2023 Lexus RX Has More Engine Options and Fewer Seats

The 2023 Lexus RXImage: Lexus

Lexus revealed the all-new 2023 RX luxury crossover to the cold light of photographers’ cameras today, and it showed up with a brand new design, brand new engines, but fewer seats compared to the previous RX.

Now built on Toyota’s GA-K platform, the RX sports the same underpinnings as the Lexus ES and NX but with updated styling that recalls the Lexus LX. Just as long as the old model but almost 200 pounds lighter, the new platform manages to squeeze in more leg room for rear seat passengers.

This would normally be welcome news to Lexus dealers, who wanted Lexus to put a third row in the RX and ended up with the RX L, with a disappointingly cramped third-row. A little more room in the middle might have helped the RX L, but the new RX will stick to two rows of seats. That being said, Lexus recently announced an SUV above the RX but below the LX: the TX. Dealers will just be able to bump customers up to the new model for that all-important third row.

Back to the 2023 RX. The new model will come in six trims: Standard, Premium, RX Premium+, Luxury, F SPORT Handling and RX F SPORT Performance. All models will use a turbocharged four-cylinder of some sort, replacing the current generation’s 3.5-liter V6 that made as much as 290 hp.

Here’s how the drivetrains break down: The RX 350 will get a 2.4-liter engine alone. The RX 350h gets a hybrid system that integrates the same high-torque 2.5-liter inline-4 engine as the Lexus NX (yes, a different engine from the base 2.4-liter), and the RX 450h+ plug-in hybrid vehicle will get … something. Lexus is holding the details on that model for a later time.

For the RX 500h F SPORT Performance (yes, that whole thing is the name) Lexus put together a fancy new hybrid electric drivetrain built around a high-torque version of the 2.4-liter turbo four, plus “a six-speed automatic transmission, inverter and an electric motor, with an eAxle rear unit that integrates a high output electric motor, inverter and reduction gearbox,” according to Lexus.

Pricing wasn’t announced as of yet, but the outgoing model starts at $46,995. Folks hungry for a luxury crossover with Toyota level quality can pick one up at the end of this year.