At the Geneva Motor Show Next year, Lexus plans to show a compact SUV ready for production, which will compete with Q3 from Audi and BMW X1.
A hybrid model that will be based on a redesigned Toyota RAV4 will go in front of the Lexus RX 450h.
It remains unclear when the new model will appear on sale. Toyota Europe refused to comment on future plans for the car. But we think that the new small SUV from Lexus will appear on sale at the end of 2014. The expected price is still unknown.
At the Detroit Automobile Exhibition in January, the head of Lexus Kesuo Okhara said that the version of the SUV concept will be presented in the Tokyo Motor Show in November. Of course, the car is not so large and it will not work to transport construction equipment on it, but it’s still an SUV and for everyday driving and transporting small goods, luggage space will be quite enough to an ordinary motorist.
A compact SUV will probably use Toyota hybrid transmission, which is currently used in Avalon Sedan, which uses 2.5-liter gasoline engine with four cylinders connected to the electric motor.
Recently, we noticed that automotivemen are participating in races to add small SUVs to their queues due to the popularity of models, such as Q3 from Audi and Buick Encore, which is very popular in the United States.