Fun in a Lexus

What we like:

Sporty drive

aggressive good looks yet retains the smoothness and pampering comfort you'd expect from Lexus

What we dislike:

Ride is a little firm in F SPORT guise

The big thing about the NX aside from the new looks is the engine. As the name suggests, the NX Turbo comes equipped with a 2.0l turbocharged inline 4 engine. It's a first for Lexus; previously the smallest engine you could get from Lexus would be a 2.5l V6.

Part of the Lexus charm was the smooth and linear power delivery from large, naturally aspirated V6 or V8 engines. With a turbocharger, the instantaneous low-rev kick would appear to change that. And in case you think I'm going to say that it doesn’t, well it most certainly does. This blown 4 pot behaves like most modern 2.0l turbos do; it has little turbo lag and gives you plenty of shove from not very many RPMs at all.

Except in this case the NX, just like any Lexus, is so well insulated and rides so smoothly that you don't notice the speed until you look at the speedometer. You'll really only feel the shove if you're looking for it, or if you floor the accelerator. If you're just going about your business, you'll find that 234 bhp and 350 Nm move the car along quite willingly and without the sudden jolts that you might expect from a turbocharged car.

The six speed automatic gearbox does its job well enough; although these days anything short of eight forward gears is really not up to scratch. It's also not particularly fast or responsive, but when you engage manual mode it will suffice for a little spirited fun.

As far as ride quality goes, being in F SPORT guise with the constantly adapting adaptive dampers it isn't the most comfortable Lexus around. That said the ride is mostly firm but still plenty smooth and the NX absorbs most of the surface imperfections of the road. It reminds me somewhat of a 5 Series – sporty and firm but still comfortable enough on long trips. Otherwise the cabin is nearly silent, with almost no tyre noise or wind noise even at higher speeds.

Start chucking it into corners though and your jaw will drop in astonishment that you're, in fact, driving a Lexus. Because the ride quality is closer to the RC than the ES, it handles corners quickly and without hesitation with plenty of grip from the all-wheel drive system. There's little body roll and the car stays composed throughout even the tightest bends. Steering is also decently weighted and gives you some amount of feel to make it fairly organic. It's no Porsche Macan, but it's certainly better than quite a few sedans out there.

It's a Lexus with an engine sound generator and stiffer suspension that our esteemed founding father would have tolerated I suspect. But for the younger generation of country leaders, I think this might just be the car to get away from the stresses of running a bustling international hub with enough fun to drive those worries into oblivion.

Credits: Story and Photos by Alvan Sio