Launched in 2014, the Lexus NX SUV will be handed over to a second generation in January 2022 from € 48,990. Refined style, new technical platform and above all a plug-in hybrid version complementing the standard hybridization, here is our video opinion on board the new Lexus NX.
[Mise à jour le 06/09/2021] Fall 2013, Frankfurt Motor Show, the Lexus LF-NX prototype hit the headlines, with its Grendizer look. Never has Toyota’s premium brand gone so far in terms of stylistic aggressiveness. Decried by early observers, Lexus’ daring paid off.
Launched in 2014, the production family SUV, called NX, has since won over more than 1 million customers worldwide. And above all, 70% of sales were from the conquest. But is it thanks to its so divisive style or its pioneering hybrid powertrain among premiums? The question remains open. Lexus is today presenting the second version of its NX. It will be marketed in France in January 2022, but orders were opened on 1er July. Prices range from € 48,990 to € 71,990.
TO READ. Lexus NX (2022). Range and price of the new compact SUV
This time, the premium label of Toyota cannot remake us the blow of the “big bad look” of its predecessor. The designers have worked with skill, fine-tuning a successful recipe down to the smallest detail, while the engineers have done what is necessary to bring the NX up to date while promising to give character to its driving.
Barely taller, barely more stylish?
The dress of the new Lexus NX 2021 reflects an evolution in small touches. The headlights with simplified contours, and the more elaborate sides (in particular at the level of the rear wing with a spirit marrying a little Peugeot 2008 and DS 4) are nevertheless notable. The major change concerns the stern, crossed out by a light strip which visually widens the vehicle like its little brother the Lexus UX. In detail, the brand’s logo gives way to much more identifiable lettering. When you walk around the car, there emerges an impression of aesthetic maturity of formal continuity: beautiful work.
Resting on the new GA-K technical platform (shared with the Toyota RAV 4), the Lexus NX 2 is 2 cm (4.66 m) longer, has a wheelbase increased by 3 cm (2.69 m) and is 2 cm wider than its predecessor. Increased by 5 mm, the “modified” height is not perceptible, unlike the widened tracks accommodating 20-inch wheels. If Lexus has not yet communicated the weight of this new NX, it specifies, however, that the front fenders like the hood are made of aluminum and that the center of gravity is lowered by 2 cm.
Head-up display and large screen
Inside, we could imagine, the digital revolution has taken place. Unmissable in the center of the dashboard, 14-inch touchscreen is a real eye-catcher. It is one of the largest sizes in the segment; only a Volkswagen Touareg does better with 15 inches. But entry-level versions will have to be content with 9.8-inch equipment. Just below, the panel is dressed in circular Land Rover-style buttons which also have their effect. In front of the driver, the SUV has swapped the needle counters of its predecessor, not against a configurable panel, but in favor of a partially digital handset. Casting error? Not necessarily, because a head display completes this device which has the merit of prioritizing information. It is also a coherent whole with the other models of the Lexus range.
At last, interior door handles are connected to the blind spot monitoring system and, in the event that a cyclist or vehicle arrives, an audible warning is sounded and the opening of the doors is temporarily disabled. A plus for safety! The whole is well presented, much more refined than on board its predecessor, which corroborates the increase in the standing of the model.
Lexus’ very first plug-in!
Faced with strong competition, some models of which have completely skipped the hybrid box to go directly to that of rechargeable hybridization, Lexus could not stand idly by. Here is the NX 450h +, the brand’s very first plug-in vehicle. To design this version, the engineers did not look very far. They simply took over the powertrain recently released by its technical cousin the Toyota RAV 4 PHEV and its clone, the Suzuki Across. They nevertheless indicate the presence of more dynamic running gear, the famous Lexus Touch.
We logically find under the hood a 2.5-liter gasoline engine, associated with a first strong electric machine of 134 kW (or 182 hp) on the front axle, and a second at the rear. The cumulative power of the Lexus NX 450h + is, unsurprisingly, strictly identical to that of the plug-in RAV 4, i.e. 306 hp. Ditto for the battery capacity of 18 kWh which offers ua range of 63 km according to the WLTP cycle. Homologation (ongoing) reports CO emissions2 less than 40 g / km and fuel consumption below the 3 l / 100 km mark. In ZEV mode (100% electric), the Lexus NX 450h + can travel up to 135 km / h. And in terms of acceleration, the 0 to 100 km / h is achieved in less than 6 seconds.
The standard hybrid remains in place
In addition to this rechargeable version which will crown the range, the Lexus NX will remain faithful to the simple hybrid technology that has made the success of the brand. Indeed, customers who do not need a more expensive SUV on plug, will prefer the 350h version. The latter retains a technical endowment broadly similar to that of the current model (Lexus NX 300h). It nevertheless offers 22% more power, or 242 hp cumulatively, and 10% of CO emissions.2 in less. What to be more alert on the road with a 0 to 100 km / h achieved in 7.7 seconds. And when it comes to transmission, the Lexus NX 350h will not be jealous of the 450h + sinceit will be available in both a two-wheel version (the front ones) or four-wheel drive. Finally, on the Russian and Eastern European markets, the Lexus NX will also be offered in a thermal version: NX 250 and 350 respectively powered by an atmospheric 2.5 engine of 199 hp and by a 2.4 turbo unit strong of 279 hp. In both cases, all-wheel drive and the eight-speed automatic gearbox will come as standard.
Lexus NX 2021 review
Following on from its predecessor, making Double blow with a hybrid proposal complemented by a plug-in offer, the second-generation Lexus NX ticks the right boxes. It will then remain to judge its road behavior, promised as much more dynamic by the engineers of the mark and to know the totality of the prices of the range to validate this first good impression.
