Lexus Towing Capacity by Model
On this page you can browse the 343 Lexus cars, trucks, and SUVs across 17 unique Lexus models that we have towing capacity and payload information for.
Use the links below to see more details in the Lexus model you're interested in - sorted by year of production and then by trim.
- Lexus ES 300h
- Lexus CT 200h
- Lexus GX 460
- Lexus LX 570
- Lexus RX 350
- Lexus LS 460
- Lexus GS 350
- Lexus ES 350
- Lexus IS 250
- Lexus IS 350
- Lexus RX 330
- Lexus IS 300
- Lexus LS 430
- Lexus LS 400
- Lexus LX 470
- Lexus GS 300
- Lexus RX 300
How Good are Lexus Vehicles for Towing?
Lexus is the luxury division of the long established Toyota which has been marketed in more than 90 countries around the world. It is Japan’s largest-selling brand of premium cars and is in the top ten overall Japanese global brands.
As a result of the Japanese government imposing voluntary export restraints for the U.S. market auto manufacturers such as Toyota, Nissan and Honda decided it was more profitable to export more expensive cars.
This is why Toyota at the same time as Nissan and Honda created its premium car brand Lexus. It was in 1983 that Toyota’s chairman issued a challenge to designers to build the world's best car. Codenamed “Flagship One” it led to the development of the Lexus LS 400.
In 1986 the company's advertising agency formed a special team to help handle the marketing for the new Lexus brand. In 1989 the fully designed Lexus LS 400 was ready and shared no major elements with any other Toyota vehicle.
In its first full year of production Lexus sold 64,594 LS 400 and ES 250 sedans to the U.S market. In that same year they began limited exports to the UK, Switzerland, Canada and Australia. In 1991 the brand launched its first luxury coupe, the SC 400.
At the end of 1991 the Lexus brand had officially become the top exported luxury car to the United States. This success would lead to an inevitable jump in prices for the Lexus models. This made them higher priced than US made premium brands but still below European imports in the same category.
So the question is can these luxury Japanese imported cars offer up anything in the way of towing power? When it comes to some of the earlier Lexus models such as the ES 300, LS400 and SC300 the towing capacity exists but ranges from 1,600 to 2,000 lbs. in towing weight.
It wasn’t until 1999 that the company started to produce some models with more towing power such as the RX300 with 3,500 lbs. capability and the LX470 with an impressive 6,500 lbs. of pulling power. The powerhouse of the Lexus range though was the 2008 LX 570 which can offer 8,500 lbs of towing power.
The more modern model of LX570 features a top towing power of 7,000 lbs. But for a luxury vehicle you really can’t ask for much more than that. You will likely need a towing package fitted to make use of this pulling power so if you want some utility out of your luxury Lexus has actually got you covered.