Lexus NX300 vs Lexus RX200T

What's the difference?

The Lexus NX 300h F Sport is both a comfortable and luxurious family hauler that is held back by just a few things.

Of course, gripes like the underwhelming dynamics might not be an issue for all, but the less-than-stellar fuel economy (for a hybrid, at least), disappointing practicality and fiddly multimedia will affect all potential buyers.

However, this is balanced out by loads of equipment and premium appointments for a reasonable price, which should put the Lexus NX on your shopping list if you are keen for an inner-city premium SUV cruiser.

Big, practical and comfortable, the Lexus RX 200T F-Sport deserves its place in the premium SUV pantheon. And don't let the little engine fool you, the turbocharged four-cylinder unit serves up plenty of poke to get the RX moving. But if it's fancy new technology that really excites you, prepare for mild disappointment, with the RX's in-cabin tech feeling a little underwhelming.

Lexus might have been known for drab and dowdy styling in the past, but the NX’s sharp aesthetic is head turning and attention grabbing in all the right ways.

Though the NX first hit Australian showrooms in 2014, after six years we reckon it wouldn’t look out of place strutting down a catwalk, and can easily hold its own in the design department against the likes of the Audi Q5, BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC.

From the front, you can’t miss the trademark Lexus spindle grille, which, with its trapezoidal shape, gives the illusion of a wider and more aggressive car.

The high-set, slender headlights also gives the NX a wide stance, while the sweeping daytime running lights and sharp bumper design give the impression that the NX is cutting through water.

In profile, the NX is characterised by a strong shoulder line, chiselled lower doors and narrow glasshouse, while the black plastic wheelarch cladding hints at its SUV status.

The black trim detailing on the tail-lights almost make it look like the NX has narrowing cartoon eyes from the rear, but the subtle diffuser and large bumper soften its look a little.

If you can’t tell, we dig the aesthetics of the NX, especially the subtle exterior features such as crystal-like front foglights and the unique side mirror design.

Step inside and those neat little design touches continue.

From the almost folded fabric-like design of the door trims to the soft-touch surfaces throughout, the NX’s cabin oozes luxury, class and quality.

The centre stack shape mirrors the front grille’s trapezoid shape, while all the buttons and switchgear have a nice heft and weight to them, and are laid out in an easy-to-use, ergonomic fashion.

Sure, look a bit closer and you might see some carryover items from lower-end Toyota models, such as the cruise control stalk but, be honest, if we didn’t point it out, would you have even noticed?

Angry, aggressive and very un-Lexus, with a jaw that looks like Ivan Drago somehow transformed into an SUV - that pretty much sums up the RX. 

Lexus is already on record as saying its designers had mistakenly tried to make their cars appeal to everyone in the past, and so they ended up boring and tame as a result.

Now they're happy if one person in 10 really loves them. Exactly where you sit on that scale is up to you.

Up front, that 'Spindle Grille' (shaped a little like the Predator’s mouth) serves up plenty of road presence, while the sharply angled fog-light housings and deeply domed bonnet give it a more powerful stance than perhaps is justified by its 2.0-litre engine.

Side on, the big and shining alloys, deep curve above the base of the doors and flared, squared-off wheel guards add plenty of personality to what could have (and in the past, would have) otherwise been a long and featureless stretch of metal.

Step inside and the cabin is premium-feeling, if a little busy, with the doors and dash covered in a combination of soft-touch materials and padded leather. The brushed aluminium-look central tunnel that separates the front seats is super wide, as it houses the  the cupholders, drive-mode selector and the strange mousepad that controls the entertainment system, but feels nice under the touch and becomes a kind of focal point in the cabin.

Measuring 4660mm long, 1870mm wide, 1645mm tall and with a 2600mm wheelbase, the NX puts it foot firmly into the mid-size SUV class.

Front occupants can easily get comfortable thanks to seats with a wide breadth of adjustment, while drivers also get a telescoping steering wheel that automatically raises when the car is turned off for easier ingress/egress.

Generous door bins up front will swallow large water bottles and any other paraphernalia, while two deep cupholders are found between the driver and front passengers.

If you want to tuck any items out of sight though, the glovebox and centre console bin will do the job, but there is also a hidden compartment where the driver’s touchpad palm rest.

Lift up the flap and your precious valuables can be hidden away, but look underneath the flap and it doubles as a handheld mirror to check you don’t have any food in your teeth before a date.

The outer two second-row seats offer ample room for six-foot-tall passengers, and – even with the front seats in our preferred position – there is plenty of legroom in the back.

Like most vehicles, the middle seat is a bit compromised, but in the NX it feels especially narrow and uncomfortable.

This isn’t helped by the middle seat’s seat belt, which comes down from the roof and intrudes well into the backrest of the neighbouring seat when not in use.

It makes loading the NX full of passengers tricky as there is a bit of shuffling around to get all the belts in place and passengers comfortable.

Our advice? Use the NX as a four-seater and just fold down the centre armrest, which also exposes two cupholders, for extra comfort.

Other rear seat amenities include air vents and storage pockets in the doors, the latter of which will accommodate water bottles or small items.

Open the boot and the NX will swallow 475 litres of volume, which can expand to 1520L with the rear seats folded down.

Boot space is down on its rivals, with all of the German models offering at least 550L of volume.

In real-world terms, this means the NX’s boot won’t close with a large- and medium-sized suitcase sat side-by-side, but has no problem with smaller cases.

Boot space might be lacking in the NX, but the hybrid system’s batteries have to go somewhere, and at least Lexus offers up two big bag books and tie-down points.

Australia’s laser focus on small and city-sized SUVs has been so intense that’s it’s easy to forget the joys of our bigger cars. Stretch out in the 4890mm long and 1895mm wide Lexus NX and it all comes flooding back. 

There’s plenty of space for up-front riders (even with the football pitch-sized centre console), as well as two cupholders and extendable pockets in each of the front doors. The cubby that splits the front seats is ridiculously deep, too, and is home to two USB connections, a power outlet and and aux-in point.

Step into the back seat and you’re greeted by plenty of space in each of the window seats, although the central stack that houses the air vents and another power outlet does jut out into the legroom of the middle-seat passenger. There are two bonus cupholders hidden in a pulldown divider that drops from the middle seat, and two ISOFIX attachment points, one in each window seat in the back.

Rear seats in place, the RX serves up 453 litres of luggage space, although you can stretch that to 924 litres by folding the backseats flat.

You’ll part with $86,551 for the Lexus RX 200T F-Sport - about $12k more than the non F-Sport model. And that’s not chump change. But your money does buy you 20-inch alloy wheels, proximity unlocking, LED head and tail-lights, roof rails, a powered boot and a huge powered sunroof.

In the cabin, you can expect leather seats, dual-zone air-con and push-button start, while technology is handled by a nav-equipped 12.3-inch screen that partners with a 15-speaker Mark Levinson stereo that's standard on this F-Sport-stamped model (the cheaper version makes do with a smaller screen and fewer speakers).

Propelling the Lexus NX 300h F Sport is a petrol-electric mild-hybrid powertrain, combining a 114kW/210Nm 2.5-litre naturally aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine with two electric motors – 105kW/270Nm unit for the front axle and a 50kW/139Nm unit for the rear wheels.

The total system output is measured at 147kW, which is sent to all four wheels in our test var via a continuously variable automatic transmission (CVT).

The zero-to-100km/h acceleration takes 9.2 seconds thanks to a fairly hefty 1895kg kerb weight.

There was a time not so long ago when the thought of fitting a four-cylinder, 2.0-litre engine to a near two-tonne SUV would be truly torturous.

But turbocharging has become so clever that the smallest engine in the RX range never feels underpowered. It'll serve up 175kW at 5600rpm and 350Nm at a low 1650rpm - enough to push the big Lexus from 0-100km/h in just 9.2 seconds. That power is fed through the a six-speed automatic and sent to the front wheels.

Official fuel consumption figures for the Lexus NX 300h is 5.7/ litres per 100km, though we managed a 7.6L/100km figure in our week with the car.

Our driving consisted exclusively of inner-city driving for groceries and just two trips down the freeway upon collecting and returning the car due to Melbourne’s lockdown rules.

Lexus claims a 8.1 litres per 100km on the claimed/combined cycle (though we returned a much less happy number - one that started with an 11...).

Emissions are pegged at 189g/km of CO2 on the combined cycle, and the big Lexus' 72-litre fuel tank requires 95RON fuel.

Though the Lexus NX might look sporty and dynamic from the outside, don’t be mistaken into thinking Lexus’ mid-size SUV is anything other than a comfy cruiser.

Steering remains light and lifeless in its default ‘Nomal’ drive mode, but even in ‘Sport S’ and ‘Sport S+’, weighting feels artificial and numb.

What this means is that the NX 300h F Sport is a joy to manoeuvre around town at low speeds, but is found lacking when the speedo climbs and the roads get a bit twisty.

Likewise, a stab of the throttle is met with a spike in revs and engine noise as the powertrain switches from its electric motor to internal combustion engine, but the expected thrust-burst never comes.

CVTs are generally tuned for better fuel economy, not a sporting drive, so it makes sense that the NX is a little more hesitant and lethargic to get up to speed, but the transmission does suffer from that ‘elastic’ feel where it can be slow to ‘shift up’ if it thinks you are wanting a sporty drive.

However, these shortcomings are especially evident when stacking it up next to the new Toyota RAV4 hybrid.

The NX is underpinned by Toyota’s MC platform, shared with the old RAV4, whereas the fifth-generation mid-size SUV that launched in 2019 is updated with a TNGA platform.

Much of our aforementioned criticisms in driving dynamics and snoozy drivetrain are fixed, or at least alleviated, in the latest Toyota RAV4, so here’s hoping the next-gen NX rumoured to break cover soon will be a welcomed step forward.

And while the current Lexus NX is certainly not the last world in SUV driving dynamics, it’s not trying to be.

As a daily runabout for the family, the NX is comfortable and predictable – just what some families might be after.

The suspension does a great job at soaking up road imperfections and little bumps you might find on your journey, helped by the comfy seats and great interior sound insulation.

What is noticeable though, is overcoming large bumps or any change in elevation at speed, where the NX 300h’s hefty weight means it takes just a touch longer to get settled again.

The cabin also feels a bit fussy from the driver’s seat, with the multimedia especially being fiddly and hard to navigate when on the move.

We reckon a rotary controller like those found on a BMW, or even better multimedia software as seen with a Benz, could go a long way in fixing Lexus’ multimedia woes.

Having said that, the system is compatible with Android Auto, and is laid out well on the widescreen, so you could easily forgo the annoying touchpad and janky software for a better experience.

Your love for the RX will likely depend on your priority list. Do you want the latest gadgets, a seamless multimedia interface and the kind of cool technology you can show off to your passengers?

Well, um, perhaps best keep looking, then. The in-cabin tech here feels a little off the pace now, and that cursed mouse-style controller still frustrates the bejeezus out of me.

But if a smooth, easy and quiet drive sits atop your list, then the RX 200T will grab you in all the right places.  Probably most impressive, it doesn't feel overly large and cumbersome, and is equally at home in the cramped inner city as it is eating up kays on the freeway.

The gearbox is silky-smooth seamless, switching between cogs without you even noticing, and the cabin is commendably quiet - especially when you're coasting though the ‘burbs - locking the worst of the outside word out of the cabin. The ride has clearly been engineered to iron out small, sharp road imperfections, but you can bounce around a bit in the cabin over speed bumps.

There was a time not so long ago when the thought of fitting a four-cylinder, 2.0-litre engine to a near two-tonne SUV would be truly torturous.

You can spice things up a little by selecting Sport or Sport + via the central dial and, while there’s no noticeable change in exhaust, the accelerator gets noticeably more sensitive and the gearing more aggressive; more wiling to hold a lower gear for longer, squeezing the most out of that little engine. 

It can feel a little heavy when you first brake into a corner, but beyond that the steering is smooth, predictable, and without a lot of dead-air play. It’s not a sports car by any measure, but it doesn't feel like you’re constantly dragging a big, heavy SUV around, either. 

But be warned, it’s not the most engaging of drives. This is not a car you'd ever wake up excited to run out to. It’s comfortable, capable and engaging enough, sure, but it never really stirs your emotions.

There's no shortage of cushioning safety in the RX, with 10 airbags as standard. They join a parking camera, front and rear parking sensors and rear cross-traffic alert.

Lane-departure warning and assist, blind-spot monitoring, active cruise and AEB join the list, too. All of which were enough for the Lexus RX to nab the maximum five-star crash rating when tested in Europe - a score that has since been adopted by ANCAP in Australia. 

Like all new Lexus vehicles, the NX 300h F Sport comes with a four-year/100,000km warranty, along with roadside assist over the same period. A six-year anti-corrosion is also part of the aftersales assurance package.

Scheduled service intervals are every 12 months/15,000km, whichever comes first.

The first three years/45,000km of scheduled servicing is capped at $495 for each annual service, which falls under the brand’s Encore service that also entails pickup and delivery of the NX, loan car, and wash and vacuum.

Lexus ownership also means owners will be access to exclusive events, dinners and drive days, as well as promotions from partner hotels.

Although servicing costs are relatively cheap for the first three years, Lexus’ four-year/100,000km lags behind luxury brand leaders Mercedes-Benz and Genesis, who both offer five-years/unlimited kilometre assurances.

Expect a four year/100,000km warranty, with a trip to the service centre required every 12 months or 15,000km. And when the car does have to go back for a service, Lexus has received much praise from owners for offering a choice between a loan car, or a pick-up and delivery service from your home or office.