Text by Tom Appel
2024 Lexus TX 350 Luxury AWD
Specs
Class: Midsize crossover
Color: Cloudburst Gray
Seating Capacity: 6
Miles driven: 149
Real-world fuel economy: 20.5 mpg
| CG Report Card | |
|---|---|
| Room and Comfort | A |
| Power and Performance | B |
| Fit and Finish | A- |
| Fuel Economy | B- |
| Value | B |
| Report-card grades are derived from a consensus of test-driver evaluations. All grades are versus other vehicles in the same class. Value grade is for specific trim level evaluated, and may not reflect Consumer Guide's impressions of the entire model lineup. | |
| Big & Tall Comfort | |
| Big Guy | A |
| Tall Guy | A |
| Big & Tall comfort ratings are for front seats only. "Big" rating based on male tester weighing approximately 350 pounds, "Tall" rating based on 6'6"-tall male tester. | |
| Drivetrain | |
| Engine Specs | 275-horsepower 2.4-liter |
| Engine Type | Turbocharged 4-cylinder |
| Transmission | 8-speed automatic |
| Drive Wheels | AWD |
Driving mix: 55% city, 45% highway
EPA-estimated fuel economy: 20/26/23 (city, highway, combined)
Fuel type: Regular gas
Base price: $61,200 (not including $1350 destination charge)
Options on test vehicle: Captain’s Chairs ($680), Cold Area Package ($100), Convenience Package ($895), Premium Paint ($500), Mark Levinson Audio System ($1160), Technology Package ($1050), 22-inch Alloy Wheels ($2140), Rear-Hatch Cargo Lamps ($399), Side Puddle Lamps ($175), Mudguards ($165)
Price as tested: $69,814
Pros and Cons
The great: Classy and family practical, very quiet on the highway
The good: Plenty of power, decent fuel economy, simple controls
The not so good: Uninspiring handling
Overview
Make no mistake about it, the TX midsize 3-row crossover is one of the most important new products in Lexus history. Not since the RX (then RX 300) was introduced in 2003 has the luxury carmaker more directedly addressed a market segment in which it was not yet represented.
Now, bold statements often require a bit of follow up, so here goes: First, the Lexus RX 300 literally invented the premium-crossover segment when it was introduced in 2003. Also, Lexus does offer 3-row seating in its GX and LX SUVs, though neither of those vehicles approaches the practicality of the TX, and neither can be considered “affordable,” even by Lexus standards.
Compared to the popular RX 2-row midsize crossover, the TX offers more passenger space in the front two seating rows, and a usefully spacious 3rd seating row, something that could not be said of the now discontinued RX L models, which were never taken seriously by shoppers as 6- or 7-passenger family options. In exchange for the interior space, consumers give up a little bit of parking and garaging flexibility; the TX comes in at about 3 inches wider than the RX, and about 8 inches longer overall.
It is not a coincidence that the Lexus TX came along at about the same time as the Toyota Grand Highlander. Indeed, the two vehicles are mechanically related, and are built alongside each other at Toyota’s sprawling Princeton, Indiana assembly facility.
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Though similar in overall design, Lexus TX prices start around $12,000 higher than those of the Toyota Grand Highlander. And, if your 3-row crossover budget precludes going with the Lexus, you’re unlikely to be disappointed by the Toyota. That said, the TX makes a strong case for itself.
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Prices and Trim Levels
For 2024 the TX comes in three primary trim levels: TX 350, hybrid TX 500h, and plug-in hybrid TX 550h+. TX 350 examples are powered by a 275-horsepower turbocharged 2.4-liter 4-cylinder engine. TX 500h examples are powered by a hybrid version of the TX 350 engine rated at 366 horsepower. The TX550h+ is powered by a hybridized 3.5-liter V6 rated at 404 horsepower. TX 350 models are offered with front-wheel drive or AWD and come with an 8-speed automatic transmission. TX 500h and TX 550h+ models come with a 6-speed automatic or CVT automatic respectively, and only with AWD.
Equipped with an 18-kWh battery, the TX 550h+ can travel an EPA estimated 33 miles on electric power alone, before the gasoline engine kicks in.
Consumer Guide recently spent a week with the 2024 Lexus TX 350 in topline Luxury trim with AWD in Cloudburst Gray. All told, our fully loaded test car came to just under $70,000. Also offered in the TX 350 line is the base 350 (starting around $57,000), and the midlevel Premium (around $60,000).
Connectivity
Though similar mechanically to the RX, the TX cabin enjoys a unique design and layout, and the look and feel are fresh and modern. Cabin materials are Lexus-typical premium, and assembly quality appears to be excellent. That said, our test car’s black interior motif to some extend blunted the general sense of overall luxury. Translation: Things felt a little somber.
The TX’s control layout, though somewhat different than that of the RX, feels familiar and is very user friendly. The touchscreen, which is the key access point for most functions, responds quickly to inputs, is easy to read, and puts most-used functions at ready access.
Also, the head-up display standard on our test car proved to be easy to read and well placed. We found the windshield projected information clear and easy to read. Be sure and take note of the system should you test drive a TX, it’s a useful tool, especially on long drives.
We’d also like to thank Lexus for providing physical knobs for temperature control and audio-system volume control. Much appreciated. And, as long as we’re saying thanks, the available Mark Levinson audio systems performed as expected, which is to say very well. The Levinson system is especially well suited to the mid-century American jazz preferred by this editor.
If we have a systems interface complaint, it’s that the TX seems to neverendingly be chiming warnings of some sort. Leaving the car at the end of a drive means being alerted to several different potential driver errors/memory lapses—most of which are false alarms.
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Room and Comfort
The TX cabin feels appreciably more spacious that that of the RX, and this large editor found himself with the rare surplus of front-row room. Second-row space is likewise abundant, and the 3rd-row—core to the Lexus TX mission—is almost adult friendly, and will certainly accommodate two teens for extended excursions.
Power and Performance
On the road the TX maintains its premium-crossover swagger. There’s plenty of power from the turbocharged four, and the transmission generally shifts with silky precision. We’ve complained about Lexus having replaced its outstanding V6 with smaller engines in the past, but this new drivetrain seems to improve with every new application, and is generally very refined. If you’re looking for it, you may note a bit of idle quake at stoplights, but it’s a minor annoyance, and most drivers won’t pick up on it.
Ride and Handling
Ride quality is a TX high point, as is cabin quietness. Long trips will feel shorter thanks to this Lexus’s polished highway manors. Handling is fine, and about what you would expect of a well-engineered large crossover, but there’s nothing sporty going on here. Not that TX intenders are necessarily looking to set on-ramps on fire, but crossovers such as the BMW X5 and Mercedes-Benz GLE corner with more control and precision.
Review
Having gone as long as Lexus did without a proper 3-row crossover, we can’t help but be a little disappointed by the lack of pizzazz here. But despite the lack of fireworks—or whatever hoopla we were hoping for—the TX is an outstanding premium crossover and totally on brand for Lexus. It is comfort focused, plenty powerful, clearly premium, and like all Lexus products, a little less expensive than like German-brand products.
Though our loaded TX came in at just under $70,000, remember that there are two lower trim levels available, each of which will ride, handle, and coddle nearly as well as our Luxury test car. And there’s no shame in checking out the excellent Toyota Grand Highlander, which will get you all of the space and utility of the TX, just in a less opulent manner.
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2024 Lexus TX 350 Luxury Pictures
(Click below for enlarged images)
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