LOS ANGELES AUTO SHOW: The 2018 Lexus RX L: It’s about time

Although Toyota’s luxury brand has offered 3-row SUVs for quite some time, the GX and LX body-frame trucks never really caught on be it because of price, antiquated overall design and thus were never considered mainstream enough for the buyer in search of a user-friendly CUV with a 3^rd row.

Makes like Acura and Audi have reaped the benefits of answering the call for seven passenger seating before it even came in. Lexus can no longer ignore the call for such a vehicle. Enter the 2018 Lexus RX L.

The stretched version of Lexus’ very popular RX will be offered as both a 350 and 450h, the latter being the hybrid version. To make room for the third row, headroom that is, Lexus engineers extended the roofline and the rear quarters which have only marginally affected the RX’s sleek styling as the proportions are only slightly off. At 4.3 inches (110mm) longer overall, the overhangs seem larger but in the end, it’s still all RX.

The standard power-folding 3^rd row will accommodate two passengers but the RX L can be configured for 6 or 7 passengers total thanks to the available 2^nd row captain seats.

The 2018 Lexus RX L will be in showrooms next spring. Pricing has not yet been announced however we expect more info in the coming months.