The 2027 Lexus RX gains an optional red brake caliper finish on its sportier F Sport grades, with the refreshed luxury crossover due at dealerships this autumn across four distinct powertrains.
Lexus has confirmed the 2027 RX will reach dealerships this autumn, bringing a small but noticeable styling update to its long-running luxury crossover.
The headline change is a new option: red front and rear brake calipers, available on the F Sport Handling and F Sport Performance grades. It’s a subtle way to give the sportier trims a bit more visual bite before you even get to the wheels.
Six Grades, Familiar Formula
The 2027 RX lineup spans six grades: Premium, Premium+, Luxury, F Sport Handling, F Sport Performance and F Sport Design. Buyers can choose from eight exterior colours, including Matador Red Mica and Nori Green Pearl, plus an Incognito shade reserved for F Sport models.
Underneath, the RX continues to use Lexus’s GA-K platform, which the brand credits with a low centre of gravity and added structural bracing for rigidity. The crossover measures 192.5 inches long, with a wheelbase just over 112 inches.
Four Ways to Power It
Lexus is keeping four distinct powertrains under the RX badge, each aimed at a different kind of buyer.
RX 350: a 275-horsepower turbocharged four-cylinder with 317 lb-ft of torque, offered in front- or all-wheel drive.
RX 350h: a hybrid pairing a 2.5-litre Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder with an electric motor for 246 combined horsepower.
RX 450h+: a plug-in hybrid with an EPA-estimated 38 miles of electric-only range and a combined 85 MPGe rating, using a lithium-ion battery Lexus says can fully recharge in about two and a half hours on a 240-volt connection.
RX 500h F Sport Performance: the performance flagship, pairing a 271-horsepower turbo four-cylinder with a rear electric motor for a total 366 horsepower and 406 lb-ft, sent through Lexus’s DIRECT4 all-wheel-drive system.
Sportier Hardware for F Sport Models
The F Sport Performance grade also gets Dynamic Rear Steering, which turns the rear wheels up to four degrees to sharpen low-speed manoeuvring and stabilise the car through faster corners. Both F Sport Handling and Performance grades can be fitted with adaptive variable suspension and larger, six-piston brakes, an upgrade over the standard two-piston setup.
Inside, the RX carries over Lexus’s usual mix of tech, including cloud-based navigation, a voice assistant triggered by saying “Hey Lexus,” and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
None of this repositions the RX dramatically. It remains, as it has for nearly three decades, a comfortable, well-equipped crossover built to appeal broadly rather than push any single trait. But the red calipers, small as they are, suggest Lexus is still looking for ways to sharpen the RX’s image without disturbing a formula that keeps selling.
