Lexus Contemplating a Unibody Architecture for GX and Turbo Engines

Could the next generation of the Lexus GX luxury SUV abandon its current body-on-frame platform for a car-like unibody architecture? Mark Templin, group vice president of the Lexus division, believes it is an option. 

"There is a potential that at some point, when we replace the GX, we can have a car-based SUV," Templin told Wards Auto during a recent media event. 

However, the Lexus executive also noted that it is a difficult decision, as the two generations of the GX, the first of which was presented in 2002, with the second following in 2009, have proved very popular. “We were so successful with the GX, nobody wanted to lose the GX,” he said. 

Another reason why Lexus has not jumped on the unibody bandwagon with the GX is that it does not want to steal sales from the smaller RX, which racked up 82,595 sales last year. 

“The RX kind of covers a big swath of the marketplace,” said Templin. “We compete with a lot of those smaller CUVs on price point, so we look like a really good value.” 

Some of the advantages of a car-like platform include a significant reduction in weight and consequently fuel economy, and superior handling characteristics on the road, while body-on-frame SUVs tend to have a greater towing capacity and better off-road handling. 

At the same event, Templin told Wards Auto that Lexus is looking into force-induction engines. 

"There’s an older generation that remembers turbos as something being broken down, very expensive, (and that) had this turbo lag," said Templin. "With young people, they sound cool." 

He noted, however, that Lexus is currently content with its naturally aspirated V6 units like the ES 350's 3.5-liter engine as it delivers "higher horsepower and better fuel economy" than some turbocharged four-cylinder competitors like the Mercedes C250.

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