Now every once in a while you come across a car that's so inherently cool that it makes
you want to channel your inner Tom Cruise, case in point this, the new Lexus NX.
I mean look at it. If this doesn't turn heads, I don't know what will because
in my opinion, this baby is the sexiest SUV you can buy under a crore.
You know, there's just so much to talk about the Lexus NX but sadly, I only have
about three and a half hours more to spend with the car because this is a bit of a first drive.
So I'm just gonna gloss over some things that really stand out to me and it is a Lexus so you
can expect a whole bunch of little details like for example a little cornering light,
that separate element there or the new grille, which is even bigger, even nicer, but it doesn't
feel ostentatious anymore, it doesn't feel in your face, maybe it's because there's no chrome on it,
which is a nice touch, it looks sportier, or the fact that 20-inch wheels come as standard
on every single variant you buy, the biggest in its class, or the fact that the LED headlamps
are just inherently cool or just because it works as a design. Now the first gen NX was a
interesting looking car but a bit of a hit or miss. This thing just hits hits hits. Strange,
isn't it? Till recently all of us thought that the Lexus design language was a bit off especially
because of that big grille, but now I can safely say that it looks futuristic and dare I say it,
it looks proportional and then we get to my favourite part of the whole car which is the
rear end, now I could make references to a certain ex-Mrs. Kanye West or a possible future Mrs. Pete
Davidson, but what this really looks like to me is a sumo wrestler about to take charge.
Now this is crucial because you can have as cool an exterior as you want, which Lexus has always
had but then you can completely mess up the interior, which Lexus used to do in the past
with its absolutely horrible infotainment systems. Quality obviously was awesome, this stuff here was
rubbish. Now look at it, look at Lexus come into its own, a 14-inch touchscreen, 14-inches, that's
large and of course it's super, super smooth, you've got everything where you need to be
and it's all thoughtfully done as well. So for example, the phone can go on the little
charging tray here, but then you can actually put it inside, so you can have a little cubby hole in
the bottom, thoughtful stuff and obviously, the quality of it all, I mean, come on,
this is benchmark setting in this segment. This is benchmark setting in a segment above, it's all
just so nicely put together and it's still a Lexus, it's still Japanese, so it's still
all geeky like it is supposed to be. But this is a nice, no, this is a damn good place to be in.
Well done Lexus, you finally heard all our prayers and cries. And if you're wondering about the
rear seat, there is enough and more space here and the seats in particular are so nice and so plush.
This feels more comfy in the back, as compared to the Germans,
for sure. Our SUV's engines on the go a lot of stress both in city driving and on tough terrains,
particularly during warm up in stop-start traffic and of course while carrying heavy
loads. Ordinary car oils may not be enough for your SUV and that is why we recommend
fully-synthetic Castrol Magnatec SUV for non-stop protection.
Now, as I've already mentioned, we have only about three and a half or four hours with the
new NX today, so this is more of an experiential first drive, it's not a full fledged review of
the car, we'll have one soon, with a lot more impetus on say city manners because these are
used a lot in urban environments. But let me talk about that Lexus buyer first.
He/she or they want one of two things, they want comfort and obviously they want to stand
out from the crowd because they want to do things differently and that's why they're not considering
a Mercedes-Benz, a BMW or an Audi or even a Range Rover, they're considering one of these.
Now comfort, let me talk about that. This is a comfortable car. Now again, we've only driven it
over rural roads and either it's really smooth tarmac or it's completely non-existent tarmac,
but on both those surfaces, it actually handles itself pretty well and that is despite the fact
that it's running on big gigantic, very rapperish, 20-inch alloy wheels and it's running on run-flat
tyres, yeah, these aren't tubeless, they run a flat and they've got stiffened sidewalls, so they
aren't supposed to be comfy, but they are, the car is, the seats are, suspension setup is you know,
that this is a Lexus when you drive it because they don't really care if it goes 0 to 100 really
fast, which incidentally, it actually does. I mean, the 2.5-litre hybrid actually does have 20%
more power and torque, and it's still a little bit more fuel efficient,
Japanese engineering for you guys, and in EV mode, which is the party trick of this car,
it's actually going about its business really silently and quietly and nobody knows if you
come and go. I really wonder why the competition hasn't caught up to the hybrid tech yet, because
in this segment, with this price point, people need to stand out from their friends and peers.
Frankly, seeing how much you can keep this on pure electric mode is the real trick to having fun in
this car, as a tech showcase then, this is par excellence. So let me sum up the Lexus NX in five
short lines. One, this thing looks really, really, really cool, to the point where it might make
some people jealous. Two, this thing has the best interior in its class, in my opinion by a margin,
mainly because they've gone a big step above what the last generation car was. Three, this thing
is incredibly cool, because it's a hybrid and you can sort of boast that to your friends saying, oh,
I'm doing so much more for the environment because I care and my car can run on full electric power,
that's a plus point for a lot of people. Four, this thing is incredibly, incredibly comfortable.
Your family will love you for buying this because they don't want a car that handles,
point naught second faster than something else or is 2.2 Gs, it can't be 2.2 Gs,
but you get the drift, right? And five, I really like this car.
That doesn't happen often.
Dear Lexus, could I have a long termer please, maybe for six months?