If you are one of those customers who complained to Lexus dealer about the lack of third row seat in the RX crossover, you’d be glad to know the car maker has heard you and is designing a new, stretched, seven-seat version of the car. The bad news is, it won’t be ready until late 2015.

The seven-seat Lexus RX will be based on the platform of the Toyota Highlander, which means Toyota has done all the engineering work and all Lexus has to do is to put an RX body on it and wrap the interior in leather and wood.

But there is more to it, because a Lexus should also differ from its Toyota counterpart in terms of ride quality and comfort. Otherwise, they would be content with their existing seven-seat SUV, the GX 460, which is basically a Land Cruiser in an expensive suit. So that’s part of the reason why it is going to take a while for Lexus to ready the new RX variant.

The idea of a seven-seat Lexus RX has never been more feasible for the company, since now they have the brand-new NX model to represent them in the crossover segment. Lexus reckons they can sell up to 35,000 units of the stretched RX every year. Sounds about right, seeing as the normal RX is in the 100Ks.

Via Autonews