5th Generation RX Discussion: Official Thread (RX 500h, 450h+, 350h and More)

[FPV]

Is there a possibility that the rumored F SUV, is an RX? The MAG-X article only said the vehicle was not shown in any form at the Tokyo Auto Salon as the engine was not ready therefore the vehicle was not able to be run on the Nurburgring. It is a possibility we will see this vehicle appear at some stage in the future?

 

[qtb007]

A V6 turbo will weigh about 200kg. That amount of weight in front of the front axle will make a terrible handling car. The days of V6 FWD is over, and any brand that pretends otherwise are delusional.

The only way I see they can fix the 500h is replacing the T24 with G20 (300PS version) and the NiMH pack with a 3kWh class bipolar Li-ion pack. But that still doesn't solve the problem that the 450h+ is more desirable and competition have sportier offerings.


RX sales are not suffering, but the 500h is. In my area they are the only TMC hybrid product that have discounts. And the reason is it's not that much faster than the 450h+ and much less efficient. People would pay markups on top of the already higher MSRP of the 450h+. The 500h should be renamed to 450h and priced at just over USD 60k. The type of buyers you are describing are either buying the 450h+ or moved to other brands. Lexus originally intended over 40% of 500h sales to be conquest, I wonder how that worked for them.

I think the fact that the 500h only comes as an F Sport performance is a large factor. I don't think a lot of RX buyers are looking for an F sport performance model; sharp and sporty are typically antithetical to the RX. Then there is cost. The 2.4T hybrid is a $9k cost up over the RX350h F Sport Design and a $7k cost up over the RX350 F Sport Handling. So, even the buyer that would want a sporty RX is being asked to shell out quite a lot of money. On a Grand Highlander, the more powerful drivetrain is only a $2,900 upcharge. If the 2.4T HEV were available at the same premium without the 6 piston calipers, rear axis steering, and other F Sport things that really don't fit an RX demeanor, I think it would be better received.

I don't know that Lexus planned on selling that many 500h RXs. I don't necessarily want to say it is a cynical offering just to have something in the sporty luxury midsize SUV segment, but it is clear that they see the bread and butter of the RX being the non-F Sport, base drivetrains. I checked the dealer inventory of RX within 250 miles of me.

Trim	RX350	RX350h	RX450h+	RX500h
AWD	7	1
Premium AWD	31	82
Premium+ AWD	31	50
Luxury AWD	15	16	35
F Sport Design AWD	9	3
F Sport Handling AWD	3
F Sport Performance				3

The 500h is an outlier in several ways.

IMO, the 450h+ is in its own space. We all know that it is supply constrained and having $7500 of potential lease cash from the federal government (for now) doesn't really put it on a level playing field against vehicles that don't have the lease cash.

 

[F1 Silver Arrows]

Yea I get what you're saying but the problem is, here in Taiwan, the RX500h (fully loaded) and the X5 40i (decently loaded) are almost at price parity. Now tell me, why would I pick the RX over the X5 when they are within reach of each other? Assuming Lexus was able to make a car that's almost identical to the X5 (RWD, i6, aluminum suspension), objectively speaking, wouldn't it already need to be cheaper than the X5 because BMW has the mindshare in the luxury car space? Let alone the fact that the RX, in reality, is inferior in almost every way - except perhaps in maintenance and peace of mind, where it has the edge over the Bimmer. For the RX to make sense as a purchase (especially the 500h), it has to be priced more like an X3 30i, don't you think?

Bingo! Also, where I live everyone is buying the RX500h, I'm sure they wouldn't mind purchasing a more powerful variant.

 

[Kelvin2020]

Is there a possibility that the rumored F SUV, is an RX? The MAG-X article only said the vehicle was not shown in any form at the Tokyo Auto Salon as the engine was not ready therefore the vehicle was not able to be run on the Nurburgring. It is a possibility we will see this vehicle appear at some stage in the future?

I wonder what car that is

 

[mikeavelli]

Hennessy Lexus of Gwinnett gave me a brand new 2025 RX loaner. 3 Miles. Personality we would never buy this but this is Lexus being great at being old school. It does has finally a full digital drivers center. I hated the old one.

It’s also stunning how the RX 350 and RX 500h are like 2 separate vehicles.

2025 Lexus RX 350 Premium FWD | Nightfall Mica | Hennessy Lexus Gwinnett

 

[Jezza819]

Hennessy Lexus of Gwinnett gave me a brand new 2025 RX loaner. 3 Miles. Personality we would never buy this but this is Lexus being great at being old school. It does has finally a full digital drivers center. I hated the old one.

It’s also stunning how the RX 350 and RX 500h are like 2 separate vehicles.

2025 Lexus RX 350 Premium FWD | Nightfall Mica | Hennessy Lexus Gwinnett

View attachment 9967View attachment 9968View attachment 9969

Do you like the digital rear view mirror? I turned it off in my NX. It just doesn't look right to me but maybe that's my unfamiliarity with that point of view.

 

[mikeavelli]

Do you like the digital rear view mirror? I turned it off in my NX. It just doesn't look right to me but maybe that's my unfamiliarity with that point of view.

I love digital mirrors. My wife doesn’t use it.

 

[Ian Schmidt]

Do you like the digital rear view mirror? I turned it off in my NX. It just doesn't look right to me but maybe that's my unfamiliarity with that point of view.

I'm a big fan of the digital mirror in my LS. It did take some getting used to, but now it seems weird when I drive something without it.

 

[FPV]

At timestamp 7:44-7:50 - appears to be an RX in industry pool.

 

[Kelvin2020]

Looks like they mentioned MORIZO-RR will soon be available for the Lexus RX. I’ll share more once I get the digital version.

 

[Levi]

@CRSKTN will like this other Morizo…

 

[sl0519]

View attachment 10264
Looks like they mentioned MORIZO-RR will soon be available for the Lexus RX. I’ll share more once I get the digital version.

Assuming the Morizo RR = F, and given the RX’s FWD-based platform, we can pretty much rule out any chance of a V8. But since it’s gotta be more powerful than the T24A hybrid, we’re talking around 450~500ps, 0-60 in the low to mid 4s - a 6-cylinder hybrid honestly makes perfect sense.
The problem is, knowing Lexus...and in classic Lexus fashion - we’ll probably end up with some unknown 4-cylinder setup that only barely outperforms the RX500h F SPORT...and then gets bogged down by the transmission.

I really want to be proven wrong, I really do. But right now, Lexus just doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.

 

[Levi]

Assuming the Morizo RR = F, and given the RX’s FWD-based platform, we can pretty much rule out any chance of a V8. But since it’s gotta be more powerful than the T24A hybrid, we’re talking around 450~500ps, 0-60 in the low to mid 4s - a 6-cylinder hybrid honestly makes perfect sense.
The problem is, knowing Lexus...and in classic Lexus fashion - we’ll probably end up with some unknown 4-cylinder setup that only barely outperforms the RX500h F SPORT...and then gets bogged down by the transmission.

I really want to be proven wrong, I really do. But right now, Lexus just doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.

Transverse 2UR? Volva had transverse Yamaha made V8.

 

[Kelvin2020]

Assuming the Morizo RR = F, and given the RX’s FWD-based platform, we can pretty much rule out any chance of a V8. But since it’s gotta be more powerful than the T24A hybrid, we’re talking around 450~500ps, 0-60 in the low to mid 4s - a 6-cylinder hybrid honestly makes perfect sense.
The problem is, knowing Lexus...and in classic Lexus fashion - we’ll probably end up with some unknown 4-cylinder setup that only barely outperforms the RX500h F SPORT...and then gets bogged down by the transmission.

I really want to be proven wrong, I really do. But right now, Lexus just doesn’t inspire a lot of confidence.

Ah yes, the classic Lexus excuse🗣️🗣️“For the sake of reliability, we’re giving the RX Morizo RR an extra 10 horsepower.”

Translation? “We’re too lazy to build a proper performance SUV, but we’ll act like we’re doing you a favor.”

 

[ssun30]

Transverse 2UR? Volva had transverse Yamaha made V8.

The Volvo-Yamaha V8 was 60 degree. 90 degree transverse V8s won't be drivable by modern standards.

 

[mikeavelli]

Remind me to hate on all crossover buyers today this is all their fault lol

 

[Gor134]

Who's gonna pay 75-80k for an RX with a 4 cylinder.

Mercedes already realized the market demand for a high-performance compact-exec sedan/crossover is very low and is planning to replace the i4 43/63 lines with an i6 53.

 

[ssun30]

Volvo already shows how to build a transverse platform high performance SUV for a reasonable cost and with plenty of power.

The XC60 T8 PHEV starts at US$59,345 and $69,145 fully loaded (ignoring the pure cash grab "Polestar Engineered" trim). It uses a P1 ISG and P4 rear eAxle. The battery is 18.8kWh. ICE is a 2.0L twincharged 315hp and rear motor is 143hp for 455hp combined. Total weight is still a manageable 2115kg (+280kg vs. the mild hybrid B5). The overall packaging is far from optimal but that's because the base design was from 2016. It still delivers relatively impressive specs even today.

 

[Ali Manai]

Most likely to introduce the new 2.0l turbo hybrid setup with around 410-420hp

 

[Kelvin2020]

“An article about the behind-the-scenes of the 2025 Tokyo Auto Salon, where the Lexus RX MORIZO RR was not revealed to be under development...

The newly developed 2.0L inline 4-cylinder turbo engine with a system output of 600 horsepower is the high-performance 4WD model that will be the successor to the F model, the MORIZO RR.

We may find out the truth behind this after the 2026 Tokyo Auto Salon!!”