Review: 2022 Lexus NX 350

The all-new 2022 Lexus NX Series. Reimagined and completely redesigned, inside and out.

Review and photos by Tom Sedens. There are always more photos at the end of my reviews.

front quarter turned

 

Pricing: 2022 Lexus NX

Base price (NX 350 trim): $55,400

Options: $10,150 F SPORT Series 3 package

Freight: $2,145

A/C tax: $100

Price as tested: $67,795

side

 

Exterior

Lexus’s best-seller has a new look. Designers have taken the NX’s dynamic shapes and given them smoother, more streamlined lines and a modernized face and rear end.

It is a fresh approach, but it remains instantly recognizable, wearing the latest expression of the Lexus design language. Lighting is all LED, including the Triple-Beam headlights, the signature driving lights and the Blade Lamp tail lights.

grille

The blacked-out spindle grille combines aggressive sportiness and modern luxury, and the 20-inch black alloy wheels fill the fenders to complete the look.

I got plenty of looks in the NX – I’m sure my sample’s Ultrasonic Blue Mica 2.0 paint helped with that.

wheel

 

Interior/Tech/Convenience

The luxurious interior has a stunning asymmetrical driver-centric cockpit design and offers meticulous craftsmanship using world-class materials – beautifully textured soft-touch plastics are everywhere, complemented by aluminum and gloss black trim.

dash wide

The two-tone perforated NuLuxe sport seats are heated, ventilated and incredibly comfortable – even on the longest of road trips. Surprisingly aggressive seat bolsters keep the driver and passengers in place during the sportiest of driving.

front seats

 

Behind the race-inspired (which is silly, but that’s what Lexus says) leather-wrapped and heated steering wheel is a completely customizable digital dash, offering a wealth of information but only showing what the driver chooses to see.

digital dash

I have seen different opinions on this, but I found the flexible controls for various functions using the steering-wheel based buttons complicated. They allow you to do a lot, but they also require you to look at the heads-up display on the windshield to get your feedback and determine which function it is you want to be controlling and then to follow through with your adjustments, etc. To me, while it integrates a lot of functions into a just a few buttons, it also felt clumsy at times.

screen with CarPlay

Front and centre is a crisp and responsive (and massive!) 14-inch touchscreen that integrates navigation, phone, vehicle settings and the controls for the incredible 17-speaker Mark Levinson audio system. Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard.

The speaker grilles for the sound system get a special shout-out. The randomly perforated grilles are works of art.

speaker grille

A very cool feature is that each zone’s temperature read-out on the bottom corners of the main screen are little high-resolution screens of their own embedded inside the rotary knob that changes said temperature.

temp control screen

A gorgeous ambient lighting system elevates the interior to the next level and with its 64 colours, becomes fully customizable to suit your mood.

Safety is at the top of Lexus’s priority list – the new NX gets LSS+ 3.0, the company’s full suite of the most advanced driver assistance technologies. It all works superbly and remains completely unobtrusive during normal driving.

 

Rear Seats

Rear seat passengers travel in style as well. They get plenty of leg and head room in seats that recline, heated outboard seating, 12V and USB charging ports, adjustable air vents and an airy space thanks to the massive panoramic sunroof overhead.

rear seats

The middle seatback folds down to become an armrest with some cupholders.

rear console

 

Storage

At the front of the centre console is a tiny bin that I found virtually useless and USB-A and -C plugs. There is also a well-designed wireless charging mat, which cleverly slides forward to a) remove your phone from easily being accessed and therefore distracting you and b) expose a secret carpeted bin below with a 12V plug. I really like this feature.

wireless charging

Under the armrest lid, there’s a deep carpeted bin and there is a nice carpeted drop-down bin on the left underside of the dash. Traditionally I’d call it a change bin, but who carries change these days?

The trunk is accessed via the power liftgate – it’s nicely sized at 1328L with a high load floor, and there’s plenty of additional cargo space in underfloor compartments along with numerous useful dividers. Lexus also includes very solid tie-down points, some bag hooks and a 12V power outlet.

trunk

There are power folding buttons in the trunk to fold the second row seats down in a 60/40 split, which increases the trunk capacity enormously if needed.

 

Under the Hood and The Drive

Motivating the NX 350 is a new 2.4L turbocharged engine putting out 275HP. Paired to an 8-speed transmission and an all-wheel drive system, this powertrain is buttery smooth. Add to that the adaptive variable suspension that is constantly monitoring and adjusting to road conditions and your driving style and you have the makings of a vehicle that does it all.

engine bay

Want to take things up a notch? The NX is ready to play. With multiple drive modes to choose from, paddle shifters to change gears manually and the aforementioned variable suspension buttoning down to tackle sporty city driving and curvy mountain passes alike, the NX is equally happy in the fast lane.

drive mode selector

Those drive modes allow you to choose between Eco, Normal, Sport, Sport + and a custom mode, using a dial selector.

From its instant get-up-and-go torque and imperceptible shifts to the relaxed near-silent cruising ability at highway speeds and flawless ride and excellent handling, everything works in concert to provide a perfectly balanced driving experience.

rear badging and sky

Fuel economy for the NX 350 is rated at 10.5/8.3 L/100 km (city/highway). We averaged 11.3 L/100 km during our week in the NX, whilst driving relatively economically – so that’s not amazing. It’s not horrible either, of course, but if fuel economy is your jam, an NX with a smaller engine is available, or better yet, there are two hybrid models available, including Lexus’s first plug-in hybrid, the NX 450h+.

 

Details and Nitpicks

Interestingly, in the new NX, these go hand in hand – because they’re the same thing.

Amongst the modern touches in the NX, you’ll find new ways to open the doors. On the outside, the handles don’t move – slide your hand into the handle and you’ll feel an electronic touchpad inside – a simple pull on the pad and the door electronically unlatches and you can pull it open.

door panel detail

Likewise, the inside has a new way of opening doors. Rather than pulling levers as we have for decades, the lever-like paddle actually turns out to be an electronic push lever, that you only need to gently push out toward the outside (which feels counterintuitive) – that unlatches the door and you can push it open.

It’s kind of cool, but in some ways it feels like an answer to a question nobody asked. And in my review vehicle, it didn’t always work perfectly. The doors didn’t always automatically unlock when they were supposed to and that left passengers confused as to why their fancy new push-button unlock mechanism wasn’t working for them.

gear selector

The gear selector is also new, requiring the driver to move it to the left and then up and down to select between R and D, and there’s a button to put it into Park. Again, it’s something you get used to, but it seems unnecessary.

 

The Verdict

WAF (Wife Approval Factor) was very high. She really loved the interior and how the new NX drove, and liked the exterior more than the previous generation.

rear quarter

Lexus has reimagined the NX Series, and in the process has made an already impressive vehicle better in every way. It’s a luxurious and capable technology-laden safety vault – and as an added bonus, it’s built right here in Canada.

rear

Disclosure:  Vehicle was provided by Lexus Canada.

If you enjoyed this review, feel free to check out my other vehicle reviews under the car reviews tab at the top of my blog.

tail light

screen with podcast info

headight dark detail

front quarter

front

F Sport badge

drivers view

front dark

buttons on console