2024 Lexus TX And TX Hybrid Review: Three Rows Of Excellence

Lexus has finally launched a proper three-row mid-size SUV in the USA to fill a gaping hole in its range that used to be halfheartedly occupied by the cramped, compromised previous-gen RX-L. Based on the new Toyota Grand Highlander, this new Lexus scoots right to the top of the class among similarly priced three-row rivals such as the Genesis GV80, Infiniti QX60, and Acura MDX, all of which it beats on third-row and cargo space. On the road, it certainly delivers on the Lexus brief of luxury and refinement, as we found in our TX first drive, although the F Sport trims are quite a bit firmer. Efficient powertrains boost gas mileage and the choice on offer is impressive - a 275-horsepower gas engine at the bottom of the range, a 366-hp hybrid, and a 404-hp plug-in hybrid. What it lacks is a true performance version, but maybe that'll come later on. Lexus seems to have created a class leader right out of the gate, so let's see how it squares up.

New for 2024

The 2024 TX is a brand-new car based on the Toyota Grand Highlander's GA-K underpinnings, and it's the first mid-size three-row Lexus SUV with a proper, usable third row. It's also the biggest Lexus currently on offer, with its length and wheelbase exceeding even those of the flagship LX. The range starts with 275-hp gas versions available with front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, but there are 366-hp HEV and 404-hp PHEV versions available too, all of them AWD. The modern underpinnings ensure that passenger and trunk space remains unaffected by the under-floor hybrid gubbins or choice of drivetrain. Features such as a 14-inch infotainment display, navigation, and a comprehensive Lexus Safety System+ 3.0 driver-assistance suite are standard on all trims. The base price of the 2024 Lexus TX begins at just under $54k, but the most expensive versions command close to $80k.

2024 Lexus TX And TX Hybrid Price: Which One to Buy

The starting price of the new Lexus TX is $53,700 for the base TX 350. Among the gas trims, this is followed by the TX 350 Premium at $57,100 and the TX 350 Luxury at $61,200. The gas trims are FWD, but adding AWD will cost you $1,600 on any of them.

The hybrid trims are all AWD. The regular hybrids are the TX 500h F Sport Performance Premium at $68,000 and the TX 500h F Sport Performance Luxury at $71,300, while the most expensive TX is the PHEV TX 550h+ Luxury at $76,700. These prices are MSRP, so you still need to budget for the $1,350 destination fee.

We'll probably end up going for the TX 350 Luxury. It comes with big-ticket luxuries such as leather upholstery, a panoramic glass roof, ventilated front and heated second-row seats, adaptive headlights, and more, while retaining the standard suspension tune and 20-inch wheels that give the best ride. Performance is adequate but not exciting, and we would have chosen a 500h hybrid - our favorite powertrain - had Lexus not forced you to pay for all the F Sport Performance equipment that pushes the price too high. Our ideal TX would be in the $65,000 range with the 350's Luxury spec and no F Sport trinkets, but such a configuration doesn't currently exist.

Interior and Features

The interior bears more than a passing resemblance to that of the Toyota Grand Highlander, but it’s been made suitably upscale to differentiate it.

On the inside, it's obvious that the design hard points of the Toyota Grand Highlander's dashboard are the same as those in the TX, but Lexus has restyled it sufficiently to infuse it with its own identity, and it won't bother you unless you draw direct comparisons. The materials are of excellent quality and the finishes are suitably upscale. Base trims get leatherette on the seats and upper trims get leather, but all trims come with heated power front seats, a digital gauge cluster, and a big 14-inch infotainment display. Interior space is excellent, beating out the MDX, QX60, and GV80, with the roomiest third row and trunk. Ground clearance is nearly eight inches in all trims, but thanks to unibody construction, the floor is low and ingress is easy.

Space

If there's one thing in plentiful supply in the TX, it's space, thanks in part to its generous 116.1-inch wheelbase. Compared to most mid-size three-row SUVs, it's a class act, with lots of usable space and a third row of proper size that will accept medium-sized adults, if not in great comfort or with room to spare. It's genuinely usable for children, with more leg- and headroom than its rivals, making it an ideal candidate for the school run.

Cargo

Compared to rivals, trunk space is also a strong point, with 20.2 cubic feet on offer behind the third row. This row splits and folds in either a 50/50 or 60/40 ratio, depending on the trim, and with it stowed, 57.5 cu-ft is liberated up to the second row. With the 60/40-split second row also folded, the maximum trunk volume grows to an extremely impressive 97 cubes, just 6 cu-ft short of the full-size regular-length Lincoln Navigator.

In the interior, passengers have access to door pockets in every door, a glovebox, cupholders for all three rows, and front seatback pockets. The front cupholders are removable, so you can use the space to store other items, while cupholders plus additional storage are found in the side moldings of the third row. The center console houses a storage bin and a phone rest/wireless charging pad as well.

Materials and Colors

The base and regular TX 350 Premium trims get NuLuxe leatherette on their seats. The base car gives you a choice of only two interior colors - Black or Birch, while the Premium adds Peppercorn to the list of color schemes. The seats are wholly rendered in the accent color in the case of the latter two, with swathes of the accent color on the door panels as well. The F Sport Performance variation of the TX 500h Premium has NuLuxe too, with access to Black or Birch, with the Birch accent color applied to the seat centers only.

The regular Luxury trims and the TX 550h+ Luxury upgrade to semi-aniline leather upholstery in the regular Premium's three color choices, but the TX 500h F Sport Luxury gets smooth leather instead in Black or Birch. The shifter knob and steering wheel are trimmed in leather throughout the lineup, but it's a special perforated leather on the F Sport trims' steering wheels. A grained black finish is used for the interior trim above the base level.

Features and Infotainment

The base car does not look basic inside, with high-quality leatherette on the seats and features such as push-button start, heated eight-way power front seats, a power-adjustable and leather-trimmed tilting/telescoping steering wheel, tri-zone climate control, a seven-inch driver-information display, and paddle shifters. As you move up the lineup, features such as ventilated front seats, ventilated and/or heated second-row seats, leather upholstery, a panoramic glass roof, thematic ambient interior lighting, additional seat adjustment, a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, and a heated steering wheel are added.

The same infotainment system is used in all trims and it comes with a big 14-inch touchscreen, Bluetooth, wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay, a wireless charging pad, a 4G Wi-Fi hotspot with a 30-day 3-GB AT&T trial subscription, the Lexus app with remote start, SiriusXM with a three-month Platinum Plan trial subscription, a three-year trial subscription to Drive Connect with connected navigation and Destination Assist, voice commands, and a 12-speaker audio system. A 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster becomes an option from the Premium and is standard on all the hybrids. A 21-speaker Mark Levinson audio system is standard on the Luxury hybrid trims only and optional on all but the base trim.

Performance

Our favorite powertrain is the 500h hybrid, but it comes only in F Sport Performance trims, which ride too firmly and cost too much.

The engine in the Lexus TX 350 gas trims is a turbocharged 2.4-liter four-cylinder with 275 hp and 317 lb-ft, connected to an eight-speed automatic transmission and a choice between drivetrain configurations. It gives the Lexus TX a 0-60 time of eight seconds with FWD and 7.8 seconds with AWD. It's fairly refined, with strong mid-range torque. The 500h hybrids combine this engine in 271-hp/339-lb-ft tune with two electric motors - one with 85 hp/215 lb-ft and the other with 215 hp/124 lb-ft - for a combined 366 hp and 406 lb-ft. It's connected to a six-speed automatic transmission and Direct4 eAxle AWD, getting the car to 60 mph in 6.1 seconds. The 550h+ uses a different powertrain - a naturally aspirated 259-hp 3.5-liter V6 and three electric motors with a combined 404 hp. Performance is similar to the 500h with a 0-60 of 5.9 seconds but the V6 is more refined. All TXs have a governed top speed of 112 mph. Trailering is good, with the TX's 5,000-pound towing capacity for all configurations matching the AWD MDX's rating, but trailing the 6,000 pounds the GV80 can tow. With its unibody design, no dual-range transfer case, and a limited ground clearance of under eight inches, even the AWD versions of the TX are more suited to rough or slippery roads than off-road driving.

The TX's controls are firmly weighted, with brake and steering responses that aren't overly light, suggesting composed handling. This is borne out by disciplined damping that manages to iron out irregularities without sacrificing body control. There's no float, and the underlying firmness doesn't translate into harshness. We think Lexus has struck a fine balance with the standard suspension and passive dampers, with even the PHEV on its 22-inch wheels retaining this happy compromise. The combination of the adaptive dampers and 22-inch wheels on F Sport Performance trims is less successful, adding a harder edge to the suspension response while seeming slack on rebound control. Handling is sharper, though, and grip limits higher, with the rear-axle steering pointing the TX into bends much more eagerly, but such sporty pretensions seem at odds with what the TX is for. It's still not as much fun around corners as an MDX, so we say stick with the regular suspension. Sadly, you can't have a 500h hybrid without the F Sport suspension, so try before you buy.

Fuel Efficiency

Gas mileage is a TX strong suit. As expected, the base gas engine is responsible for the worst EPA estimates, returning 21/27/23 mpg on the city/highway/combined cycles with FWD and 20/26/23 mpg with AWD. The Lexus TX's mpg figures improve noticeably in 500h hybrid format, which returns 27/28/27 mpg despite the standard AWD and dramatically better performance.

Lexus says the 550h+ PHEV will give you 76 MPGe and 29 mpg combined, with an all-electric range of up to 33 miles on its 18.1-kWh battery pack. The battery can be fully recharged in three hours via a 240-V outlet. You can set the hybrid system to save the battery power for when you need it and you can also engage Charge mode to keep the V6 running to charge the battery.

The gas 350 TXs have a fuel capacity of 17.8 gallons, which should give them a range of around 410 miles on the combined cycle with either drivetrain. The hybrid 500h TXs have a slightly smaller 17.2-gallon gas tank, but its superior consumption should see it achieve up to around 463 miles. Despite a far smaller 14.5-gallon tank, the 550h+ PHEV splits the difference with around 454 miles possible, electric range included.

Safety

The list of driver assists is generally long, though we would have expected to see a standard surround-view camera on at least the top trims.

There was no NHTSA safety review of the brand-new Lexus TX at the time of writing, but the IIHS has partially tested it, giving it mostly the top Good rating, though the driver's small overlap test was only rated Acceptable.

We're pleased to report that the standard list of driver assists is comprehensive indeed. The Lexus Safety System+ 3.0 driver-assistance suite is fitted to all trims and comes with front-collision alert, pedestrian detection, intersection support, all-speed adaptive cruise control with curve-speed management, lane tracing, automatic high beams, and road-sign recognition. In addition to that, every TX also gets rain-sensing wipers, reverse auto tilt-down side mirrors, an auto-dimming function for the interior and driver's rearview mirrors, safe-exit assist, Smart Stop technology, and blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert. Premium trims add Intuitive Parking Assist with automatic braking. A camera-based digital rearview mirror and a head-up display are options on Luxury trims as part of a package, while the Convenience package available above the base level contains a smartphone-based digital key, front cross-traffic alert, and traffic-jam assist. A surround-view camera, and automated parking form part of the Technology package available above the base trim.

Reliability

Because it's still so new, there's no word yet on the reliability of the Lexus TX, nor of its Toyota Grand Highlander cousin for comparison's sake. Being Lexus, we expect good scores. There have so far been no recalls yet of the new TX.

The limited warranty of the 2024 Lexus TX is valid for four years/50,000 miles, while the powertrain warranty runs for six years/70,000 miles. Lexus throws in one year or 10,000 miles of complimentary maintenance.

Warranty

Design

Not everyone will be enamored with the new body-color Lexus 'Unified Spindle' grille on the TX, and it can look a bit awkward in lighter paint colors, though less severe than the gaping black traditional Spindle on some other Lexus cars. Other than that, there aren't too many distinguishing Lexus features, with the fairly boxy, traditional profile being a far cry from the old RX-L's sweeping roofline that so inhibited practicality. Bi-LED headlights, LED tail- and foglights, roof rails, 20-inch alloy wheels, a hands-free power liftgate, and power-folding mirrors feature on the base TX, with the F Sport Performance models getting a blacked-out exterior, sportier fascias, and black 22-inch alloys. The 550h+ runs on silver 22-inchers. A panoramic glass roof is fitted to most Premium and Luxury trims, but isn't available on the 500h Premium or 550h+ Luxury.

Verdict: Is The 2024 Lexus TX A Good SUV?

The Lexus TX is a superb new premium mid-size three-row SUV that leads its class on space utilization, with a more usable third row than almost any rival and a big trunk. It's as luxurious and refined as you'd expect a Lexus to be, comes with a choice of efficient powertrain configurations that even include a PHEV, and is well-equipped, even at the base level. It's not as much fun to drive as an MDX, but it's everything the excellent new Grand Highlander is, only in a premium Lexus wrapper, which is exactly what countless people want. We reckon its success in this class is guaranteed.