2015 Lexus NX200T car review
Robert Pepper’s 2015 Lexus NX200T car review with pricing, specs, ride and handling, safety, verdict and rating.
In a nutshell: The Lexus NX200T is billed as a sporting all-wheel drive crossover, and it certainly looks the part. Oh, but it isn’t sporty…
2015 Lexus NX200T Sports Luxury
PRICE : $72,500 (+ORC) WARRANTY : 4 years / 100,000 km SAFETY : 5 star (35.39 / 37, tested in 2015) ENGINE : 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder POWER : 175kW at 4800-5600 rpm TORQUE : 350Nm at 1650-4000 rpm 0-100km/h : 7.1 seconds TRANSMISSION : 6 speed automatic DRIVE : On-demand all-wheel drive ANGLES : APPROACH 16.8, DEPARTURE 24.3 BODY : 4630 mm (L); 1870 mm (W), 1630 mm (H) TURNING CIRCLE : 12.1m WEIGHT : 1860 kg SEATS : 5 TOWING : 1000kg unbraked, 750kg braked FUEL TANK : 60 litres SPARE : space saver (Full size does not fit bay) THIRST : 7.9 L/100km ADR81/02 combined cycle FUEL : 95 RON PREMIUM UNLEADED
Editor's Rating
On the outside
Room & Practicality
On the inside
Performance, ride and handling
Around town: The NX200T has enough power to move off the line smartly, has good visibility all round and lots of safety aids. The ride is supremely comfortable and makes the Camry feel like a boneshaker. While the all-wheel drive system is mostly really front-drive, it does provide extra grip over a plain two-wheel-drive vehicle. There is a reversing camera (more on that later) and excellent surround-camera system as below:
Here’s the HUD, or Heads Up Display. It can show you speed, volume control, gearshift and revs. It is genuinely useful as a safety aid in that you don’t have to take your eyes off the road to see the things you really need to know when you’re driving.
The downsides? Just one really, a large 12.1m turning circle which is about a metre too large. Not a huge problem but not great either. Overall though, the NX200T is very much in its element in the city.
Fast rural roads: Let’s dispense with Lexus’ claims first. Their website claims that the NX200T is thrilling, has exhiliratig performance, and will set your heart racing. Indeed, the NX200T has not only a Sport mode, but also a Sport Plus mode.
dirt roads: Normally when you find a comfy on-road vehicle it does well on dirt roads because pliant, flexible suspension is what you want on dirt.
Not in this case. For some reason the NX does not ride well on dirt. It also struggles to put its front-drive biased power down, with reasonably frequent and heavy intervention from stability control which deadens the throttle. I had comments from the back seat passengers about the car’s rear-end feeling loose and we weren’t even going fast. So we’re clear, it’s really a front-driver pretending to be an all-wheel-drive.
That said, the NX200T does have clearance for dirt roads and if you cruise very slowly it’s fine. But to be honest I was more impressed with the Camry on dirt roads and if this is your terrain there are far better premium SUVs on the market such as Land Rovers, the LX570, and most others.
Off-road: I doubt you will find another NX200T off-road test anywhere. And to be fair, Lexus are entirely silent on the NX’s off-road abilities so in a way it was not right to take it off-road. On the other hand…it is all-wheel drive and has a button which locks, or claims it locks the centre differential system. So, off the road we go.
Spoiler alert! The NX200T is not in any way shape or form an off-roader.
The justification: very poor axle flex, limited with indifferent traction control. As soon as the traction control starts to work the stability control cuts in and stops it being effective. It is possible to switch the stabiity control off… but it also switches traction control off and without traction control there’s insufficient suspension travel to put power to the ground. We didn’t try any slippery surface work like snow or mud, but this characistics would make the NX a poor performer on both so don’t think of it as a snow bunny. There is also limited clearance and no hill descent control system.
Towing: We didn’t tow with the NX200T and frankly, you’re not going to either because it’s rated for a mere 1000kg braked, which means you’re going to have to find the lightest of camper trailers, and even our long-termer i30 small hatch can manage 1300kg. So 1000kg is incredibly low for an all-wheel-drive SUV that weighs 1860kg. There is a towbar available but if pulling trailers is your goal, this is clearly not your car. At least the GCM is more than the sum of the GVM and max tow weight, so you can pretty much tow your 1000kg with a heavy load in your NX200T.
Quality
Pricing & Equipment
Drivetrain |
Model |
RRP* |
2WD |
Luxury |
$52,500 |
4WD |
Luxury |
$57,000 |
4WD |
F Sport |
$63,500 |
4WD |
Sports Luxury |
$72,500 |
The base model is the Luxury. I would buy the 2WD version – yes, I said that – because if you ever think you’ll take your NX to any situation that requires 4WD then you are buying the wrong car. Here’s the Luxury trim spec:
– satellite navigation
– reverse camera and parking sonar (front and rear)
– new touch-sensitive Lexus Remote Touch controller
– power rear tailgate
– drive mode select (ECO, NORMAL and SPORT)
– heated front seats with eight-way power adjustment
– LED low beam headlamps and fog lamps
– cruise control
– rain-sensing wipers
– 18-inch alloy wheels
– Smart Start
– 10-speaker audio with dual USB inputs, DAB+ and Bluetooth
– tyre pressure warning sensors
– electro-chromatic interior mirror (auto dimming)
– six-speed sequential-shift automatic transmission
– premium steering wheel
– power steering column adjust
– electric park brake, and
– Dynamic Torque Control AWD (on the all-wheel drive model).
However, if you want more kit than the base model, here’s what you get in the F Sport:
– adaptive variable suspension (with sports calibration)
– 360-degree panoramic view monitor
– four mode drive mode select (ECO, NORMAL, SPORT and SPORTS+)
– wireless induction charger for phone and mobile devices~
– blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert
– paddle shifters
– performance dampers (front and rear)
– unique exterior styling (bumpers, wheels and grille)
– unique interior styling (F Sport pedals, steering wheel, scuff plates, gear lever)
– all-LED headlamps
– 10-way power seats (cooled and heated) with driver memory function, and
– electro-chromatic exterior and interior mirrors.
Out of that lot only safety gear (in bold) is really of interest. The performance car things…again if a sporty drive is what you want, the NX is not for you. There is an interesting option pack: Pre-collision safety system, all-speed active cruise control, Lane Departure Warning, full-colour heads-up display, Mark Levinson 14-speaker premium audio, auto high beam, smart key card and moonroof. This adds some useful safety and convience gear so would definitely be worth a look.
And then we have Sports Luxury, our tester and top of the range which offers:
– leather-accented interior
– pre-collision safety system
– all-speed active cruise control
– adaptive variable suspension
– 360-degree panoramic view monitor
– four mode drive mode select (ECO, NORMAL, SPORT and SPORTS+)
– wireless induction charger (for phone and mobile devices)
– blind spot monitor with rear cross traffic alert
– performance dampers (front and rear)
– Lane Departure Warning
– full-colour heads-up display
– Mark Levinson 14-speaker premium audio
– LED headlamps with auto high beam
– electro chromatic exterior and interior mirrors
– 10-way adjustable, heated and cooled front seats with driver memory
– smart key card
– moonroof, and
– woodgrain-look ornamentation.
The safety features are again the highlight.
That said, the all NX200T range is good value because it’s a very well built vehicle with lots of useful features that offers a properly luxurious, top-end ambience. There are other SUVs of the same size for less money, but none offer the quality and ambience of the NX.
6 Comments
Here is my review on its sister model:
I had a NX300H Sports out all day today, of course I went off road with it, raced up Arthurs Seat hill climb, then attempted maximum MPG, and finally maximum EV range trial
I did not like the way [till I got use to it] it feels driving off in EV mode, the go pedal needs a good push to move and it really feels flat and like a slug, by midday when use to it all was good though.
I can report it is dust proof, climbs steep loose dirt off road hills with ease [a car would not] love the way it switches off at stops, also you cannot really tell by feel if its running electric or ICE, great engineering job done.
If you want to run on EV only you need to be gentle on the go pedal away from stops otherwise the ICE kicks in, I think it does about 1500m range on EV, the problem is on the road drivers behind would be annoyed if you try driving gentle to keep it in EV mode.
The square panel [in front of a removable mirror!] adjusts all the function is a bit figgity for mine, I would have preferred simple swipe on the screen like a cell phone
The 2nd lid in the centre console has a pad type phone charger, but falls down when you lift it?
This was a Sport edition so I think they went for a firmer suspension setting and lower profile tyre, I would go standard, I am chasing a softer ride with more comfort
I would have liked to do a more accurate mileage/fuel test but it took me to long to figure out how to drive it and navigate all the electronic display/functions, all I can say it is very very impressive on low fuel use, it did show a day average of 6l/100km esp. when you consider at times I went nuts
I did give it a real proper “good go” up Arthurs Seat, pushed it hard, was about the only time I flicked it into Sports+ setting, handled very nice and good grip for high riding SUV
Mark L stereo system is superb, as is the fit/finish quality of all interior fittings, paint, plastics etc, a real premium vehicle, low vibration and noise, smooth as…it is a LEXUS!
Highly recommended, 8.75/10
Forgot to mention, i dont like Toyotas lever of the cruise control on a stalk all its own hidden behind the steering, sure its time to fit these on the steering wheel like everybody else
I’m not aware of a ‘fold-out table’ in the NX. Any pictures?
Look in the gallery marked Armrest, as it is also an armrest.
Ah yes. Thanks!
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