NEW CAR REVIEW: LEXUS NX 450h:
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There’s a lot of love out there for all-new Lexus NX 450h+ Lexus’s first plug-in hybrid electric joins exciting new range of luxury SUVs
It’s never a bad move to keep the motoring media on your side – and it looks like Lexus has done just that as the reviews come in on its exciting and all-new NX 450h+. The first drives of the mid-size luxury SUV yielded a raft of high-scoring reviews and praise for the vehicle’s key qualities, in particular the performance of the plug-in system, the new multimedia platform and the core Lexus qualities of comfort and refinement. What Car? gave it a four-star review, commending it as “the best car Lexus has launched for years,” highlighting the “impressive pure electric range,” “strong performance,” and “promise of stellar reliability”. It also points out the particular appeal for company car drivers who pay benefit-in-kind tax, quoting the seven per cent rating achieved thanks to the model’s low CO2 emissions and EV driving capability. Awarding a four-out-of-five-star rating in Auto Express, James Brodie praises the Lexus as “efficient, refined, comfortable, practical (and) relaxing to drive,” noting the size of the high-voltage battery and role it plays in the NX’s “impressive” performance figures. He also highlights interior quality “as plush as you’d expect of the badge” and the “decluttered” driver’s cockpit, commenting: “It’s improvements like these that exemplify the new Lexus attitude.” In his verdict he declares the NX to be “efficient, refined, comfortable, practical, relaxing to drive”. Car magazine was equally pleased, pointing out Lexus has had “more experience making 26 | February 2022 | Company Car & Van
hybrids than just about anybody and it’s pretty much nailed the experience when it comes to daily driving.” The NX 450h+ will be “utterly painless to own,” referencing the up to 10 years warranty cover. Perhaps crucially, Parkers justified a high score for its “peerless” material inside; the Lexus “is a very nice place to sit. Running on electric can often display refinement issues – with no engine to drown out wind and road noise it becomes more prominent. That’s no issue with the NX, which remains impressively silent whether the engine’s off or on.” Glowing stuff. What they all agree upon is that the all-new NX range opens the next chapter for the Lexus brand, – and the 450h+ is a crucial part of this. Overall customers can expect a stunning new design, powertrains, connectivity, safety and convenience technologies to a car that has comprehensively improved its dynamic performance on the outgoing model. The NX also debuts a new multimedia platform that takes connectivity, information and convenience to a higher level, and benefits from
expansion of the scope and functionality of the next generation Lexus Safety System+ active safety and driver assistance systems to help guard against an even wider range of accident risks and reduce the burden on the driver. From the outside the intention has been to preserve the avant-garde character that proved so attractive to customers with the firstgeneration model while using a more sophisticated, mature and dynamic design language. The result is what Lexus has dubbed “functional beauty,” a blending of design with performance to produce styling that delivers improved aerodynamics, noise reduction and fuel efficiency. The bodywork presents contrasting curved surfaces and sharp angles, with dynamic proportions that express agility and a roadgripping look. At the front, the hallmark Lexus spindle grille plays a more integral role in the design. It has a more upright position, which helps improve airflow into the engine compartment, and dispenses with its chrome frame. Its lines flow back to accentuate the long bonnet and generate the overall form and www.companycarandvan.co.uk
