Lexus Manila Launches The Striking Lexus NX

Lexus, Toyota’s luxury brand, used to be known as a brand devoid of anything that is exciting. A polar opposite from its German rivals. Fast forward to today, and that isn’t entirely the case anymore. With the majority of its product portfolio now completely isolated from any mainstream Toyota on sale, excluding the LX and GX luxury SUVs, Lexus has been gaining attention ever since, a trend first started by the introduction of the LFA supercar. A promise that whatever lessons they learned when building the LFA, it will also trickle down to its more mainstream models, and just as we have witnessed with the Lexus IS, it seems that the Lexus brand is a now a polar opposite of what it used to be, and with the arrival of the Lexus NX, this should further bring interest to the Lexus brand.

Designed under the theme of “Premium Urban Sports Gear”, the Lexus NX promises to be an exciting luxury crossover that feels like it is perfectly tailored to the driver’s needs. This development theme has resulted in very unusual and bold design statements in the vehicle. The  trademark “spindle grille” is bolder than ever, and the LED headlamps with its L-shaped motif is a further testament to NX’s exciting development theme.

Inside, the “Premium Urban Sports Gear” theme continues. There is an angular center stack, wrapped in exquisite metal, and replacing the mouse-like control of the Lexus Remote Touch Interface is a new laptop-style touchpad. Still a rarity in the luxury segment, the Lexus NX comes standard with turn-by-turn navigation, with navigation guidance also being displayed in the LCD screen between the gauges. Another piece of technology that should please the NX’s target market, a younger demographic, include a segment first wireless charging pad.

Propelling this boldly-styled SUV forward is a hybrid powertrain, which consists of a 2.5 liter atkinson cycle petrol engine and 2 electric motors powering the front and rear wheels. The 2.5 liter atkinson cycle engine produces 153 hp and 210 Nm of torque, while the combined output of the two electric motors is 194 hp. Lexus Manila will be selling the NX 300h first, while the NX 200t, including the F Sport model, will be sold at a future date.

Because the JPEPA only covers Japanese-made vehicles with a 3.0 liter or larger engine size, the Lexus NX’s SRP is slightly higher than expected at P3,908,000, in which it is slightly higher priced than its even bigger sibling, the Lexus RX 350 at P3,898,000. One thing is for sure though. While the RX makes up for space, the NX makes up for its hybrid powertrain and sophisticated styling.