the Japanese and the Koreans have succeeded in the US market, at the expense of losers such as Fiat, Alfa, Peugeot, and the Domestics,there is ZERO DOUBT in my mind, that if the Chinese want to succeed here, THEY WILL. No matter what one or two bigots do about it.PS try to distinguish between the hard working CHINESE PEOPLE and their GOVERNMENT once in your miserable lives.
  • 28-Cars-Later I guess Santa showed up with bales of cash for Mitsu this past Christmas.
  • Lou_BC I was looking at an extended warranty for my truck. The F&I guy was trying to sell me on the idea by telling me how his wife's Cadillac had 2 infotainment failures costing $4,600 dollars each and how it was very common in all of their products. These idiots can't build a reliable vehicle and they want me to trust them with the vehicle "taking over" for me.
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