Join us as we review the 2026 Lexus TX 550H on ‘Rush to Reason’ and ‘Drive Radio.’ We explore its state-of-the-art features, spacious interiors, and the practical third-row seating for families. Considering whether it’s worth the $85,000 price tag? We lay out all the pros and cons to help you decide. If you’re in the market for a plug-in hybrid SUV, tune in to find out if this is the option for you.
All right, that time of the week where we do car reviews, this is for Rush to Reason, and we replay this on Drive Radio on Saturdays as well. And, Richard, you recently drove a 2026 Lexus TX 550H. That’s a PHEV all-wheel drive vehicle.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, quite the mouthful, numbers, symbols, all of the above. Basically, this is the TX. platform dad that lexus introduced i believe it was last year right as far as their their model goes and it is and i’ll just say it it’s a lexus highlander right so the highlander that is the an amazing suv a super high just a really great car vehicle lexus i thought you know what we sell a gazillion of those we might as well you know do it in a lexus kind of random thing so that’s what they did right they they turned into that this specific model like you said the 550 plus PHEV, which is plug-in hybrid, and folks, what this means is you get about 33 miles of plug-in, or I should say of electric-only range, which is really good, Dad, because I think we’ve done it, and especially even here in Colorado, I believe the average number of miles driven on a commute is, I want to say about 20, is it 25 or 50? You probably know that a little better than I do.
SPEAKER 01 :
As far as miles driven for what, sorry?
SPEAKER 03 :
For a commute, right?
SPEAKER 01 :
About 50. It depends, but 50 is probably about right.
SPEAKER 03 :
Yeah, and so basically on this, Dad, you can plug in at home. If you have a level 2 charger, you’re going to actually be able to get about, well, like I said, I think this thing will charge in about two or three hours just based on the charger. But even if you don’t, if you’re just plugging into a normal 110, 120-volt outlet in your house, you have the ability to charge this thing overnight. And so if you come home after your commute, plug this vehicle in, it’s going to charge up to that 33 miles range overnight. And mind you, Dad, I’m getting 33 miles in cars in the garage, but obviously we are in winter here in Colorado, and so maybe the battery performance Isn’t quite what it would be, but I feel pretty confident that it would be in that 33 to 35 range. Outside of that, this car has got seating for six or seven, depending on the configuration. This one’s got captain’s chairs, so it fits six. And for my family of six, we were actually able to get everyone in this vehicle. Now, with that up, with the third row up, do you have a ton of room in the third row? Or behind the third row, I should say? No. Do you have a ton of room in the third row? No. I’ve got an eight-year-old that some people confuse for a nine-year-old. Or 10-year-old at times, he’s pretty tall and lanky. Sitting in that third row, he was a little bit crammed, but nothing that’s crazy. Is this something that you could drive around town and, you know, be able to fit him in there without issues absolutely my four-year-old with the booster you know my seven-year-old with absolutely right there’s also the configurations on this car dad and how they’ve designed it fits any family really well i think the biggest knock on this vehicle and maybe the only knock that i have that is simply the price tag this vehicle with everything on it every bell and whistle and i’m not going to go through everything is about eighty five thousand dollars Yes, 85.
SPEAKER 02 :
Wow.
SPEAKER 03 :
Now, when you look at it with everything that you can get on this vehicle, it truly is luxury, right? There’s some suede, some soft touch material throughout the interior of the vehicle. It does a phenomenal job at having really nice luxury apportionments, heated and ventilated seats, front seats, tri-zone climate control. It’s got heated steering wheel, the infotainment, all of the safety aids that you could possibly need. It’s pretty much got everything you want, but it does come at a premium, and you’re paying for the Lexus badge on the front. And I’m not saying it’s a bad thing, Dad. I just think that if you are looking for other vehicles in this segment, yes, there is some competition that way. However, I will say this. I really enjoyed this car, and from the plug-in hybrid piece of it, Dad, which I know you and I will kind of talk about a little bit more, well, this segment, but then also, you know, later on this year, I think this is a category that is sort of prime for explosion. And what I mean by that is it’s really, it works really well for a lot of people to know that they don’t have to necessarily install a higher level charger in order to charge up their fully electric SUV. And in this case, when you combine the electric with the gas, you’re, you know, I think you potentially, I think 350, maybe 400 miles, just depending on, you know, all the different factors that are out there. I would, I just think that this segment and that plug in hybrid piece of it’s really nice. And in this case, dad, You don’t even have to buy a separate charger. Lexus actually includes one with the vehicle that you have the ability to, again, either use that 240 or 120-volt plug-in, depending on what you want to do. And like I said, I’ve got the level 2 or the higher charging output at my house. And so, again, you come in three hours. And in some cases, Dad, this means you can come home in the afternoon. Maybe you have an event in the evening. You can plug in, and you actually have a full battery to go to that event on battery tower alone. you know, within, I guess I within two or three hours. So that is one of the features that I really like about it, but it does come at a, again, at a, at a high price point. Actually, I’m getting ready to plug this vehicle in now outside of that, dad. I really like the looks of this vehicle. Folks can check it out online and see what I mean. It looks really nice. It looks bigger than it feels on the inside, Dad, and I mean that in a good way. It doesn’t feel like you’re driving a really large SUV, and I think for a lot of people, when they get into the larger SUVs, they sometimes get intimidated by that. Well, Lexus has done a phenomenal job of making this vehicle… nice and big. So it feels safe to me, but it also doesn’t feel so big that you don’t feel like you can park this thing anywhere, but the, you know, the nosebleeds, right. The sports reference, you can actually kind of park this out, park it close and do those things. Outside of that, Dad, it’s got all of the other stuff that we’ve come to expect from Lexus as far as features go and the infotainment system and the lane keep assist and adaptive cruise and all those different things, ambient lighting, all of that good jazz. I was really impressed with this car. Well, you’ve seen this vehicle on the road, and I think you and I have kind of talked about it, that this is a really competitive market for this class of vehicle. It is.
SPEAKER 01 :
No, very. And it’s becoming one of the larger segments, I guess you could say. So just that that luxury SUV, which is essentially what this is. And you said it right. This is just really it’s the fancy version of the Highlander, which. Nothing against that. That has been a staple on the Lexus side for quite some time. So I’m not knocking that. And really quick, back to the third row end of things. You have to get into a really large car to have a comfortable for adults third row seat. None of them. I mean, even Suburbans. Yeah. yeah, you can sit back there, but they’ve never in their entire lifetime been made for full-size adults. It’s always meant to shove the kids or the smaller teenagers, whatever, back in that back area, Richard. That’s true, has been true, and will stay that way. But no, this is a good-looking car. Nothing wrong with it at all. Works fabulous, as you said. At the end of the day, highly recommend it. And bottom line, go test drive it and check it out.
SPEAKER 03 :
Absolutely. And I’ll just kind of piggyback on what you said on that third row. Yeah, that’s not a knock at all. For folks, if you’ve got a family of four or five, six, you may use that for transporting other kids that aren’t your kids. It is functional. And on some of these SUVs, Dad, that advertise a third row, you really don’t have a third row.
SPEAKER 01 :
That’s true. Good point.
SPEAKER 03 :
because it was able to fit our family of six. And as you know, that’s not an easy thing to do. Now, again, do you have as much row behind the third row as some of the other larger ones? No, but that’s the case for every vehicle in this class. It’s how it’s designed, right? That third row is designed to be used as you’re either people hauling or cargo hauling. But last thing I’ll say is this, there is still enough behind there to fit you know, some groceries or do whatever you need to do in the back. Are you going to make a full Costco run every single weekend? Probably not. But could you go to the grocery store and do all the, some athletic activities that you need to as a family? Absolutely. So highly encourage people to check this vehicle out. Dad, again, 2026 Lexus TX five 50 H plug in hybrid heads, your local Lexus dealer. When you do that, let them know that John and Richard rush from drive radio and rush to reason. Thank you.
SPEAKER 01 :
This is John Rush from Rush to Reason and Drive Radio. Thank you so much for listening. Check out more of our podcasts at RushToReason.com or Drive-Radio.com.
