NX

Overview

The NX makes its argument the way Lexus always has: not with peak power but with the absence of friction. The 2.5-litre hybrid system in this listing combines engine and motors for 190 bhp and returns a claimed 20 kmpl from a two-tonne SUV, refuelling at a petrol pump and charging nowhere, and the e-CVT is tuned so that the transition between the three power sources is genuinely unnoticeable from the driver’s seat.

The cabin is where the money lives, and it is spent on quiet. Double-glazed side glass, sound-absorbing materials through the floor and bulkheads, and seats built for long distances make the NX one of the most isolated cars on this list at 110 km/h, and the 545-litre boot and wide rear bench make it a credible tourer for four. Fit and finish is exemplary in the specific, over-engineered way the marque does best: paint depth, panel gaps, the weight of a switch.

Against the German alternatives it loses on image, on infotainment and on the simple drama of acceleration; 190 bhp in a near-1900 kg body is effortless in a linear way rather than urgent, and the touchscreen logic will never be the reason you buy it. What it offers instead is the least stressful ownership proposition in this group, from the dealer experience back, and ten airbags plus the full Lexus Safety System+ fitted as standard to every variant.

• Self-charging hybrid with claimed 20 kmpl
• Ten airbags and Lexus Safety System+ standard
• 545-litre boot in a near-silent cabin