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Lexus RX Luggage Test (2016-2022): How much cargo space?

This post has been updated from its original version to reflect new information provided by Lexus engineers. There's something seemingly funky going on with the Lexus RX spec sheet, or at least with the cargo capacity measuring method used to populate it with an official cubic-foot number. Basically, the specs say it has 16.0 cubic feet behind its raised back seat. That would be less than a Toyota C-HR, which is a notably cramped subcompact SUV. All you need are eyes to know something's fishy about that. Doing these luggage tests has revealed other car companies also report cargo capacity figures that sell their SUVs short relative competitors, but this is a new low, so to speak.  After a few back-and-forths with Lexus (and several months), plus a revealing glance at the extended length RX L's spec sheet, I came upon the answer: the 16.0 cubic-feet indicated is a measurement of the cargo floor to the cargo cover. The industry norm is cargo floor to the roof. Both numbers are provided for the RX L: 15.26 cubic-feet to the cargo cover and 23.03 to the roof. That's still not a lot for a midsize SUV, but assuming the regular RX is in the same numerical ballpark, it would make a lot more sense given how much stuff you can actually fit inside.  Speaking of which, let's see just how much stuff you can fit inside. It's definitely more than a C-HR. This is a wide, deep space. However, the current RX has a more radically raked roofline than its predecessors, which almost achieves a crossover coupe look. The result is less overall cargo space (and likely a less-than-stellar floor-to-ceiling cargo spec), but losing greenhouse usually effects versatility more. Basically, you can carry a comparable number of bags, but that 52-inch TV will be a tough get.  To begin, I left the cargo cover in place. As in every luggage test I do, I use two midsize roller suitcases that would need to be checked in at the airport (26 inches long, 16 wide, 11 deep), two roll-aboard suitcases that just barely fit in the overhead (24L x 15W x 10D), and one smaller roll-aboard that fits easily (23L x 15W x 10D). I also include my wife's fancy overnight bag just to spruce things up a bit (21L x 12W x 12D). Fitting only the four biggest bags isn't great, but it's also the result of keeping the cargo cover in place (I do this to replicate a situation where you can't just leave it behind in your garage). It also pretty much confirms that 16.0-cubic-foot number.

Lexus TX three-row SUV coming in about 18 months

When we drove the 2018 Lexus RX 350L for the first time, we called it "generally a far superior vehicle to the GX," but also a "seemingly quick-and-dirty solution" to address the chasm in the Lexus lineup: Lack of a large, three-row SUV on a unibody chassis to counter competition like the Mercedes-Benz GLS and BMW X7. Lexus die-hards were asked to accept the compromises of the silken RX L or parachute into the truckish LX (because the GX is shorter than the RX L). Automotive News reports there's a patch coming. Sources told the outlet a model called the Lexus TX will put three-row seating for adults on a unibody architecture, debuting about six months after the three-row Toyota Grand Highlander that's expected in the middle of 2023. Bolstering that report, Toyota applied to trademark the TX name in 2009, then suspected to be a Mercedes-Benz GLK fighter below the Lexus RX. Toyota followed that up with applications for TX 350 and TX 500h in 2020. The Grand Highlander is the key piece, the TX being Lexus' version of the Toyota. We don't know how much length either vehicle will bring to showroom floors. The 2022 Highlander is 194.9 inches long, the RX 350L stretches two inches beyond that to 196.9 inches. The 2022 Toyota Sequoia is 205.1 inches long, nearly five inches longer than the 2022 Lexus LX. That gives Toyota a hair over eight inches to play with — comparing the RX L with the Sequoia, and assuming the all-new 2023 Sequoia doesn't break the measuring tape — if it doesn't want to present the Grand Highlander as merely a unibody Sequoia. Both new three-row models will be built at Toyota Motor Manufacturing Indiana, in the process of an $803 million makeover "in preparation to introduce two all-new, three-row SUVs." When the automaker announced the investment in the Princeton, IN facility, it said both models would offer seating for up to eight people, hybrid powertrains, "a semi-automated driving system — which will allow for hands-free driving in certain conditions — a remote parking system allowing the driver to park and unpark from outside the vehicle using a smartphone, and a digital key that turns a user's smartphone into their key and allows them to share it digitally." Lexus dealers no doubt have their calendars circled. The chairman of the brand's National Dealer Advisory Council told AN the TX "can't come fast enough." Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lexus to use BMW 3.0-liter straight-six in next-gen IS sedan?

Here's a rumor so wild it needs a U.S. Fish and Wildlife permit. Japan's Best Car magazine reports that the next-generation Lexus IS will offer BMW's B58 3.0-liter inline-six as one of four powertrain options. That's the same engine found in the new Toyota Supra with 335 horsepower and 365 pound-feet of torque. What's more, the fourth-gen IS will resurrect the IS F model gone AWOL during the current third generation, and do it with the twin-turbo V6 from the Lexus LS 500. The current TTV6 makes the same 416 hp in the LS 500 as the 5.0-liter V8 did in the first Lexus IS F 12 years ago. According to the magazine, the other engine options would be Toyota's 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder, a 2.5-liter for a hybrid model, and a 2.4-liter turbo. We don't know where that last engine fits in. BMW doesn't make a 2.4-liter, and Toyota appears to have retired all of its 2.4-liter applications. Ignoring that, the 3.0-liter straight-six looks like it would replace the current 3.5-liter V6 rated at 311 hp and 280 lb-ft. This wouldn't be the first time the Supra's engine has been ported to the IS. Lexus mavens will remember that two years after the introduction of the original IS in 1998, Lexus put the Supra's 2JZ 3.0-liter straight-six engine in the IS 300 — without the turbochargers, thank you. But Best Car's prediction would have zero relation to history. Those were both Toyota engines back in 2000, and even ignoring the power differential, the IS didn't compete with the Supra. Putting BMW's 3.0-liter in the Z4 and the Supra works because they are the same car. And again, even ignoring the power differential, the more powerful Z4 doesn't compete with the Supra. Best Car's scenario has BMW selling one of its best engines for use in a direct competitor to the 3 Series. Lexus would need to design an engine bay long enough to swallow an inline-six, not a bread-and-butter engine for the brand, yet still be sensible for three more compact powerplants. Then, assuming BMW and Toyota made the same deal as with the Z4 and Supra, the Lexus would be down by a healthy double-digit horsepower margin on its German foe. The new Supra gives up 47 hp to the roadster. Where's the upside? It's said the trim sedan will stay about the same size, on a wheelbase roughly four centimeters longer, but lose a substantial chunk of weight.