2024 Lexus TX350 Review

Price: $69,814 (with options)

Pros—Roomy for six or seven adults. Posh. Smooth ride. Fairly fast. Nice handling. AWD. Safety features.

Cons—Somewhat difficult third-row entry and exit. So-so cargo room with third seat upright.  

Bottom line—Roomy third-row seat gives the TX just what Lexus needs to give it a leg up in its class.

The new 2024 Lexus TX is a good combination of roominess, luxury and strong performance. It replaces the old RX 350L, which had a third seat really just for children.

It's a spacious, luxury, three-row, made-in Indiana SUV that seven tall adults can fit with a second-row bench seat, or six can fit if there are second-row “Captain’s” chairs. This is a big deal for families that were disappointed by the old cramped third row.

The quiet, high-line interior’s cargo capacity is just so-so with the power folding split third row seat in its upright position, but that capacity appreciably increases with the second and third row seats folded. With all folded you have a whopping 57 cubic feet, which nearly matches many larger SUVs.

While they look decently sculptured and have driver lumbar support, the semi-aniline leather-trimmed seats have rather flat surfaces for buttocks.  I didn’t take  a long trip in this SUV, so I can’t say if the seats would be uncomfortable on long drives, although the first row seats and Captain’s chairs were heated and ventilated.

There are numerous storage areas, many charging ports, wireless phone charger and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android  Auto capability. The 12.3-inch digital instrument panel displays all sorts of at-a-glance information, and the tachometer is accompanied by a digital speedometer. There’s a heated leather trimmed steering wheel and and multi-zone climate control. 

The panoramic glass roof allows a brighter interior on sunny days and has a manual folding shade. There’s even rear manual sunshades.

The power rear hatch opens and closes quickly and has a kick sensor if a foot is put under the car bumper.   

This is a 71-inch high vehicle, so getting in and out calls for little extra effort. It’s 203 inches long, but I never found it difficult to  maneuver.

The TX is based on the less luxurious Toyota Grand Highlander. It comes as a base model, TX 350 F Sport Performance hybrid hot rod and TX 550h+ plug-in hybrid. TX list prices begin at $55,050. My test TX’s list price was $61,200 but costly options raised its price to $69,814.

Options included the $680 Captain’s Chairs, $895 Convenience Package with a driver monitor camera and front cross-traffic alert, a $1,160 Mark Levinson audio system, $1,050 Technology Package with a nifty 12.3-inch information display, panoramic view monitor, advanced park system, digital review mirror that took some getting used to and a head-up display.The large front console has strategically placed oversized cupholders. The twin-cover center console bin looks bottomless.

Among other options, my test TX also had $2,140 22-inch alloy wheels. Note that they likely cause a somewhat harsher ride, compared to the regular 20-inch alloy wheels.

However, even with the 22-inch wheels a major plus for the 116.4-inch wheelbase TX is its smooth ride, which calmly handles pot holes and pavement imperfections.  The steering is firm but accurate, with a fair amount of road feel. The brake pedal has a linear feel, and a dashboard warning blinks on if you haven’t pushed the pedal hard enough if, for instance, your brake foot got lazy.

I’d never seen such a warning in other vehicles but shows good attention to detail by Lexus.

Handling is very stable thanks to such things as an independent MacPherson strut front suspension, 5-arm multi-link rear suspension, large 22-inch wheels and the AWD. There is 5,000-pound towing capacity.

There are three TX engines available and offered are front- or all-wheel drive (AWD). My text TX had the least powerful engine--a turbocharged inline four-cylinder with 275 horsepower and maximum torque of 317 pound foot at 1,700 to 3,600 r.p.m.

Turbocharger action is good. Initial acceleration and highway merging were quick and passing on highways was a breeze. The eight-speed automatic transmission worked smoothly and had steering wheel paddles for manual shifting. My test TX was still pulling strong at 80 m.p.h. when I had to back  off. Figure on 0-60 m.p.h. in 7.1 seconds.

Lexus says estimated fuel economy of my test TX is 20 miles per gallon in the city and 26 on highways. There is a 17.8-gallon fuel tank.

A driver can select Eco, Normal, Sport or Custom driving modes via the 14-in touchscreen infotainment display, which is fairly easy to use. It’s nicely integrated into the dashboard instead of sticking up from the top of it. Sport mode stiffens things up a bit but still allows a supple ride.

Safety features include a pre-collision system with pedestrian detection, road sign and lane tracing assists, all-speed dynamic radar cruise control with curve speed management, lane departure alert with steering assist, intelligent high beams and blind spot monitor with rear cross-traffic alert.

The three-row TX fits nicely between other SUV models in the Lexus lineup and seems likely to attract Lexus buyers who’ve waited for such a model.