The Lexus RX is a crossover sport utility vehicle (SUV) sold since 1998 by Lexus, the luxury division of Toyota. Three generations of the Lexus RX have been produced to date, the first being compact in size, and the latter two classified as mid-size. Both front- and four-wheel drive configurations have been used on the RX series, and several gasoline powertrain options, including V6 engines and hybrid systems, have been offered. Prior to the third generation model, Japanese sales occurred under the name Toyota Harrier as Lexus had yet to be launched in Japan. In the Lexus model lineup, the RX sits below the larger GX and LX body-on-frame SUVs, and remains the marque's only crossover model.
The first generation RX 300, fitted with a 3.0-liter V6 engine, began sales in 1998. The Japanese market Toyota Harrier also offered a 2.2-liter inline-four, later uprated to 2.4-liters. The second generation RX 300 (3.0-liter V6) and RX 330 (3.3-liter V6) models went on sale in in 2003, with both variants supplanted by the more powerful RX 350 (3.5-liter V6) in 2006. Like the previous series, a 2.4-liter inline-four engine was sold alongside the 3.0-liter V6 in the Japanese market Toyota Harrier. In 2005, a hybridized gasoline-electric version of the 3.3-liter second generation model was made available as the RX 400h in export markets and as the Harrier Hybrid in Japan. For the third and current iteration released in 2009, both RX 350 (3.5-liter V6) and RX 450h (3.5-liter V6 hybrid) models were initially offered, with an entry-level RX 270 (2.7-liter inline-four) offered by Lexus in some Asian markets, including in Japan, since 2010.
The success of the Lexus RX has been particularly strong in the United States where it has been the best-selling luxury SUV since its introduction. As one of the earliest luxury crossovers on the market, the RX has inspired similar competitors from rival marques. Manufacture of the RX has occurred at the Miyata plant in Miyawaka, Fukuoka, Japan since launch. The RX is the only Lexus model to be also built outside Japan, with North American market non-hybrid versions produced at the Toyota Motor Manufacturing Canada plant in Cambridge, Ontario since 2003. Hybrid models are built at the Kokura plant in Kitakyushu, Fukuoka since 2009.
Read more about Lexus RX: First Generation (XU10; 1997–2003), Second Generation (XU30; 2003–2009), Third Generation (AL10; 2009–present), Sales Figures