The 3-Year Resale Reality Of The Lexus RX Hybrid In 2025

Did you know that luxury cars, in general, depreciate faster than mainstream cars? This is due to their higher price tag, along with their highly complex mechanical components, which make them more prone to reliability issues. In fact, there are luxury cars that lose more than half of their value in just five years.

Base Trim Engine

3.5L V6 Hybrid

Base Trim Transmission

Continuously Variable Automatic (CVT)

Base Trim Drivetrain

All-Wheel Drive

Base Trim Horsepower

308 hp

Base Trim Torque

247 lb-ft @ 4800 rpm

Fuel Economy

31/28 MPG

Make

Lexus

Model

RX Hybrid

Segment

Midsize Luxury SUV

Infotainment & Features

9 /10

There is one luxury brand, however, that has the slowest depreciation, and it’s unsurprisingly a luxury brand that’s related to Toyota, hence its strong resale values. That would be Lexus, and the RX Hybrid is their best-selling model. Among luxury hybrid midsize SUVs and luxury midsize SUVs in general, iSeeCars also classifies the RX Hybrid to offer the best resale value, so how resilient is an RX Hybrid really when it comes to its three-year-old resale?

Lexus RX Hybrid – Posh Yet Resilient

Lexus

German luxury cars depreciate fast, but you’ll be losing far less money in three years if you get yourself a Lexus RX Hybrid. Here’s how much value it loses, and this applies to the entire RX Hybrid lineup in general, including the previous generation V6-powered RX 450h.

Loses Less Than 30 Percent In Three Years

Car Buzz

The Lexus RX Hybrid is only expected to lose around 29.5 percent in three years, and that applies to both the RX 350h and the RX 450h, though iSeeCars bundled the resale value data of both the previous V-6-powered RX 450h and the current plug-in hybrid RX 450h+. This is just a little over half of the midsize hybrid SUV average of 41.1 percent and 34.8 percent for midsize luxury SUVs in general.

Surprisingly, however, it is actually the non-hybrid Lexus RX 350 that fares better when it comes to depreciation, as it’s only expected to lose 23.2 percent of its value in three years. What’s common across all RX models, though, is that all versions are better than the average industry-wide three-year depreciation. Take a look at this table, and you’ll see how the RX 350, RX 350h, and RX 450h all fare when it comes to their three-year-old resale values.

It’s Helped By A Desirable Previous Model

Lexus Newsroom

The strong resale values of the Lexus RX model in general are no doubt helped by the appeal of the previous-generation model. In fact, anecdotally, there’s a good chunk of owners of the previous generation model on social media platforms and forums such as Reddit, as well as buyers shopping for a used RX, who somehow prefer the previous V-6-powered generation. Unfortunately, the RX is not immune to the engine downsizing trend in order to meet fuel efficiency and/or emissions targets. As a result, all versions of the current RX ditched the V-6 in favor of a four-cylinder that’s either turbocharged, electrified, or both.

The Pros And Cons Of The RX Hybrid

Lexus

Resale value will matter to you the most as an owner, but as a buyer, the high resale value of the Lexus RX Hybrid is reflective of what you can still expect down the line.

A Reliable Cruiser

Lexus

High resale values in the used market are driven by its long-term reliability and ease of maintenance. With the RX Hybrid pretty much sharing the same fourth-generation Toyota Hybrid System (THS IV) as the RAV4 Hybrid or Plug-In Hybrid, heck, even the NX and Highlander, this commonality with other reliable cars also makes it a guaranteed reliable luxury car. Likewise, the commonality means parts are easy to source, since these will be pretty much interchangeable across these models. Finally, high resale values are also determined by how long they’re expected to last on the road, and with the RX Hybrid, iSeeCars recently crowned it as the ninth longest-lasting car in their 2025 study.

Now, as for the other nuances of a luxury car, the RX Hybrid has a reasonably stylish exterior and an interior whose build quality, comfort, and amenities are what you’d expect from a Lexus. The material quality is tastefully selected, though the electronic door handles are certainly splitting opinions among owners and interested customers.

But Its Reliable Drivetrain Is Also A Detriment

Lexus

Unfortunately, to some buyers, the drivetrain and vehicle components that make the RX Hybrid reliable also mean that its European competitors drive better. You see, the RX uses the TNGA-K platform, which is, well, the same as the one in the RAV4, NX, Camry, ES, you name it. Of course, the hybrid system is also shared with other lesser Toyota models. Granted, Lexus has engineered enough improvements, such as more structural adhesives, more aluminum components, and more sound deadening, among other improvements, to make the RX offer a true luxury car experience.

However, versus a platform that was meant for luxury cars from the ground up, the Toyota-based platform (and even drivetrain) of the RX can also be its weakness. Don’t forget, the Lexus RX 450h+ is priced closely with the BMW X5 xDrive50e plug-in hybrid, and that blends the sonorous and highly-loved B58 3.0-liter turbo straight-six with an electric motor. Versus the droning four-cylinder noise of the RX 450h+, we know which we’d rather listen to. Lastly, the chassis of the X5 is more taut, an inherent advantage of not using a mass market car platform that’s simply been re-engineered for luxury car use.

The RX Hybrid Might Still Get A V-6

Lexus

Now, a turbo or electrified four-cylinder can match the power of a V-6, but it will never match its smoothness and refinement. In a luxury car, these emotional characteristics play an even bigger role in the appeal of a certain model, and it seems Lexus got the memo based on this latest trademark filing.

Hello RX 550h+

Lexus

The folks at Lexus recently had a trademark filing for the “RX 550h+” nomenclature, indicating that we might see a V-6-powered RX Hybrid in the future. What does this nomenclature even mean? Well, if you’re familiar with your Lexus models, there’s a bigger three-row luxury SUV called the TX 550h+, and that uses a 3.5-liter V-6 plug-in hybrid system. This means that this same hybrid system could be fitted to the RX soon, or this could simply be a trademark filing that Lexus is simply implementing so that no one else could steal this nomenclature.

Our Prediction

Lexus

In whatever case, the future RX 550h+ could be released sometime in 2026 for the 2027 model year, just in time for Lexus to do a mid-cycle facelift for its best-selling model in the United States. This will bring back the level of delicacy and refinement that only a V-6 can provide, whilst adding a meaningful 33 miles of pure electric range based on the EPA. But again, these are numbers from the TX 550h+. With the RX being a smaller car, it will no doubt have a longer pure electric range, not to mention its 404-horsepower system will be even more strongly felt due to less mass to haul versus the TX.

Source: iSeeCars