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Big in Japan! First-ever Lexus TX large SUV set to be the luxe sibling to the bigger Toyota Kluger


Lexus has begun teasing its next model, set to be based on Toyota's new large SUV, but there's a catch when it comes to availability.

The incoming model, the Lexus TX, hasn't been revealed in full, with Lexus releasing only a shadowy teaser image of its side at the rear of the three-row SUV.

But Japanese magazine Best Car has created a digital render based on information it's gathered in the industry, as well as knowing Lexus' current design trends and the shape of the Toyota model it's set to be based on - the Toyota Grand Highlander.

The Highlander is the US name for what we call the Kluger, so the Lexus TX will be effectively a bigger sibling to the Kluger-based Lexus RX.

While the Kluger here uses either a petrol 2.4-litre turbocharged four-cylinder engine or a 184kW hybrid-assisted 2.5-litre turbo engine, the Grand Highlander in the US is able to be had with the brand's Hybrid Max drivetrain, a turbocharged 2.4-litre four-cylinder engine with twin electric motors stepping things up from the standard hybrid setup to 266kW and 542Nm.

Lexus has begun teasing its next model, set to be based on Toyota’s new large SUV, but there’s a catch when it comes to availability. Lexus has begun teasing its next model, set to be based on Toyota’s new large SUV, but there’s a catch when it comes to availability.

It's not yet clear yet exactly what Lexus will do with the TX's powertrain, but it might not matter so much to us as, unfortunately, the Lexus TX won't be coming to Australia, confirmed to CarsGuide by a Lexus Australia spokesperson.

The Toyota Grand Highlander is "exclusively manufactured at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing plant in Princeton, Indiana", meaning a right-hand-drive version isn't in production, a fact not likely to change for a relatively small market like Australia.

Instead, Lexus' large SUV options remain the Kluger-sibling Lexus RX, and the LandCruiser-based Lexus LX.