10 Things To Know Before Buying A Lexus NX (New Or Used)

It's not quite the smallest SUV that the brand offers — that honor goes to the UX — but the Lexus NX is the second smallest in the range. It's a more affordable, slightly less roomy alternative to the bestselling RX, and has been offered by Lexus for around a decade now. It should feel very familiar to owners of other Lexus models, as the NX essentially offers a shrunk-down version of the interior features and exterior styling of the brand's larger crossover models.

For buyers who don't need the added room of the RX, the NX might just be the sweet spot in the range, particularly since its lower trims can be found for attractive prices. However, higher trims can really start to get costly, so it's worth considering which features are most important to you before you head to a dealership. Whether you're looking to buy a new NX or an older model year, this quick roundup should give you an overview of what you need to know before you purchase.

The NX is available for the 2025 model year with only minor changes from the outgoing car. Features like parking assist and power rear hatch are now available as standard, having previously been options for 2024. In addition, two USB Type-C ports have been added to the front console to enable faster charging for small devices like smartphones. Some older models only featured USB-A ports, which meant that many modern smartphones required an adapter to use.

Also new for 2025 is the Copper Crest exterior paint color and Macadamia interior color, although Lexus rather unhelpfully doesn't include any images of either new color option in its press material for the model. Luckily, the Copper Crest finish has been offered on the larger RX for several years now, and it was the shade that SlashGear's RX 500H F Sport Performance review car arrived in. Tap the link above for a preview of what that divisive new color option looks like.

All of the car's powertrain options are carried over from the previous model year, and the exterior styling hasn't seen any changes since the second generation NX debuted for 2022. Its interior design and tech also hasn't seen any significant updates since then.

The 2025 NX is slightly pricier than previous model years, with the base-spec NX 250 trim starting at $41,765 including destination fees. Opting for the all-wheel drive variant increases that figure to $43,590, and moving up to the Premium trim brings it to $45,515. From there, the next step up in the range is the NX 350 AWD, at $45,750, with the price further increasing through higher trims up to the not-so-catchily titled NX 350 AWD F Sport Handling, which costs $50,360.

All of the aforementioned trims are either solely gas-powered, but the NX also offers a range of hybrid variants. The cheapest is the NX 350h, which starts at $46,300, then the NX 350h Premium and NX 350h Luxury, which cost $48,225 and $52,365 respectively. The most potent powertrain on offer is the plug-in hybrid NX 450h+, which is available in a choice of two trims. The $62,415 NX 450h+ Luxury prioritizes plushness while the $63,505 NX 450h+ F Sport Handling claims to add a sportier feel — although, as discussed below, it's not all that successful at doing so.

Lexus has been offering hybrid powertrains around two decades, with its first production hybrid being the 2005 RX 400h. The 2025 NX continues the brand's tradition of offering customers a mix of gas-only and hybrid power, with four different powertrains available. The base powertrain is a naturally aspirated 2.5L four-cylinder engine making 203 horsepower. It's relatively economical for its size, with an EPA-estimated efficiency rating of 28 mpg combined. A more potent gas engine is available for buyers of the NX 350, namely a turbocharged 2.4L four-cylinder engine making 275 horsepower and achieving a combined 24 mpg.

The NX 350h adds a mild hybrid element into the mix, with a 2.5L four-cylinder engine and two electric motors. It's good for 240 combined horsepower and officially achieves 39 mpg combined. At the top of the range sits the NX 450h+, which boosts output to just north of the 300 horsepower mark and achieves 84 MPGe combined with a 37 mile all-electric range. Those figures are made possible thanks to a larger battery, electric motors, and a 2.5L four-cylinder engine.

We took the NX 450h+ F Sport Handling for a spin in 2024, but weren't entirely sold on its value for money as the top of the NX range. Its 308 combined horsepower made the SUV the fastest NX variant on paper, although it never felt particularly sporty or sharp handling. That wouldn't usually be an issue — this is, after all, a luxury subcompact SUV built for grocery getting — except it's literally in the name of the car.

Our reviewer found the all-electric range and general efficiency to be excellent, however, and often above Lexus' official estimates. At one point, they managed a highway stint of around 50 miles on all-electric power, far above the officially quoted 37 mile range. Overall mpg also hovered around 45 mpg, even without making full use of the battery.

Inside, the car was also as well-equipped and luxurious as buyers would expect at the top-spec NX's price point. It did its job of being an upscale family runabout well through our test period, but buyers shouldn't expect the levels of driver enjoyment that its name implies.

While the NX 450h+ F Sport Handling is the top-spec option that the NX has to offer for 2025, arguably the better value for money option is the NX 350h AWD. It's the cheaper of the two NX hybrid powertrains and, unlike the top-spec trim, doesn't come with a plug for external charging nor any significant all-electric range. However, its mild hybrid powertrain means that buyers don't have to make any compromises in order to receive the full benefit of its hybrid technology.

It can simply be driven as usual, without the need to think about where best to plug it in, but it will still be notably more efficient than a traditional gas-only powertrain. The 350h is also available in three different trim levels — the regular 350h, the 350h Premium, and the 350h Luxury — and so buyers get some flexibility over whether they'd like to prioritize a lower price or extra features.

No matter which trim buyers pick, every 2025 NX gets a competitive suite of safety features thanks to the inclusion of the brand's Safety System+ 3.0. This includes an adaptive cruise control system, which can accelerate and slow the vehicle to a stop in order to follow traffic ahead, plus a lane centering feature and lane departure warning. The latter goes hand in hand with the steering assist feature, which nudges the car back into its lane automatically if it detects that the driver is not paying attention.

Road sign assist is also included as standard to read speed limit signs, no entry signs, and various other common signs. An automatic emergency braking system provides drivers an extra layer of reassurance, since it's designed to detect vehicles, pedestrians, and cyclists in the road ahead, and apply the brakes if it detects that there is a risk of collision with them.

Every car will depreciate to some degree as it ages, but Lexus cars generally hold stronger resale values than many of their competitors. The NX is a strong performer in this regard, although compared to the rest of the brand's lineup, it isn't exceptional. In fact, its larger sibling, the RX, is even better at retaining value over time, and in fact is the best scoring model in Lexus' entire current lineup. The NX, in contrast, is the sixth best performer.

According to data from Kelly Blue Book, the 2024 NX — the latest model year for which the outlet has data available — should be expected to retain roughly 45% of its value after five years on the road. That's significantly higher than rivals like the Range Rover Evoque and Cadillac XT4, which should retain 35% and 34% of their original sticker price, respectively. It's even a fair amount higher than other top performing models in the segment like the Volvo XC40 and Mercedes-Benz GLB, which are forecast to retain 42% and 40% respectively.

To date, there have only been two generations of the NX. The second generation was launched for the 2022 model year, and has seen relatively few changes since then. The previous generation was unveiled in 2014 and remained in production until the 2021 model year. In some ways, it marked new territory for the brand — it was the first luxury crossover of its size to wear a Lexus badge, and featured the brand's first turbocharged engine under the hood — but in other ways it was familiar.

Much like other top-selling Lexus models at the time, the first generation was offered with both gas and hybrid powertrains, and featured a wide range of trim options and packages. The brand's wide, controversial spindle grille also adorned the front of the car, giving the NX a shared identity with the rest of the brand's crossover lineup. Whether those looks were a success is debatable, but at least it was easy to tell the original NX apart from other similarly sized crossovers.

Across its entire decade-plus run, the NX hasn't seen much variation in reliability and recalls between model years. A search of the NHTSA's recall database shows that the 2015 NX 200T has the highest number of recalls — a mere two — and the vast majority of NX models have one or zero recalls to date. Looking at owner complaints tells a similar story, with the 2019 NX 300 being the most complained about, tallying only a few dozen complaints as of this writing.

That puts the NX comfortably at the front of its segment when it comes to reliability, something that's reflected across the brand as a whole. Lexus has a long history of churning out highly reliable cars and frequently tops owner satisfaction surveys, and to date there's nothing to indicate that any model year of the NX will fall short of the reliability that buyers expect.

While there's a lot to like about the Lexus NX, it's worth noting that the segment it competes in is both a packed and fiercely fought one. Rivals include the BMW X1, which received an overhaul for the 2023 model year, and the Volvo XC40, which combines understated Swedish chic with a brand-wide reputation for reliability. Mercedes-Benz, Audi, and Alfa Romeo also all offer their own take on the luxury subcompact SUV segment, while the Cadillac XT4 is available for buyers that prefer to buy domestic.

There's also competition within Lexus' own lineup, particularly the RX, which offers more interior space and additional luxuries for a relatively small bump up in price compared to top-spec NX trims. On the other end of the spectrum, the Lexus UX starts under $40,000 and offers a choice of economical hybrid powertrains, albeit with even less interior space on offer than in the NX. There are plenty of alternative options to consider then, but the NX's charms keep it a worthy contender even with such a packed field of rivals.