From the compact UX to the full-size LX, Lexus had six distinct SUVs in the luxury lineup for the US in 2023, but it wasn’t enough. Toyota’s premium brand saw room for an even larger three-row SUV, so in June of that year it introduced the TX, with sales starting that fall.
Base Trim Engine
2.5L I4 ICE
Base Trim Transmission
8-Speed Automatic
Base Trim Drivetrain
Front-Wheel Drive
Base Trim Horsepower
275 hp
Base Trim Torque
317 lb-ft
Infotainment & Features
9 /10
Measuring 203.1 inches from bumper to bumper, the TX was the brand’s largest SUV based on cargo capacity and overall space, but it still came in smaller than the Cadillac Escalade. Besides being a spacious family hauler, the TX checked a lot of boxes, offering gas, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid four-cylinder and V6 powertrains, all-wheel drive, and even F Sport Performance and Handling trim levels. And now, it’s gone, or rather, one version of it anyway. But it may not stay gone.
Lexus Pulls Plug On TX PHEV
2026 Lexus TX front 3/4 angle shot on rooftop in dark blueLexus
Besides being a spacious family hauler, the TX checked a lot of boxes, offering gas, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid four-cylinder and V6 powertrains, all-wheel drive, and even F Sport Performance and Handling trim levels. Lexus considers the TX a massive commercial success, and it doesn’t hurt that it shares the same GA-K platform with the mainstream Toyota Grand Highlander. Both are built on the same assembly line in Indiana and share similar structural dimensions and components.
But something that the Grand Highlander didn’t have was a plug-in hybrid variant, and now neither does the TX. On the Lexus build configurator, shoppers won’t find the 2026 TX 550h+ Luxury AWD PHEV, which stickered for $81,060 with destination charges and churned out a combined 404 horsepower between the two-motor transaxle and a 3.5-liter V6. All-electric range was an estimated 33 miles.
That was the most expensive TX in the lineup, well above the base 275-horsepower four-cylinder-powered TX 350 ($57,190). For now, the range topper will be the TX 500h F Sport Performance Luxury AWD, starting at $73,860 and powered by a four-cylinder parallel hybrid system with a combined 366 horsepower.
Related
The $10,000 Question: Which 3-Row Lexus SUV Is Best?
These two luxury SUVs may sit next to each other within the product lineup, but their key differences are more than what meets the eyes.
Online shoppers wanting the PHEV are now seeing a page with a link to “shop final inventory,” accompanied by this message: “This isn’t goodbye. Production of the TX 550h+ will pause after the 2026 model year, and plans are already underway to support its upcoming return.”
If you really had your heart set on a large Lexus PHEV, the brand is steering you toward the RX 450h+ Plug-in Hybrid. Or, if you’re ready to leave behind combustion completely, there’s the three-row all-electric TZ arriving later this year.
2026 Lexus TX interior view of the front cabinLexus
Solid Sales For Both TX And Grand Highlander
Why the change in heart for the PHEV? CarBuzz reached out to Lexus, but they declined to say whether it had to do with production issues at the plant, component supply shortages, or withering demand for the most-expensive TX. Maybe it was hurting sales of the more expensive GX and LX SUVs, neither of which is available as a PHEV.
2026 Lexus TX child rear seatsLexus
Through the first quarter of this year, Lexus sold 12,489 TXs in the US, up 24.3% from Q1 2025, while the Grand Highlander moved 34,607 units, up 34.6%. Out of seven SUVs, the TX is the third bestseller, behind RX and NX. The results for all of 2025 were even better, with TX doubling its sales to 57,346 units from the 2024 launch year, while the Grand Highlander was up 90.7% to 136,801 vehicles.
CarBuzz Insight – Why This Matters:
Automakers take some chances when they launch all-new vehicles and decide which trim levels will resonate with shoppers and how high to set pricing. Perhaps Lexus miscalculated how many TX shoppers wanted 404 hp, or were eager to plug in every night so they could drive 33 miles the next day without burning a drop of gasoline.
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What’s The Difference Between The 2024 Lexus GX And Lexus TX?
Both are three-row midsize SUVs, but they’re completely different in so many ways.
But multiple studies have revealed that people who buy PHEVs generally don’t plug them in. Paying extra for efficiency that is never realized? Yea, that probably explains why the TX PHEV is going away, once the inventory is cleared out. If lots of people were buying the TX PHEV, which probably carried a hefty profit margin, it would still be in the lineup.
Source: Lexus
