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KGP Photography's man in Europe has caught a Lexus-based mule for what appears to be a future crossover to slot in beneath the RX. The mule—based on a modified Lexus CT200h body with a higher-riding suspension setup—was among an assembly of varied crossover/SUV offerings outside of a Toyota workshop in Europe. The benchmark vehicles on hand consisted of a Nissan Qashqai, a Skoda Yeti and an Audi Q3.
The spectre of a sub-RX Lexus crossover has been rumored for more than one year now, and most analysts made the logical assumption that such an offering would spring forth from the recently updated Toyota RAV4. The CT200h-based mule caught here would seem to throw the RAV4-based assumptions into question. A CT200h-based crossover would seem to be consistent with the attack taken by Mercedes with its upcoming A-class-based GLA.
It now seems clear that Lexus is taking concrete development steps toward a smaller crossover, although the early indications is that the first mule is taking a different approach than originally predicted.
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Photo credit: KGP Photography