Everyone’s been talking about Toyota and Subaru’s dueling three-row electric SUVs, but Lexus is about to reveal its own three-row electric SUV.
On May 6th, Lexus will share what’s likely to be called the TZ. This will be a three-row electric SUV related to the Toyota Highlander — which means it’s also related to the Subaru Getaway. This means there are three new three-row electric SUVs on the way. And I’m not really sure why.
Lexus is Toyota’s luxury brand, so it’s no surprise to see some similar products coming from the carmakers. The Lexus RZ is the luxury version of the Toyota bZ. The Subaru version is the Solterra. So, this is nothing new.
We don’t know all of the details regarding these three-row electric SUVs yet, but the Highlander and Getaway have been proven to be nearly identical, sharing the same battery technology and powertrain. The only difference so far seems to be the Getaway’s extra horsepower. Not much is known about the TZ either, but it’s expected to have more luxurious interior materials and a classier exterior styling. It will probably have a larger battery pack, the 95.8 kWh available as an option for the Highlander, and will offer more than 300 miles of range. It will probably have an all-wheel-drive powertrain with similar horsepower to the Getaway.
The reveal will be livestreamed on YouTube on May 6th at 9:30 PM EST. But I’m not sure the information we get will be really all that mindblowing. Maybe I’m a hater, but all of these three-row electric SUVs are blending together.
What is the point of the upcoming Lexus TZ?
Does America even need all of these three-row electric SUVs?
There are already a handful of three-row electric SUVs (how many times have I written this phrase?) in the United States. And none of them have very impressive sales. In 2025, Hyundai sold 5,189 units of the IONIQ 9. That’s not really all that much compared to Tucson’s 234,230 sales, 148,200 Elantra sales, and 142,404 Santa Fe sales. Kia sold 15,051 units of the EV9, compared to 182,823 Sportages and 56,798 Seltos.
There aren’t a ton of three-row electric SUVs in the United States, largely because making them is challenging. They need larger batteries, which raises their pricing (and Americans already think regular electric SUVs are too high) and makes them pretty heavy. The more weight, the harder it is to make these vehicles have a long range. Nobody wants to buy an EV that can barely get you out of town before you gotta charge, especially if you are lugging around a family. It’s often not worth resolving all these issues, since most Americans are fine with two-row electric SUVs.
As technology advances in the EV segment, automakers are becoming more confident that their three-row electric SUVs can meet family needs without bankrupting them. That’s why you are seeing Toyota, Subaru, Lexus, and more announcing these massive vehicles. It’s believed that Americans are dying for more space and features, but this has been disproven plenty of times. It’s a bit of a misunderstanding, since wealthy Americans have never been impacted by the economy, whereas regular Americans can barely afford a $30,000 new car, reducing sales of smaller vehicles.
I don’t think people will be lining up for these new arrivals.
I’m sure there are some families that need three rows of seats and prefer electric. However, I think Americans are still pining for cheap options that don’t seem to be coming. With the Trump Administration refusing to back off on the whole tariff thing, we may lose even more affordable commuters. Seeing all these announcements about expensive, large vehicles is boring for most, since they’re irrelevant. And Lexus’ version will probably be even more than the Highlander and Getaway.
I don’t think I’ll be tuning in for the Lexus TZ reveal. I mean, what more do we even need to know about it? It’s a three-row electric SUV.
