While there’s not much we can make out from the teaser beyond the expected Lexus styling cues, which track with the recently introduced new-generation NX compact SUV (which arrived for 2022), we do anticipate the crossover will gain a lot beneath the surface. Look for a switch to Toyota/Lexus’s latest TNGA architecture, the adoption of the same dazzlingly large touchscreen display from the smaller NX, possibly some of that SUV’s newer and smaller engines to augment or replace the outgoing RX’s V-6, and maybe even the NX’s retractable electronic door handles.
Expect a hybrid to again be part of the mix, but, like the NX, it’s entirely possible the RX could adopt a plug-in hybrid version in addition to the strict gas-electric hybrid option it’s offered for the past 15 years or so. A more integrated third-row seating option—currently relegated to an oddly stretched RX L model (pictured in the gallery above)—is another possibility, though not entirely necessary given the all-new larger, full-size three-row Lexus has hinted is coming soon.
Other than the image of the new RX’s grille and headlight, Lexus revealed only that the new SUV will debut at 8:00 p.m. Eastern time on May 31, 2022.
