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Lexus regrets not doing 3-row CUV before RC coupe [UPDATE]

UPDATE: The source clarifies that rather than planning new small cars and crossovers, Lexus intends to rely on the ones it already has in its lineup. The text below has been revised accordingly. Automakers try to give its dealers (and by extension, their customers) the vehicles they're asking for. In Lexus' case, that's come down to a sport coupe and a three-row crossover. The Japanese luxury automaker ended up prioritizing the former with the launch of the RC coupe, but in retrospect, it feels it should have gone with the seven-seater instead. This according to Toyota's North American chief Jim Lentz in speaking to Automotive News at its provisional headquarters in Plano, TX. "In hindsight, if I was making this decision 10 years ago, seeing what I see today, the three-row [crossover] probably would have been the better play to come out first," Lentz to AN. "Strategically that's a more important vehicle to have than necessarily a lower volume, higher priced image product." Crossovers and SUVs represent big business for Lexus, whose five-seat RX (pictured above) is its biggest seller. The more compact NX is off to a solid start as well, but the brand's only three-row offerings are truck-based sport-utes like the GX and LX. Even without the three-row crossover, however, Lexus has been performing admirably. Rising sales have it trailing only BMW and Mercedes in the US market for luxury automobiles. Adding a three-row crossover to target the likes of the Audi Q7 and Mercedes GL will evidently be the next top priority for Lexus, but it's not the only plan the luxury brand has for the near future. Lentz indicated that the company plans to rely on its lineup of near-luxury and entry-level luxury sedans and crossovers moving forward, but isn't interested in going after the Mercedes CLA and Audi A3. "Luxury cars cost a certain dollar amount for a reason," said Lentz. "I don't want to cheapen my cars just to offer a lease that's $20 a month less."

Lexus LS mid-cycle refresh to restore V8-powered LS 600h hybrid?

When Lexus launched the fifth-generation LS at the end of 2017, the Japanese luxury maker predicted its once-brand-defining sedan would sell 12,000 units per year in the U.S., a threshold the model hadn't reached since 2010. The LS managed 9,301 transactions here in 2018, its first full year on sale, falling back to 5,528 units in 2019. Through the first three coronavirus-affected months of this year, Lexus dealers have sold 801 LS sedans, compared to 1,404 units in Q1 2019. There's a mid-cycle refresh supposedly due for release in the fall of 2021, and the June issue of Japanese magazine Mag-X (translated), via Lexus Enthusiast, claims we're due for a couple of big surprises that could jolt the sales figures. The first shock is that Lexus is supposedly bringing back the LS 600h moniker for an LS with a V8 hybrid powertrain.  Lexus debuted the LS 600h L in 2007 for the 2008 model year, retiring the hybrid trim in 2016. Its heart was a 5.0-liter naturally aspirated V8, and when combined with an electric motor, combined output came to 439 horsepower and 385 pound-feet of torque. The fifth generation introduced the LS 500h that switched to a naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6, producing a combined 354 hp and 369 lb-ft., taking second place in output to the twin-turbo V6 in the non-hybrid LS 500 with 416 hp and 442 lb-ft. If Lexus were to double back to a V8 after experimenting with a V6 hybrid for four years, some question which V8 would get the nod. The old V8, codenamed 2UR-FSE and still in use in the Lexus LC as the 2UR-GSE, dates back 14 years and is scheduled to retire in two years when the LC-F introduces Lexus' new twin-turbo V8. According to leaked dealer information, that's the same year Toyota and Lexus will stop offering V8 engines in any model with an MSRP under $90,000. Toyota has shied away from turbocharged hybrids, but the next-generation Tundra could change that if rumors of the 3.5-liter twin-turbo V6 i-Force Max engine come true. A twin-turbo V8 LS hybrid would rocket the model back to the top of the range in performance and price, and we could see it breaking the "F" seal on the LS lineup, since it would run counter to everything the German competitors are doing with their standard flagship sedans. Or Lexus could remove the turbos for a better compromise of potency and frugality.

Toyota previews next Lexus RX with Tokyo-bound JDM Harrier

The Lexus RX shares much with the Toyota Highlander, but its more direct counterpart is the Toyota Harrrier. Never heard of it? That's because Toyota only sells it at home in Japan, and now it's revealed a new one. So if the Harrier is essentially a Toyota-badged version of the RX, then what's the big deal, you ask? The big deal is that the new Harrier which leaked in July, set to debut at the Tokyo Motor Show next week and which you see here isn't quite the same as the Lexus, and those differences could (and in most cases likely will) make their way over to the RX as well.
For starters, the styling is different. Granted that the Lexus version will almost certainly get a spindle-shaped grille, but even so, the Harrier's nose seems to protrude further than the RX's and the headlamps are a notably different shape. The greenhouse is also a different shape, coming to a sharper point at the back, and the mirrors are fixed to the A-pillar not to the door panel. The taillamps are revised, the tailgate has a new profile and there's a pseudo-diffuser at the bottom of the rear bumper. Subtle changes, to be sure, but then Toyota and Lexus are known for their evolutionary approach to styling. The interior has apparently undergone some updates as well, with a more dynamically styled dashboard, a more symmetrical center stack and different seats, steering wheel, door panels... the works. The infotainment display screen has also moved further down from its position in the current RX.
Toyota will offer the new Harrier with a 2.0-liter four mated to a CVT and driving either the front wheels or all four, and a hybrid setup with a 2.5-liter married to a 140-hp electric motor. The RX is offered here with a 3.5-liter V6 either on its own or with an electric assist. We wouldn't expect Lexus to go swapping the larger engines for the smaller ones, at least not for the US market. There's plenty more to the Harrier, of course, than the similarities and differences to the Lexus RX, and if you're buying a premium crossover in Japan, you can delve into the full details in the press release below, together with the images in the gallery above.