Cosmic Cosmetic (Not)
The Lexus NX gets a nip and tuck in a few good ways. Around four years after its launch, their current baby SUV (the word ‘current’ is a hint for something new coming up), gets some well-needed revised styling. Featuring larger sweeping daytime running lights, and new internals for its headlamps for our “Sports” trim model, while the spindle grille gets pinched a little more in the middle. A new bumper delivering more aggression in the rear mirrors of those you tail on the overtaking lane… roar!
Under the hood, the NX is the recipient of a 1,998 litre twin-scroll turbocharged engine, mounted in east-west fashion, with a six-speed automatic driving all four wheels. With 234bhp and 350Nm from just 1,650 – 4,000 rpm, the compact SUV might not be the fastest thing to reach 100km/h, but it is still respectable at 7.1 seconds. Rev the 2.0 hard and you will find that it will get rather too vocal for our liking.
Transmission and throttle response can be improved in “Sports” mode, but we do not take keenly to the faux V6 growl made by the speakers to hide the four-cylinder working hard (though sounding like the one in the Turbocharged Toyota Harrier…. But isn’t this a Harrier under the skin?) under that noise.
There is however quite a bit of road noise intruding into the cabin from the Bridgestone 235/55 R18 tyres, and there is also some wind noise from the wing mirrors at speed. The NX does otherwise handle decently well when not under spirited driving.
However even with the decent 2,660 wheelbase, coupled with its high-riding nature, the NX delivers a slightly dinky ride whenever it crosses over rough patches, and especially since it carries on it an “F Sport” badge…. Well ok, the badging is actually for trim, and not for performance. Plant it hard around the bend, and you will quickly see handling limitations which do not mirror its aggressive styling.
That said, we do admit that the NX is quite the looker, and while we would not say that the car is getting a little long in the tooth, but the market has changed quite a bit since its initial launch.
The Volvo XC40, Jaguar E-Pace, and higher up the luxury SUV ladder, the BMW X3 are just some of the new entrants which have been recently introduced. So while the Lexus may still be a decently good car, there are just many very attractive options to spoil the buyer.
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