It is a well-done compact crossover. . .
By Gary S. Vasilash
It has a 2.4-liter four-cylinder engine that produces 275 hp.
It has an eight-speed automatic transmission.
It has all-wheel drive.
It has aluminum pedals and an aluminum scuff plate.
It has bolstered driver and passenger seats.
It can tow up to 2,000 pounds (when appropriately setup).
It has LED lamps, fore and aft.
It has a 14-inch touchscreen, with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto.
It has a head-up display.
It has 20-inch alloy wheels.
It has a panoramic glass roof.
It has adaptive variable suspension and performance dampers.
It has features like these that are fairly common to other compact crossovers.
It is a Lexus NX 350, which makes it somewhat different from other compact crossovers.
It is built on the Toyota TNGA-K platform.
It shares that platform with the Toyota RAV4.
It is not simply a RAV4 with better accoutrements.
It is different in terms of overall execution, inside and out.
It is a stylish, fashionable vehicle as the RAV4 has become a truckier vehicle.
It stands out with its sheet metal in a good way, one that telegraphs that this is not just one of many in the category.
It has an odd interior door opening mechanism.
It looks like this in the closed position.
It is activated by doing this—twice.
It is something that someone with large fingers might find difficult.
It is something that someone with long fingernails is not going to like at all.
It is a small thing.
It is a small thing that people use every day, often multiple times per day.
It is not good ergonomics.
It is echoed, in a way, by a comparatively diminutive volume knob for the impressive Mark Levinson audio system.
It can be contrasted with the excellent knobs (driver and front passenger) that are used to adjust interior temperature.
It has all-speed dynamic radar cruise control, lane tracing assist, lane departure alert with steering assist, road sign assist, and other tech.
It warns you of cross traffic.
It is pleasant to drive—quiet, confident.
It has an MSRP of $49,335 but with the addition of the sporty F SPORT package ($2,865) and other options, adding in the delivery, processing and handling fee, it has a total, in this instance, of $59,505.
It has metal pedals, indicating some sportiness.
It is assembled in Fukuoka, Japan.
It is likely to be more expensive with the 15% tariff on Japan-built vehicles.
It is worth considering, depending on the size of your fingers.
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