Lexus Rising To The Occasion And Readies Hybrid Rival For Audi Q3 And BMW X1

Lexus plans to show a production-ready premium compact SUV to rival Audi's Q3 and BMW's X1 at next year's Geneva auto show, a company source said.

The hybrid model, which will be based on parent company Toyota's RAV4 compact SUV, will slot below the current Lexus RX 450h and become the automaker's first offering in the fast-growing premium medium SUV segment, the source said. In 2012, European sales in the segment rose 24 percent to 407,512 compared 2011, according to data from JATO Dynamics.

Read Article

enthusiastx11 - 4/5/2013 1:18:51 PM

+2 Boost

another tarted up toyota. now it's a rav4 lexus. but i guess using the rav4 to build a lexus is no surprise given they already use the corolla.

LexSucks - 4/5/2013 4:18:50 PM

+1 Boost

Aren't all Lexus Tarted up Toyotas?

I know he's coming. Where you at PatriotNation?

MercBasher - 4/5/2013 1:31:44 PM

+2 Boost

One simple view would be to say Lexus is tarting up a Toyota. Another view would be say that Toyota has years of experience building small SUVs, and it's likely that the Lexus small SUV will be a serious competitor to the products of companies who have luxury brands but little previous experience in making small trucks and SUVs.

The RAV4 is a great product for the price but I do wonder if Lexus can add a ton a technical and luxury items to it and still keep the weight down and the price too.

By the way why has the company everybody seems to love {Ford] been underinvesting in small trucks in recent years? It seems like a really well designed Lincoln small SUV would be a good idea ... instead the space will be taken by Buick, Cadillac, Lexus, BMW et al.

mpls - 4/5/2013 8:16:38 PM

+3 Boost

don;t think any of the current range of Lexus' are based on any Toyota platform.

however I know many models of Audi based on same platform as VWSEAT /Skoda, what dos that say about Audi ?

MorePower - 4/6/2013 5:15:08 PM

0 Boost

Did Toyota suddenly move the RX and ES off of the Camry platform?

knowitall1985 - 4/6/2013 1:53:13 PM

+1 Boost

This will be another home run for Lexus.....

lexworld - 4/6/2013 7:29:28 PM

+1 Boost

Definately....