Consumer Reports Opinion of 2016 Lexus NX 200t Crossover Improves

The independent car rating group gives the NX 200t both a “Recommended” and also “Worst Pick” Rating.

We were surprised last fall when Consumer Reports (CR) singled out one of the top sellers in the hot compact luxury crossover market, the Lexus NX 200t, as a Worst Pick. Lexus is the most reliable brand in Consumer Reports' 2016 listing of brands by customer survey results and has been at the top of the list since, well pretty much forever. So we looked deeper and saw that the fall report was not actually an overall objective ranking of the NX 200t, but one tester’s opinion of the crossover after a test drive. If the NX 200t was a flop in the marketplace, we would have just ignored it, but it is the second leading seller in a very crowded and very large segment only one year into its design.

Today, Consumer Reports released its 2016 “Owner’s Manual For New Car Shopping” with updated information on important models. In the new 2016 guide, Consumer Reports shows the NX 200t as the most reliable crossover in its class with a reliability score of 74. Its icon for reliability is the full red circle (the highest). CR calls the NX 200t’s reliability “Excellent” based on actual results of the customer survey, and predicts that its reliability going forward in the new model year will be “Much Better Than Average.” It also gives the model a “Recommended” rating.

The CR approvals of the Lexus NX 200t don’t end there. They also go on to list as the crossover’s highs, “Fuel economy, handling, maneuverability, and IIHS crash-test results (Top Safety Pick Plus)...” Among its lows, the group lists, “Tight quarters, visibility, fussy touchpad controller.”

Read What We Said After Trying the NX 200t

Be your own judge of the Lexus NX 200t, but check out what other groups say about it too. No vehicle is for everyone. You can read CR’s tester’s negative opinion here, at its public space. But to see all the good stuff the group also says about it, you have to have a subscription to the on-line site or buy the magazine old-school at a news stand. If there are still news stands.