In the United States, it feels like some Japanese automakers are on a significant reveal spree. And we are not just talking about mass-market heroes like Honda or Toyota but luxury knights like Acura and Lexus, too.
Last year we felt that one of the coolest brands in America was Honda because of its string of novelties – all-new, larger HR-V (dubbed ZR-V internationally), the latest evolution of the CR-V best-seller, the feisty Civic Type R, and the big guns: a family-oriented three-row CUV and a traditional sedan, aka the Pilot and Accord models. Oh, and not to mention the Acura Integra Type S performance liftback.
But Toyota immediately struck back and reclaimed the spotlight. They brought forth cool stuff like the S235 Crown – which returned to the US as a crossover-style sedan, for example. Then there were also the Prius 'Hybrid Reborn' including in Prime plug-in hybrid form, the ditching of the C-HR subcompact in favor of the bigger Corolla Cross Hybrid, or the introduction of the first-ever Grand Highlander three-row CUV plus the impending arrival of the Trailhunter series.
Speaking of upcoming stars, let us not forget about the best-selling Tacoma, as the mid-size pickup truck prepares to mitigate the clear and present danger of the D41 Nissan Frontier, all-new Chevy Colorado and GMC Canyon, plus the recently introduced 2024 Ford Ranger (and Raptor) with the fourth iteration. Afterward, there will also be an SUV sibling, for sure, namely the 2025 Toyota 4Runner. But, as it turns out, the luxury division Lexus is also trying to join the model reveal party with a couple of entries.
Chief among them – if you're after a three-row SUV that can take you on weekend adventures with the entire family but also to grocery shopping during the weekdays – will be the first-ever 2024 Lexus TX, sibling to the 2024 Grand Highlander. Additionally, the premium Japanese automaker is also prepared to give off-road enthusiasts something to play with – the third installment in the tough Lexus GX series. Twinned as a full-size luxury SUV with the Toyota Land Cruiser Prado (do not confuse it with the regular J300 Land Cruiser) since the very beginning, it seems like this time around, the Lexus GX will set the tone with styling inspired by both the international Land Cruiser and America's ultimate Lexus SUV – aka the LX 600!
It seems that everyone expects the all-new third-gen Lexus GX to look like a smaller yet more capable Lexus LX – both in the real world as well as across the imaginative realm of digital car content creators, even if the automaker only showed the outline of the headlight and the full-width LED lightbar treatment of the rear, so far. As such, here is also Dimas Ramadhan, the virtual automotive artist behind the Digimods DESIGN channel on YT, who has taken up the task of revealing the all-new Lexus GX - in CGI.
And – for better or worse – it is precisely as imagined, with the new model having an uncanny resemblance to the bigger and more expensive LX sibling. Thus, can we also hope for a few powertrain leases? After all, it would be cool to see the all-new GX sport the 3.4 L V35A-FTS twin-turbo V6 with 409 horsepower from the LX 600 flagship, as well as a couple of hybrid options allegedly twinned with the TX 500h and TX 550h+! So, do we give this unofficial presentation our CGI hall pass or not?
Aurel has aimed high all his life (literally, at 16 he was flying gliders all by himself) so in 2006 he switched careers and got hired as a writer at his favorite magazine. Since then, his work has been published both by print and online outlets, most recently right here, on autoevolution. Full profile
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