What we see at first glance is a rakish, BMW X6-esque tail and flared rear wheel arches, cues that suggest Lexus might stray from the typical mid-size luxury crossover formula with this new design.
It also looks like it has the "floating roof" a la Murano.
That was my thought, but there's no way in hell that Lexus is going to stray from the 'typical mid-size luxury crossover formula.'
I think that they will likely not stray as far as this picture would suggest from the current design. They will not be making it X6-esque - there's no way they'd make the rear glass any more rakish than it already is. It will likely use some black plastic to make the roof look like it's floating (a la Murano), but the overall shape will not change as much as this photoshopped image would suggest.
Powertrain-wise, our best guess is the RX will stick with its proven 3.5L V6/six-speed automatic combo for the moment, despite the eight- and nine-speed autos fitted to many of the RX’s competitors.
Ahem, sir, Lexus DOES employ an 8-speed auto in the RX; limited to the F-Sport trim, yes, but it
is fitted.
I suspect Lexus will not change that - the 6-speed auto will likely remain as the 'base' tranny while the 8-speed will be relegated to F-Sport models for higher margin sales.
The RX has seen more styling changes recently than any other car I can think of. It just saddens me that Lexus sees the Murano as such a threat.
SirO - what are the sales #s? I'd imagine the RX is slaughtering the Murano, no?
