If you want a car that turns heads and really doesn’t look quite like any other car, then the Lexus NX 200t is the car for you. Now, when someone says that a car doesn’t look like any other and turns heads, it pays to ask a few more questions. You have to make sure that the car is turning heads because it looks good, not because it looks ugly or peculiar.  After all, there have been some right doozies churned out over the years.

However, we are pleased to let you know that the Lexus NX 200t is quite a good looking vehicle.  From the side, it looks like a reasonable example of what it is – a rather sporty crossover vehicle with a good amount of ground clearance and a sporty body shape (the Lexus NX 200t is technically a five-door station wagon, although you have to look twice to see this).  From the front, however, the design team have pulled out the stops.  Maybe somebody finally got the message that we don’t want to see cars that are good to drive but look excruciatingly boring.  That front end is extremely distinctive – sharp lines that angle in to give it a sense of purpose and aggression; narrow angular headlights that look like the head of a particularly vicious arrow, echoed by the LED fog lights.  As you look more closely at the vehicle, you see more little sculptural details that very subtly enhance the sharp, almost weapon-like design.  The official Lexus publications say that “diamond” is the name of the game, but for some reason, it left me thinking “Ninja”.  They also apparently looked to designer labels and even running shoes for inspiration – although you won’t “see” the running shoes in the vehicle design until you are told about it. Quite frankly, as a work of art, the Lexus NX 200t is more interesting, thought-provoking and attractive than some of the council-funded public artworks I’ve seen on display on parks – it certainly offers more value for money.  No wonder the Lexus NX 200t impressed the crowds when it was unveiled at the Beijing Motor Show.

Statues and other sculptures are not designed to move (much) or go anywhere. However, a car is.  The Lexus NX 200t certainly does get around on those 18-inch wheels.  And no wonder, powered as it is by a 2-litre 16-valve turbocharged petrol unit with intercooling. This unit is capable of putting out 175 kW of power in the 4800–5600 rpm range and 350 Nm of torque throughout 1650–4000 rpm.  The fuel economy in the Lexus NX 200t isn’t bad either, with 7.7 L/100 km for the 2WD variant and 7.9 L/100 km for the AWD.  Both the four-paw and the two-wheel-drive version are hooked up to 6-speed automatic transmission.  Handling inside the Lexus NX 200t is assisted by the Macpherson struts with lower arm suspension on the front and trailing arm with double wishbone suspension on the back.

Three trim levels are available for the Lexus NX 200t: Luxury, F-Sport and Sports Luxury.  Needless to say, these are all highly appealing and I, for one, would be rather hard put to choose among them.  All of them have excellent active safety features in the form of traction control, stability control, EBD, ABS brakes, front and rear parking sensors, LED daytime running lights and hill start assist.  All of them have smart key entry, push-button starting, easy opening power back door, dual-zone climate control, paddle shifters mounted on the steering wheel, heated seats, sat-nav, Bluetooth prep, a 4.2-inch LCD colour display and rain-sensing wipers.

Out of the three, my pick of the bunch would be the Sports Luxury variant (I wouldn’t be alone here, as this is the top of the range one).  This throws in a blind spot monitor, lane departure warning, adaptive variable suspension, a panoramic rear view camera, 10-way electrically adjustable leather accented driver and front passenger seats (cooled and ventilated as well as heatable), a 14-speaker audio system with USB and iPod input, a wireless charger, a moonroof, a colour head-up display, the pre-collision braking system and performance dampers.   The F-Sport variant of the Lexus NX 200t also has the blind spot monitor, the panoramic rear view camera, the adaptive variable suspension, the cooled ventilated heatable 10-way adjustable leather-accented front seats, the performance dampers and the wireless charger. The F-Sport also throws in a Boost Meter and G Sensor (only on the Lexus NX 200t and no other NX out there).  The Luxury is still pretty good and I certainly wouldn’t say no to it!

The variant of Lexus NX 200t that you prefer will dictate the colour choices, as the Luxury and Luxury Sport variants have 10 colours available, whereas the F-Sport only has eight.  Each variant has a distinct wheel style; in my opinion, the F-Sport’s looks the nicest.  All of the colours are applied via scratch resistant and self-restoring paint – now, that’s clever!

The Lexus NX 200t will be arriving in Australia in early 2015.

Current model series include:

• Lexus NX 200t Luxury
• Lexus NX 200t F-Sport
• Lexus NX 200t Sports Luxury

For any more information on the Lexus NX 200t, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181. If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quotes requests out to our national network of Lexus dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. Private Fleet – car buying made easy!