Browsing the internet today, and i found

 

It's been around for awhile in other markets as a long stroke 4cyl 2.7 liter FWD only. http://blogs.automotive.com/four-cyl...der-96453.html . I doubt you'll ever see 'that' car here.

 

Thanks for clarifying it existent for that long. It is sad that Lexus did not export this car here. It would have been a hot selling one instead of the next NX concept, just due to the MPG alone, it is a winner

 

The mileage you quoted is strictly hwy. I get that or close to it all the time in my 450h and 297hp to boot .

 

Keep in mind, some markets have very heavy customs on the engine displacement. On top of that, there's a
tax on HP produced. Hence RX270 for them.
Being such a heavy vehicle, it would not fly here in the US.

RX450h is a great compromise between fuel efficiency and power.

 

We, US market, only get the big engine models, not just Lexus but it extends to other European car manufactures.
It's always frustrating to see other countries get varieties while the US customers get limited options and models.

 

The RX270 It's available for sale in Australia.

Lexus recognise the serious competition coming from Mercedes (ML250 CDI), BMW X5 with the 2.0 diesel engine, and a whole raft of Japanese offerings, e.g. Mazda CX-5, etc. So the MY13 had a general price drop all across the range (RX350 and RX450h) plus the introduction of the RX270, which gets its 2.7 engine from Toyota's engine lineup which is well known in the USA - 1AR-FE, as employed in Toyota Highlander,
Toyota Sienna, and
Toyota Venza.

One notable "feature" of the RX270 is that it's a front wheel drive only. No AWD variant.

Lexus eventually dropped the 1AR-FE engine when they released their first ever turbo charged 4 cylinder 2.0 litre engine, in the NX200t and RX200t. So the RX270 variant is a relatively short lived motor for the RX family, offered for only about 4 years.