<Tr> <Th_colspan="2"> Chronology </Th> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Successor </Th> <Td> Toyota Harrier (XU60) (for XU30) </Td> </Tr> <P> The Lexus RX (Japanese: レクサス ・ RX, Rekusasu RX) is a mid-size luxury crossover SUV that is based on the Toyota Highlander and sold since 1998 by Lexus, a luxury division of Toyota . Originally released in its home market of Japan in late 1997 as the Toyota Harrier, export sales began in March 1998 as the Lexus RX . Four generations of the Lexus RX have been produced to date, the first being compact in size, and the latter three classified as mid-size . Both front - and four - wheel drive configurations have been used on the RX series, and several gasoline powertrain options, including V6 engines and hybrid systems, have been offered . In the Lexus model lineup, the RX sits below the larger GX and LX body - on - frame SUVs, and above the smaller NX crossover . The RX name stands for Radiant Crossover . It has also been labelled as "Recreation Cross Country" in some markets . </P> <P> The first - generation RX 300, fitted with a 3.0 - liter V6 engine, began sales in 1998 . The Japanese market Toyota Harrier released in 1997 also offered a 2.2 - liter inline - four, later uprated to 2.4 - liters . The second - generation RX 300 (3.0 - liter V6) and RX 330 (3.3 - liter V6) models went on sale in 2003, with both variants supplanted by the more powerful RX 350 (3.5 - liter V6) in 2006 . Like the previous series, a 2.4 - liter inline - four engine was sold alongside the 3.0 - liter V6 in the Japanese market Toyota Harrier . In 2005, a hybridized gasoline - electric version of the 3.3 - liter second - generation model was made available as the RX 400h in export markets and as the Harrier Hybrid in Japan . For the third iteration released in 2009, both RX 350 (3.5 - liter V6) and RX 450h (3.5 - liter V6 hybrid) models were initially offered, with an entry - level RX 270 (2.7 - liter inline - four) offered by Lexus in some Asian markets, including in Japan, since 2010 . Since the release of the third generation, Japanese sales have occurred under the Lexus RX name as opposed to Toyota Harrier as had been the case previously . </P>

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