New Lexus LF-NX compact crossover to be unveiled in Germany

The new Lexus LF-NX concept will be slotted in under the RX 350 in the Lexus sport utility line-up. Based on the concept's aggressive design it is clear that Lexus is tired of being called boring.

Lexus has revealed images of the concept LF-NX compact, luxury crossover. Lexus will show off the vehicle itself on September 10th in Frankfurt Germany at an auto show. The new crossover will be dramatically styled as the photo shows and it will be sportier by far than its bigger sibling the RX 350.
Compact luxury crossovers are like “Safe Ferris” t-shirts on the first day of high school – all the cool kids have one. Porsche is about to release the Macan, Mercedes has a new GLA compact sport utility vehicle and Infiniti this week showed off its new design.

This new design will come as a relief to those who saw the test mules of this vehicle, which looked a lot like a CT hybrid. Lexus calls this new look an evolution of its L-finesse design language. From the side the look is similar in ways to the Mazda CX-5. From the front it looks like a new IS350 F-Sport. The spindle grill is very pronounced. Lexus continues to make that part bigger on each new model, so it must have positive feedback from focus groups, buyers, and other interested parties.

Lexus invented the compact luxury crossover vehicle with the RX 300 in 1998. Since that time the RX has morphed into a significantly wider vehicle. It now shares its underpinnings with the Toyota Avalon and the Venza. There is clearly room for that vehicle to stretch a bit and become a 5 plus-2 seat vehicle. Lexus also has an excellent platform in the form of the RAV 4 from which to base this new LF-NX.

Unfortunately for enthusiasts, this new Lexus is to be a hybrid if rumors and the design concept are to be believed. If that is the case it will almost certainly use the new hybrid powertrain that the Lexus IS 300 h uses in Europe. That means about 225 horsepower in total. Lexus would have a great competitor for the BMW X3 335ix if it used the 3.5 liter V6 it uses in most of its models.

Overall the Lexus LF-NX concept is anything but boring. Its angular shape, pronounced fender flares and super-aggressive nose ensure that it will be considered exciting if its drivetrain walks the walk.