Lexus NX 2022 Review – International

The new-generation 2022 Lexus NX will launch in Australia in January next year, mounting a broad offensive on the premium mid-size SUV segment in which the NX holds its own against the likes of the BMW X3, Mercedes-Benz GLC, Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60.

The second-generation NX range will open with the base NX 250 priced from around $60,000, its 2.5-litre engine boasting 152kW of power and 243Nm of torque and driving the front wheels only through an eight-speed automatic transmission.

We didn’t get the chance to test this variant on the international launch drive, but did sample the other three – particularly the NX 350h hybrid that Lexus expects to be the top-selling model in Australia.

The 350h is expected to start at around $70,000 before options and on-road costs. It offers a combined 179kW from its 2.5-litre petrol-electric powertrain that pairs with a continuously variable transmission (CVT) and is available with either single-motor front-wheel drive or dual-motor all-wheel drive.

With its brace of electric motors, the 350h AWD is good for a 7.7-second sprint to 100km/h and WLTP-measure fuel economy of only 5.9L/100km – enough to shame the diesel brigade.

The stock NX 350, meanwhile, comes with AWD only and features a new turbocharged 2.4-litre engine producing 205kW/430Nm. With the standard eight-speed auto, that’s enough to deliver it to 100km/h in 7.0 seconds, plus offering 8.1L/100km.

The other powertrain that’s still to be confirmed for Australia is the plug-in hybrid 450h+, which combines the 350h’s 2.5-litre engine with permanent-magnet synchronous electric motors at each end for a combined output of 227kW. It’s good for 6.3 seconds to 100km/h, 1.1L/100km (if it’s plugged in regularly) and 76km of EV range (ditto).

The new Lexus NX will be offered Down Under in the familiar Luxury, F Sport and Sports Luxury model grades, but it’s not that simple. The 350 will be available in F Sport grade, the 250 will have the Luxury grade and the rest will give buyers a choice.

Standard kit will include LED headlights and fog lights, automatic high beam switching, a powered tailgate, a power-adjustable steering column, eight-way adjustment on the (heated) front seats and dual-zone air-conditioning.

The new cockpit delivers a choice of 9.8-inch or 14.0-inch touch-screens for the multimedia display, and the “Hey Lexus” voice control debuts here, too.

There will also be DAB+ digital radio, sat-nav, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto compatibility as standard.

The upper reaches of the range will deliver even more niceties, like ventilated front seats, tri-beam LED headlights, a coloured head-up display, wireless phone charging, a digital rear-view mirror, the 17-speaker Mark Levinson sound system, a heated steering wheel and, for the 350h AWD, Intelligent Parking Assistance.

The 2022 Lexus NX takes what the Toyota RAV4 does well and adds a layer of exclusive materials and slightly higher technology to it all – in the way it looks and feels.

The architecture is mostly conventional other than a world-first use of 1180MPa steel for the tailor-welded blanks, but the new Lexus NX 350h still chimes in at 1790kg (dry).

There are some new technologies here, including interior door handles that are either hyper-intuitive to use, with a soft-touch electric opening system, or much more awkward in old-school manual form. And both versions are integrated into the same unit on each inner door.

The doors have another trick, using the camera sensor suite to detect pedestrians, cars or cyclists approaching. The car warns the driver and can even keep the doors closed if the driver ignores them.

There is a big suite of driver assist safety systems, including obstacle and vehicle detection for the parking support system, a radar cruise control set-up, lane departure assistance, road sign recognition, a tyre pressure monitor, and pedestrian and cyclist detection at intersections as part of the extended capabilities of Lexus’ Pre-Collision System.

The 2022 Lexus NX 350h’s new non-turbo 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine sits up in front, but it’s an oddball of a thing.

It’s cleanish in its emissions but the high compression ratio of the Atkinson Cycle set-up means it trickles out only 239Nm of torque, and even then you have to rev it to 4300rpm to access it.

The 2.5-litre mill delivers 140kW of power – 24 per cent more than the outgoing NX 300h – but the thought of revving the NX 350h to the quoted 6000 revs required to produce it will not leave you tingling with anticipation.

The thrashiness of the engine is a major weak point, exacerbated by the CVT matching the engine speeds to performance, rather than sophistication.

Instead, the 350h will rely on the strength of its 134kW/270Nm e-motor to fill in the gaps for the front axle. It’s joined (in AWD form) by a smaller 40kW/121Nm e-motor on the rear axle, with both ends using the rare-earth metals associated with permanent-magnet synchronous motors.

The NX rides on a four-link, double-wishbone rear suspension and a new MacPherson strut front-end, all pointed via an electric power steering system.

All three cars we tested used 20-inch wheels and tyres, though Australian NX Luxury models will start from an 18-inch base.

The F Sport models in Australia will use performance dampers and an adaptive variable suspension that switches between Normal and Sport+.

Don’t get us wrong; the 2022 Lexus NX cabin is a comfortable place to be, with wonderful seats that rank high up on the class leader-board and an intuitive (if busy) layout.

The new multimedia display system works better than ever before, and faster, but despite Lexus retaining some 50-plus buttons for the driver to use, it overlooked the one that would make it all so much more intuitive – something like a BMW iDrive scroller.

But the graphics are superb, the speed of the system is pretty good and the voice command system even recognises Australian accents, mostly.

The issue we have comes with the last few per cent on the NX’s chassis and suspension development, plus that coarse engine note on the 350h at the revs it regularly asks for.

It’s mostly quiet and calm on the road, though it has some road noise issues with coarse-chip road surfaces (like the ones that riddle Australia), and it’s very comfortable.

The bump absorption is excellent, by and large, and only gets better as the lumps get bigger.

The issue is that the handling compromise falls so far to the side of comfort that there’s little scope left for handling sophistication.

Its default position on hard or emergency cornering is to plough ahead with the front-end until the skid control brings it back, while the body lolls gracelessly on its springs.

But that’s not so bad in an NX, particularly as history indicates they’ll mostly be driven calmly in commuting situations.

The biggest issue is that the coarseness of the 350h hybrid’s petrol engine is brutish and not in keeping with the price tag or the Lexus badge.

And, because it’s so lacking in combustion-powered torque down low, it has to be mashed hard and often in overtaking or diving for that gap in traffic.

The electric motors chime in and out seamlessly, as they should in the fourth generation of this technology at the Mother Ship, and provide gristle where there previously wasn’t any.

While the electric motors provide plenty of torque for most low-speed needs, there will be times when you have to absolutely smash the accelerator pedal in the 2022 Lexus NX 350h to get through that gap or overtake that truck.

And then you’ll wonder why all of the NX’s sophistication has disappeared.

For a helicopter view, there’s enough economy for the NX 350h to demand a place on shopping lists, but while there’s enough cabin sophistication to justify it, there is a major lack of engine manners in pressure situations.

But everything else about the NX is a big step forward.

How much does the 2022 Lexus NX 350h AWD cost?
Price: From $75,000 estimated (plus on-road costs)
Available: January 2022
Powertrain: 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric hybrid
Output: 140kW/239Nm (electric motors: 134kW/270Nm – front; 40kW/121Nm – rear)
Combined output: 179kW
Transmission: Continuously variable automatic
Fuel: 5.9L/100km (WLTP)
CO2: 133g/km (WLTP)
Safety rating: Not tested