Lexus NX 350h Sports Luxury 2025 Review

The $60K-plus medium SUV segment is full of household names and the opposition is robust. In 2024, it was dominated by the Tesla Model Y, a scenario that is less likely to occur in 2025. Yet, behind it, the Toyota RAV4-based NX was a clear second.

As Mazda continues to slash the price of the CX-60, it has become the closest competition for top spot. But compared to its German rivals like the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC, the 2025 Lexus NX 350h Sports Luxury tested here is competitively priced at $79,100 plus on-road costs (ORCs).

It sits around the middle of the range, which includes petrol, turbo-petrol, petrol-electric and turbo-petrol electric powertrains with the choice of front- or all-wheel drive – the latter is an additional $4800. The monetary spectrum starts at $63,400 and rises to $133,059 plus ORCs.

The Lexus NX is covered by a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty with the traction battery attracting an eight-year/160,000km plan. Dealership visits for maintenance are every 12 months or 15,000km (whichever comes first), while the NX gains five years of capped-price servicing at $595 a pop.

For aftersales care, the Lexus Encore program is one of the best. You get three years included, which offers benefits such as discounts on travel and hotels as well as fuel. Most importantly, it also includes DriveCare, a service by which a Lexus representative will drive a loan car to your residence (and collect it) for you to use while your car is being serviced.

While it shares most of its mechanicals and platform with the Toyota RAV4, visually it’s hard to comprehend the fact it shares ‘humble’ underpinnings. Also, if you’re wondering, NX stands for ‘Nimble Crossover’.

The 2025 Lexus NX 350h Sports Luxury carries a striking, design-lead aesthetic, one that justifies its price premium. And Lexus has certainly made oversized grilles work, which is a feat not all brands can achieve.

Being a mid-to-high-spec variant, the front-wheel drive (FWD) Sports Luxury tested comes with a solid amount of kit like 20-inch alloys, auto-levelling quad-beam LED headlights with daytime running lights, LED taillights with light bar, keyless entry and start, privacy glass, powered tailgate with kick sensor and a shark fin antenna.

Inside, the entire cabin is covered in Hazel-coloured leather – even the fabric headliner is the same hue. The front seats are heated and ventilated with eight-way electronic operation and lumbar adjustment (four-way driver, two-way passenger), but only the driver gains memory settings. There’s also dual-zone climate control, electronic steering-wheel adjustment, head-up display and a digital rear-view mirror that shows live footage.

Our test car is painted in Sonic Quartz Metallic (otherwise known as white). It’s one of six optional metallic paints, each costing a rather significant $1750 if you take a shine to them. There are three no-cost colours.

Matching its luxurious, family-hauler appeal, the 2025 Lexus NX 350h Sports Luxury is packed with safety kit. As a result, it runs with a five-star ANCAP safety rating (2022).

There are a total of 10 airbags, as well as dual ISOFIX points and a trio of top-tether anchorages to secure child seats.

Active safety systems include autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian detection, active cruise control, blind-spot monitoring, lane-departure warning, lane-keeping assist, rear cross-traffic alert, safe exit assist, front and rear parking sensors, road-sign recognition and fatigue sensors.

All Lexus NX variants are fitted with this level of safety gear, but the Sports Luxury (and F Sport) add adaptive high beam assist and a panoramic view monitor – essentially a 360-degree camera with a see-through mode.

There’s a high level of integration and calibration in terms of the active safety tech. The lane keeping displays progressive intervention that won’t have you ping-ponging from line to line and the cruise control uses measured brake applications. Even the speed-sign recognition doesn’t use irritating audible warnings. Although, the quality of the reversing camera is a little low rent.

The trackpad is gone, while wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have been added. Hallelujah.

In the second generation’s last update, the maligned trackpad received its marching orders and added a 14-inch touchscreen for the infotainment. This is a feature that the 2025 Lexus NX 350h Sports Luxury benefits from, too.

There’s also an 8.0-inch digital instrument cluster but, like the Toyota-based operating system for the infotainment, it lacks some visual sophistication. Plus, it doesn’t offer customisable themes and the information presented is somewhat limited.

Other highlights of the package include a wireless charge pad, Bluetooth, native satnav, voice activation (via ‘Hey Lexus’ prompts), DAB+ digital radio, USB-A and USB-C ports as well as a 17-speaker Mark Levinson audio system.

Interestingly, the charging pad doesn’t intrude on interior storage space as it’s on a sliding tray that can retract into the dash – also revealing more USB ports. The premium sound system is top notch, packing a punch while also offering excellent acoustic clarity.

The NX can also now receive over-the-air (OTA) updates, while it comes with three years of complimentary Lexus Connected Services. The Lexus Connected smartphone app also allows access to things like vehicle status, odometer readings, range levels, trip information and the last known location of your vehicle.

Being a part of the biggest automotive manufacturer in the world has its benefits and the 2025 Lexus NX 350h Sports Luxury taps into Toyota’s decades of experience in hybrid technology.

The NX is powered by a 2.5-litre Atkinson cycle four-cylinder petrol engine that’s tied to two electric motors and a 1.6kWh lithium-ion battery pack. The traditional internal combustion engine offers 140kW and 239Nm, while the e-motor generates 134kW and 270Nm.

While Lexus doesn’t supply a combined torque figure, the overall kilowatt count comes to a healthy 179kW. That’s enough to motivate the NX to 100km/h in a respectable 8.7 seconds, but the NX never feels overtly spritely. The front axle is driven through an eCVT with stepped ratios.

EV-only driving can occur up to about 50 to 60km/h depending on the state of charge, yet you must be super gentle with the throttle as to not fire up the petrol engine. The transition between the powertrains is seamless no matter if they’re operating solo or combined.

The eCVT has both positives and negatives. On one hand it adds to the smooth nature, but if you require added engine performance for hills or an overtake, the transmission demands revs high for a consistent period. In return, refinement takes a hit and the 2.5-litre petrol engine becomes quite audible.

There’s no need to carry cables, fit an at-home wallbox charger or endlessly search for a working charge station. These are all valid reasons for choosing a series hybrid over a full EV.

It’s important to remember that the 2025 Lexus NX 350h Sports Luxury is ‘only’ packing a 1.6kWh lithium-ion battery pack. So, pure EV range is very limited. However, the fact it can run on the e-motor alone aids fuel consumption, with the official claim coming in at 5.0L/100km – not bad for a 1.8-tonne SUV.

In the real world over a week of testing we couldn’t match that figure. However, we still achieved a very respectable 5.9L/100km to beat the 6.6L/100km marker we achieved with the Toyota RAV4 and Hyundai Tucson Hybrid.

You can sometimes hear the petrol engine charging up the battery pack, while the hybrid system also uses regenerative braking to aid the process further. The NX 350h requires 95 RON unleaded petrol and has a 55-litre tank.

While the 2025 Lexus NX 350h Sports Luxury uses the same GA-K platform as the Toyota RAV4, it has its own distinct personality in terms of its dynamic package.

Lexus has infused extra sound deadening, resulting in the NX being significantly more hushed, isolating the cabin from wind and tyre roar impressively. The kerb weight has increased, but without adversely impacting the dynamic package. For what it is, the NX 350h Sports Luxury handles well enough, with body roll and unwanted float largely kept in check.

In terms of ride quality, the Sports Luxury is absorbing to a point. It never reaches waft levels of comfort, but the fully independent suspension works with the surface underneath better at speed. The large 20-inch alloys and run-flat Bridgestone tyres count against it when fighting pockmarked city streets.

The experience never becomes uncomfortable, but there is a slight firmness you might not expect. At this price point, it would be nice to see the adaptive dampers you get with the F Sport fitted as standard in the Sports Luxury to further bolster its underlying cosseting nature.

With the elevated driving position, the NX is easy to place on the road and the steering is nice and light to twirl around car parks and roundabouts. No matter what drive mode you select (Eco, Normal or Sport), the feedback remains numb. Switching to Sport mode merely adds synthetic weight, not tactility.

Despite all-wheel drive being offered, whether it’s worth spending the extra $4800 is questionable. The Bridgestone rubber provides ample grip and, even with the combined Newton count, the front axle isn’t overpowered with slip or torque steer. Overall, there’s a real fit-for-purpose nature to the NX 350h Sports Luxury.

If this is a priority for you, then there are myriad other models under the brand’s umbrella (including Toyota) which are better suited than the 2025 Lexus NX 350h Sports Luxury.

You won’t find any off-road modes in this variant – or all-wheel-drive traction. It has 190mm of ground clearance, an approach angle of 16 degrees and a departure angle of 25 degrees. Although, there’s no spare tyre and the braked towing capacity is 1000kg.

So, the 2025 Lexus NX 350h Sports Luxury is based off the Toyota RAV4, right? You’d never be able to guess when you slide behind the wheel. While the donor car might focus on convenience for the masses, the NX is very much aimed at a well-heeled buyer.

The ‘Tazuna’ themed interior is sleek to look at with its ‘Sumi Black Ornamentation’ and it’s also pleasing to touch courtesy of its genuine cowhide. The mood lighting adds ambience while quality in general is to Lexus standards. Ergonomics are sound, with the climate controls always being present within the central touchscreen display.

It’s certainly nice to see physical dials for temperature and volume adjustment but the touch-sensitive buttons on the multi-function steering wheel are another win. With no markings, they’re dual purpose and can switch between cruise control and trip computer manipulation. The E-latch doors (Lexus-speak for electronically operated door latches) are nice to use and have a fail-safe manual redundancy.

However, we had some issues with the keyless entry as the NX often thought it detected the key fob inside the car when it wasn’t, resulting in a loud warning. It turned out easier to simply use the key to lock the car. The wireless Apple CarPlay also dropped out on a few occasions – but reconnected instantly.

Space in the back seat is pretty generous with enough toe and legroom, while not having a sunroof further expands headroom. The backrests recline, but the lever to do it is the same one used to fold the seat forward. Amenities are taken care of via rear air vents, USB ports and a 12V outlet, door bins and a central arm rest with cup holders.

Cargo capacity in five-seat mode is 520 litres, which expands to 1114L with the 60/40-split folding rear pews stowed. It creates a large load bay and while there’s no spare wheel, an extra storage area for valuables hides under the boot floor. There are handy D-hooks, coat hooks, a collapsible cover and a 12V outlet.

If you’re in the market for a medium SUV with a dose of indulgence and opulence, then the 2025 Lexus NX 350h Sports Luxury makes a lot of sense. It stacks up well in terms of price too, while remaining well rounded in the areas premium buyers look for.

The Sports Luxury grade in FWD guise also presents as one of the best mixes of powertrain and specification in the NX line-up. It strikes the right balance between being left wanting for little without paying for what you don’t need. And the strong aftersales care with the Encore program can’t be overlooked.

While the NX is racking up the sales, BMW’s latest generation X3 proves strong competition. The entry-level 20 xDrive variant is packed with even more value and technology than before, while retaining its frugal turbo-petrol powertrain.

Ultimately, this upmarket medium SUV should boast about its popularity and lack of RAV4 similarity. With its mix of luxury, practicality, aftersales care and a reputation for reliability, the Lexus NX 350h Sports Luxury is easy to recommend.

2025 Lexus NX 350h Sports Luxury FWD at a glance:
Price:?$79,100 (plus on-road costs)
Available:?Now
Powertrain:?2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric
Output:?140kW/239Nm engine; 134kW/270Nm e-motor
Combined:?179kW
Transmission:?Continuously variable
Fuel:?5.0L/100km (ADR combined)
CO2:?113g/km (ADR combined)
Safety rating:?Five stars (ANCAP 2022)

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