Last Call: 2022 Lexus NX great for Compact Luxury

When it comes to getting around town and getting through life in luxury, the Lexus NX is one great way to do it simply and in style.

Standard All-Wheel Drive and easy-to-use infotainment technology help the very-compact 2022 Lexus NX stand out in luxury car category.

Starting at just over $38K US (of course, good luck finding one at that price), the NX is fully redesigned for 2022. The UX is the ‘smallest’ SUV (and a good one) in the Lexus lineup, with the NX being one size up.

I’ll say it up front, this car is cozy. So for all you Bears who come in super XL or larger, you may want to take a pass on this humble gem. It is spacious inside, yes, but even for my friends who weren’t terribly height-challenged, it became a bit of a tango to climb inside at times. 

I felt trunk space was decent. But for the class, it is a little pinched: almost 23 cubic feet with the backseats up and almost 47 cubic feet when they are down. I was able to get my baggage inside.

Parking downtown (especially parallel parking using the backup cameras) was a snap.  So – there’s that.

I tested the F-Sport trim, which is a Toyota/Lexus designation for their ultra-fast, powerful, race car-like vehicles. Mine was also a hybrid, so the engine measurements get all wonky, but it was still a lot of fun on the highway – until you see those blue and red lights. This trim ain’t cheap because it’s an F-Sport as well as a plug-in hybrid trim. 

I will admit, when I first heard of ‘compact luxury’ (Lexus introduced the concept almost two decades ago), I couldn’t really wrap my head around it.  If you need something ‘compact’, why do you need to make it luxurious?  But lo and behold, the market for it has proven to be enormous. NX is the second-best selling brand for Lexus, according to Kelly Blue Book.

We here at Bear World realize not all our readers are techies (hard to believe, I know). The Lexus NX touchscreen is 9.8 inches standard… or an optional 14-inches (it’s eye-popping, truly) and it makes navigation, weather alerts – even looking for all the remixes of Mariah Carey’s All I Want for Christmas Is You – a snap!

You can build your Lexus NX however you desire since there are so many different engine choices.  Yet to be honest, if you are looking for a simple inexpensive four-door just to get you through life, you can still get a new very basic Toyota Corolla for a little over $20K US. Hey, it was first car, and in many ways, still my first love.

As 2022 winds down, I will have a few more gems to close out the year. 

We here at Bear World hope your holidays are going along nicely.  However you celebrate.