Lexus NX – a refined and smooth SUV

Lexus, Toyota’s luxury division, is a “hybrid-tech stalwart”, says Richard Ingram in Auto Express. Aside from its V8-engine RC and LC sports cars, every model is available exclusively with electrified powertrains. This new NX SUV is no different. Made for cruising in exceptional comfort, the car is “smooth and refined, beautifully built, and even without a usable zero-emissions range, could genuinely slash your fuel bills”. The NX is Lexus’s bestselling model in the UK – and “on this evidence, will continue to be for some time to come”.

It’s a car built for comfort over raw power, but it is no slouch, with a combined engine and electric motor punch of 244bhp, delivering a 0-62mph time of just 7.7 seconds, says Rory White on YesAuto. It’s grippy through the bends too, and the ride smooth, the suspension absorbing the bumps nicely, says Tyler Duffy in Gear Patrol Magazine. It is exceptionally quiet at low speeds, too: “I didn’t notice I was driving through 30mph wind gusts until I looked up and saw a flag pole”. The car can glide along at low-speeds on battery power alone, allowing you to trickle along in slow-moving traffic at very low cost, says Neil Winn in What Car. In good conditions you can expect a fuel consumption of around 47mpg. The NX may not be as flashy as Jaguar’s or Mercedes’s rival offerings, but there’s a subtle charisma to its aesthetic that can’t be found elsewhere, even in older Lexus models. 

Inside, the cabin has been significantly updated, says Jonathan Crouch in RAC. The interior features a 9.8-inch screen – which can be upgraded to a 14-inch Lexus Link Pro set-up – and touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel, and is all modelled according to Lexus’s Tazuma design philosophy – a “human-centric” principle intended to make driving cars as straightforward as possible, using high-quality materials and a dashboard that curves towards the driver’s seat. In short, the Lexus NX offers a sophisticated and grown-up driving experience that few rivals can match. Prices start at £48,800.