Lexus NX – a refined and smooth SUV
Luxury car brand Lexus’s NX sports utility vehicle is sophisticated and beautifully built. Jasper Spires reports


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.
Subscribe to MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Jasper is a former writer for the MoneyWeek and he wrote on an array of topics including travel, investing in crypto and bitcoin, as well as cars. Previous to that he freelanced at The Art Newspaper, PORT Magazine and The Spectator. Jasper is currently a freelance writer at FAD magazine and he has an English literature degree from the University of Exeter, and a Master's degree from UCL.
-
8 of the best properties for sale with kitchen gardens
The best properties for sale with kitchen gardens – from a 17th-century timber-framed hall house in Norfolk, to an Arts & Crafts house in West Sussex designed by Charles Voysey with a garden by Gertrude Jekyll
-
Why you should start investing early
Most investors wish they had started earlier, and data shows that starting to invest sooner yields greater results over time
-
8 of the best properties for sale with kitchen gardens
The best properties for sale with kitchen gardens – from a 17th-century timber-framed hall house in Norfolk, to an Arts & Crafts house in West Sussex designed by Charles Voysey with a garden by Gertrude Jekyll
-
8 of the best properties for sale with shooting estates
The best properties for sale with shooting estates – from an estate in a designated Dark Sky area in Ayrshire, Scotland, to a hunting estate in Tuscany with a wild boar, mouflon, deer and hare shoot
-
How to invest in the travel industry's boom as tourists get back on the road
The travel industry is in rude health despite uncertainty about the global economy, Trump’s policies and geopolitical concerns. Investors should buy in now
-
Review: an adventure through the Swiss Alps to Lake Como on the Bernina Express
Travel Louise Okafor stays at the Grand Resort Bad Ragaz in Switzerland and the Grand Hotel Villa Serbelloni in Italy
-
Car finance mis-selling judgment could be a big blow for the banks
Opinion The car finance mis-selling judgment could still be disastrous for big finance even though banks dodged the worst possible outcome
-
8 of the best houses for sale with dining terraces
The best houses for sale with dining terraces – from an Arts & Crafts property in Great Missenden, Buckinghamshire, to a duplex apartment in a garden square in Kensington with a decked roof terrace
-
Take a look under the bonnet of the classic car market
Dearer money has taken the momentum out of the classic car market, says Chris Carter
-
8 of the best properties for sale with libraries
We look at eight of the best properties for sale with libraries – from an 1860s baronial mansion in Fife, Scotland, to a Grade II-listed manor in Gloucestershire with a library with flagstone floors and oak columns