Lexus new compact SUV
09-07-12, 11:58 PM
#91
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That does not really matter when in the United States a luxury-oriented Audi Q5 or Range Rover Evoq is certainly NOT going to be cross-shopped with a mainstream Toyota RAV-4. Since when do U.S. customers decide if they should buy a Honda Accord or a Audi A6 instead? I have already explained that there is no point in testing a US-market Toyota against U.S.-spec luxury competitors for the tastes of European markets. A U.S.-market Audi Q5 is going to be different from it's domestic European variants, so I expect they would have conducted such comparisons in Europe. U.S.-market Toyotas already differ from the ones sold in Europe, so if that tester is really a RAV-4, then it would be tested alongside U.S.-market competitors like the Kia Sportage or the Honda CR-V. Something is definitely off concerning this test vehicle and a clever disguise has likely been applied here.
Yet Toyota uses the same disguise material as the Lexus models?
'14 Corolla
'13 5ES
'13 LS
Yet Toyota uses the same disguise material as the Lexus models?
'14 Corolla
'13 5ES
'13 LS
Maybe the nicer materials are for the limited edition Rav4, and not just for Euro specific model.
With no spindle grill on the front, most likely will not be a Lexus
09-08-12, 12:12 AM
#92
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I don't see any problem with this since Mazda cars are known as RX-number while the Lexus is just the "RX". I find CX way more attractive than any other name.
09-08-12, 01:58 AM
#93
I guess that's a big possibility, but as for the spindle grille it's probably just been hidden as it's likely a test mule and not an actual prototype. The front bulge on lower valance section looks different from the RAV-4 prototypes. Anyway, from what all of you have said, I figure there's a 60% chance it's a premium trim RAV-4 and a 40% chance it's a Lexus crossover.
09-08-12, 05:52 AM
#95
I guess that's a big possibility, but as for the spindle grille it's probably just been hidden as it's likely a test mule and not an actual prototype. The front bulge on lower valance section looks different from the RAV-4 prototypes. Anyway, from what all of you have said, I figure there's a 60% chance it's a premium trim RAV-4 and a 40% chance it's a Lexus crossover.
09-08-12, 06:53 AM
#96
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What I find interesting is that this car does have dual exhaust while the CX300h is a hybrid vehicle and therefore, hidden exhaust... so this might just be the RAV4.
Last edited by asoksevil; 09-08-12 at 06:57 AM.
09-08-12, 11:59 AM
#98
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09-08-12, 12:27 PM
#99
CX300h will not look exactly the same as Rav4... I expect at least Camry/E300h differences so it would it get its own test mules, not ones that are rav4.
09-08-12, 06:06 PM
#100
It has already been established that both the ES and Camry are not directly re-skinned versions of each other anymore. The ES shares more with the Avalon(extended Camry platform) than it does the Camry, so the differences are much greater. There's also a difference between a mule that can wear almost any disguise and an FEP prototype that would be identical to the production car. As for this not being a Lexus, I wouldn't be surprised as I was already wrong about the LS being a 5th generation(that's due in 2014).
09-09-12, 08:05 PM
#101
09-09-12, 09:05 PM
#102
I am very sorry, as what you said before, has now been confirmed by a very trusted Lexus employee that these are indeed spy photos of the U.S. market Toyota RAV-4. I got everything extremely wrong as the luxury competitors are being used to throw off people for some odd reason and to test its "upmarket pretensions". Silly me.
as i said before, luxury competitors are not used to throw people off or to test its upmarket pretensions, but rather rav4 in many markets is direct competitor with these cars.... i guess everywhere but in the usa.
so we should be happy that they are testing it against those cars, because they are trying to build rav4 better than those!
09-10-12, 01:37 AM
#103
there is nothing to be sorry about, it is just forums :-).
as i said before, luxury competitors are not used to throw people off or to test its upmarket pretensions, but rather rav4 in many markets is direct competitor with these cars.... i guess everywhere but in the usa.
so we should be happy that they are testing it against those cars, because they are trying to build rav4 better than those!
as i said before, luxury competitors are not used to throw people off or to test its upmarket pretensions, but rather rav4 in many markets is direct competitor with these cars.... i guess everywhere but in the usa.
so we should be happy that they are testing it against those cars, because they are trying to build rav4 better than those!
09-10-12, 03:58 AM
#104
Thanks, but those are literally his words, not mine. This is actually the same guy who said about 9 months ago, that the remaining spindle grille models would be previewed in January. He also said in March that he had seen the '13 LS inside out and it would be a facelift, not a 5LS(to my stubborn detriment). He even gave a heads-up back in mid-August, dropping that the next generation IS prototypes were running around Toyota's HQ in Torrance, California, and now some of them have recently been caught. If anyone ever spots commentary from him on future Lexus products, take it to the letter as it's fact 100% of the time and low-key. Not sure if giving out his name is risky.
