Lexus NX is indeed a cut above the rest

A stiff upper-lipper

And let me tell you, I had more than one roundabout walk on this one. That front end with its massive and edgy bumper made me think of the Joker – remember the movie? It is so in your face, it requires a double take – maybe even a triple one to get your head around the design. You see, at first the broad bumper, compared to the very narrow light cluster part with that 32”/22”/32” (naughty-by-design) “middle”, just feels totally awkward until your brain has reached equilibrium.
We have become so used to soft, smooth and rounded designs that this Lexus NX’s kind of clobber us back to a new reality.
Calvyn Hamman, senior vice-president of sales and marketing describes it as extrovert and aggressive, with a phenomenal road presence. I do agree – a tour de force, is how I was about to express it. “It was nine years in development,” he added. Really – in this day and age of instant everything?
In profile those front and rear flares on the wheel arches emphasise the NX’s sporty and aggressive nature. The sharp style line at the bottom of the doors and the parallel shadows it creates with the shoulder line is disturbed by a sharp edge which runs down from the rear light clusters to link with the double rear bumper design. The rear end itself greets one with a tight-lip expression pointing to the dual exhaust outlets – which in hindsight, although creating the perception; do not render the sound one would be expecting. Instead of being – open all the windows so that we can listen – it is quite reserved and proper – typically stiff upper lip, my dear Watson.
How aerodynamic is the design? Drag co-efficient measures just 0,33 – that is just swell for such an edgy design. The door handles – you must ask the sales person about those door handles!

Is this the honeymoon suite?

Step inside – get seated – adjust the electrical controlled driver’s seat to your liking and then we can start this consultation. Ooh – the support is absolutely – so honeymoon-like. Enough!
The interior and in particular the dashboard ergonomics have a lot of shiny bits which create a somewhat busy atmosphere around this driver focused cockpit. The centre stack emulates the edginess so prevalent on the exterior design of the NX but I found that the analogue clock offers a resting place from all the business of the cockpit. The NX is crammed with all the bells, whistles and technology one can imagine – I mean the product info on the NX covers 24 pages. There is a touch screen, paddle shifts on the steering and much more. You won’t use the latter much as the automatic six-speed gearbox is super smooth on both up and down shifting. This is courtesy of an artificial intelligent shift control regime that optimises the many variables within the engine, gearbox and road conditions to ensure a one-of-a-kind driving experience once you have selected your preferred mode via the Drive Mode Selector just to the right of the gear lever.
The interior of the NX is luxurious, spacious and superbly finished.

What makes it tick?

Under the bonnet of the test vehicle was a 2,0-litre turbo-charged engine producing 175kW and 350Nm capable of moving this very large vehicle from 0-100km/h in 7,1 seconds. Although I did not challenge this, I did put my foot down a couple of times just to enjoy the sheer luxury of the NX’s performance. The “microscopic force control” which manages the suspension set-up ensured very stable and composed behaviour through corners – tight or sweeping? This NX is also 20% stiffer which makes for a confident but absorbing drive no matter what the road conditions.
Fuel index is given as 7,9l/100km for the combined cycle – I registered 8,3 which is good for a vehicle this size. But then, sometimes I wonder about this “when is enough, enough” discussion.

The jury is in

Whatever your preferred grade, the NX is kick-butt ready to mix it up with the Joneses – just never drop that nose – it is so in-your- face classy!