SUV Review: 2024 Lexus TX 500h F Sport | Reviews
The Lexus TX 500h drives much smaller than it appears
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How big is big? Actually, the question that needs pondering considering where the North American auto market is going is how big enough? Or perhaps even more accurately, at least with respect to the SUVs that now dominate the North American market, how big is actually too big?
The answer is, of course, not quantifiable. A Toyota RAV4 that is too big for the downtown vicoli of Florence is, by about the same margin, too small to make an impression in Lubbock, Texas. To the owner of a Mitsubishi Mirage, a Mazda CX-9 will seem too porky to park; but to someone used to driving a Lincoln Navigator, it’s a subcompact. And compared to the Mac Daddy of them all, Chevrolet’s Suburban, they all feel kinda tiny. And you haven’t driven hefty until you’ve been behind the wheel of Jeep’s Grand Wagoneer L, a three-row SUV so humungous that just its trunk is as big of the entire passenger volume of some sporty coupes. Size may be indeed relative, but, if there’s a truism to the modern motor vehicle — have you seen a Tesla Cybertruck in the flesh? — it’s that we’re pushing the envelope as to what will fit in a typical shopping mall parking spot.
Into this race for space enters Lexus TX 500h. Larger — far larger, Lexus dealers are rejoicing — than the ill-begotten RX 350 L that was previously the Japanese firm’s stop-gap into the three-row SUV, the Lexus TX is, for lack of a better description, a Toyota Grand Highlander that’s gone to finishing school and wears better sneakers. Both are based on the company’s versatile GA-K platform. Both, in their hybrid guise — the Toyota version is called Hybrid MAX; the TH just gets a “h” tacked onto its “500” badging — are powered by an electrified 2.4-litre turbocharged four and both, as befitting the modern SUV-cum-minivan, have an immensely spacious third row of seats. But those are just the specs.
The TX 500h’s powertrain may be modest in specification, but is outsized in performance
A four-cylinder engine, even one well turbocharged, does not seem like a prime candidate for impressive performance in a 2,260-kilogram vehicle. In fact, the combination sounds like that nightmare of lethargic performance that the anti-environmentalists of yore always claimed would be the result of emissions regulation.
And yet, this hybrid combination is one of the more satisfying powertrains in all of full-sized SUVs. The 2.4L may be little but 275 horses and 317 pound-feet of torque are not exactly, well, Mitsubishi Mirage numbers. Throw in a 64-kilowatt electric motor that helps drive the front wheels and a 76-kW affair in the back (for a little Direct 4 All-wheel-drive capability) and there’s an even more credible 366 “total system” horsepower not to mention 406 pound-feet of torque when gasoline and battery are working in perfect harmony.
In fact, they work in such harmony that I preferred the little electrified four to the big booming 3.0-litre Turbo six that was just introduced in Jeep’s Grand Wagoneer L. Despite boasting 144 fewer horses and an almost equal disadvantage in the torque department, I actually preferred the Lexus’ powertrain. For one thing, despite that significant numerical disadvantage, the immediacy of the throttle response from those two substantial electric motors means it’s the smaller, supposedly less powerful Lexus that requires less massaging of throttle pedal to move off the line or pass a long trailer. Being a whopping 500 kilograms lighter than the immense Jeep no doubt helps as well.
Even more of a surprise — because inline sixes are my favourite ICE configuration — Lexus’ HEV combination of turbo four and electric motors feels smoother and, more surprising still, sounds sportier than Stellantis’ new high-tech six. And I can assure you it sucks back a lot less gas, even if I could never quite match its official 8.7/8.4 L/100 km city/highway Natural Resource Canada estimations. It’s also worth noting that the 500h is rated to tow 5,000 pounds. No, not as much as the truck-like domestics, but fairly substantial nonetheless.
It drives small
The TX 500h may not be nearly as outsized as the Wagoneer L, but with a 2,950-millimetre wheelbase and stretching from 5,170-mm from stem-to-stern, it’s not exactly compact either.
But it drives small. Perhaps it’s that it rides on a unibody chassis, not a traditional body-on-frame. Maybe it’s that those 500 fewer kilograms it needs to move around. All true, but I suspect the real magic to the TX’s surprising manouevrability is its Dynamic Rear Steering system which sees the rear wheels steered in the same direction at low speeds. Doing so makes the big three-row TX pull U-turns like a small two-row RX. It’s really quite amazing. The interior may be substantially roomier than the old RX-L, but, behind the wheel, it feels, sorry to beat a dead horse, smaller. Much smaller.
That same feeling of (comparative) litheness continues as speeds increase. One will never, despite the F Sport firmer suspension, confuse the TX’s handling as sporty but it does make easier work of secondary roads and tight corners than any of the truck-based utes it (sorta) competes with. The downside is that said stiffer dampers — despite being computer adjustable — ride a little firmer than comparable (that should be read Acura’s MDX) large import crossovers. The effect isn’t jarring but this hybrid version of the TX — lesser, non-hybrid TX 350s come with a softer, non-adjustable suspension — is not nearly the squishy porpoise most expect from something wearing the Lexus badge.
The cabin is pretty darn big
No, there isn’t as much room inside a TX 500h as there is in a Grand Wagoneer L or Suburban. Those sitting in the second row, for instance, may have 1,003-mm of legroom, but that’s still 56-mm less than the Jeep boasts as its maximum. The Jeep may offer extra generous space for your feet, but the Lexus’ second-row Captain’s seats are more than generous. Anyone shorter than budding (W)NBA stars will be comfy cozy in the second row of seats in a TX.
More importantly, the third row is now usable with 851-mm of legroom. Again, that can’t match the long-wheelbase Jeep or the gargantuan Chevy. However, it does dwarf the 600-mm the discontinued RX-L offered, no doubt making that spec one of the TX’s main attractions. That said, there’s only seats for two back there, all F Sports only available in six-passenger guises. If you need seating for seven, you’ll have to downgrade to the non-hybrid TX 350.
It is also interesting to note that the TX’s 1,060-mm of front legroom is more generous — by some 20-mm — than the Grand Wagoneer L a couple of months ago and that access to the rearmost seats, thanks to the nifty one-lever slide-and-pivot second-row seats, is most excellent. That said, the TX’s cargo room is nothing to write home about; there’s a barely middling 20.2 cubic feet (572 litres) available when the third-row seats are in place, compared with a whopping 44.2 cubes for the Jeep with all seats in situ; and just 57.4 cu ft (1,625 L) even when they’re folded. If you’re looking for a reason to put up with the ponderous handling of the domestic behemoths, this is it.
Interior accoutrements in the Lexus TX 500h
Inside every TX 500h F Sport, you’ll find a healthy list of accoutrements including a 14-inch infotainment screen — with improved but still somewhat wonky man-machine interface — heated and ventilated first and second row of seats and a digital rearview mirror (this last being one of the better examples of digitized reflectors). Standard equipment is a 12-speaker sound system, but I can’t speak to its efficacy since my tester had the premium Mark Levinson system with 21-speakers that comes with the Performance 3 packages. Amazingly clear, it could nonetheless use a little more volume; there’s a lot of cabin to fill and why shouldn’t those in the third row enjoy burst ear drums as well. The same package includes Panoramic View Monitor (worthwhile), a head-up display (not so much), a 1500-watt inverter to power external devices. One thing that did surprise me is that Lexus’ advanced safety aids — traffic jam assist, lane change assist, front cross traffic alert and advanced park — are not standard on the $84,200 base F Sport model, but require the uptick to the $6,000 Performance 3 pack. For a company that makes much of the democratization of safety gear, methinks they could have installed all its most advanced software.
Aside from that minor packaging details and a dearth of cargo space when carrying maximum passengers, the TX has much to recommend it. There’s adequate — and accessible! — seating for six (again, seven if you opt for the non-hybrid 350). It is more than powerful enough, surprisingly frugal for something so grandiose and, as I said, drives much smaller than it appears. For those looking to move up from a smaller SUV, that last may prove the TX’s most attractive feature.
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