The Lexus NX has already been featured in this section this year. At the time, however, it was still the old model, today it is the turn of the all-new NX. The first profit is already made in the color area!
Lexus NX350h 2WD – €60,390
The most basic new Lexus NX out there is finished in the ‘Madder Red’ of the example we drove in October. This actually made the cameraman on duty really ‘mad’, because cameramen don’t like red. However, the undersigned does, and it shows some nerve to make such a color the default option in this segment. Now there is also good news for the more conservative Lexus buyer: simple black does not cost a cent extra.
The funny thing is that Lexus offers exactly the same ‘free’ color options for the interior. The fabric-covered seats in both cases can therefore be supplied in either black or red. This creates the opportunity to top off the moody black of the outside with a daring interior, but also to go for a quite eccentric NX with a red inside and outside.
Certainly with a red NX, probably no one will realize that you have gone for the basic version. Lexus provides neat-looking 18-inch alloy and provides the side window with a chrome frame. It is clear that the car does not have the most advanced headlights. It is true that these are LED copies, but still with clearly visible light bulbs for the direction indicators. That is not very modern.
This Lexus is of course also a real hybrid. It concerns the front-wheel drive version of the NX350h, which with 242 hp is somewhat more powerful than its predecessor and the technically very similar Toyota RAV4. The new plug-in hybrid NX450h+ has a considerably higher starting price at €73,890, but then you also immediately go two steps higher on the equipment ladder. The unnamed standard version and the subsequent Comfort Line are only available as NX350h with front-wheel drive. From the Launch Edition, that powertrain is no longer an option, and there is a choice of the four-wheel drive NX350h AWD or the aforementioned NX450h+ AWD.
Back to the interior. We sit here not only on fabric, but also on manually adjustable seats. That is somewhat unusual, but the dashboard looks quite complete. The central touchscreen is admittedly a bit smaller than with more expensive versions, but it may still be there at 9.8 inches. The difference has been scraped off the sides, resulting in a larger black border on either side. We also note climate control with two zones, a reversing camera, an audio system with 10 speakers, adaptive cruise control, paddle shifters and a lane assistant as highlights.
What we miss is only really noticeable when we look at the more luxurious Comfort Line. It not only has electrically adjustable seats with artificial leather and heating, but also mood lighting, silver-colored interior inlay, keyless entry, a blind spot sensor and parking sensors all around. All this is not standard, so the choice for a Comfort Line has been made as far as we are concerned. That costs a bit, by the way: €65,890.
– Thanks for information from Autoweek.nl