Lexus NX 200t F Sport TONED, BUT NOT EXACTLY BUFF.

IT WOULD BE EASY TO EYE A LEXUS crossover and assume it’s a country-club cream puff with a core as soft as its leather seats. But that’s Old Lexus. New Lexus is defined by the IS and GS and the upcoming RC coupe and the turbocharged 2015 Lexus NX 200t shares a little of its soul with those deft models.

Ah, but it shares a platform with the worka day Toyota RAV4 crossover. Luckily, so much has been upgraded, strengthened, or modified that the two vehicles don’t feel related. The suspension geometry is the same, but some of the mounts and links have been retooled for stiffness and more accurate tolerances. All this fussing is evident on a twisty road.

Lexus NX 200t  F Sport

Since you’re reading this magazine, it’s a safe assumption that the F Sport is the model you’re interested in. Don’t go grabbing your helmet and heading toward Laguna Seca, though. The transformation is nowhere near as dramatic as the IS 350 F Sport’s the NX is missing that car’s sophisticated adaptive dampers. Still, its firmer suspension, meatier steering, and innovative strut tower braces (which include a damper to act as a noise and harshness suppressor) do improve every aspect of the base NX’s handling.

The NX 200t uses Lexus’s first ever turbocharged engine a new 2.0-liter four that generates 235 hp and 258 lb-ft of torque.

As is currently in fashion, the ex haust manifold and cylinder head are cast as one piece. This engine also uses Lexus’s clumsily named “Variable Valve Timing with intelligence” system, which gives a greater range of intake-cam phasing but is Neither intelligent nor wise enough to completely mask turbo lag off the line. Lexus says the torque plateau begins as low as 1650 rpm, but you won’t see boost that low in the real world. Happily, once you’re hustling along a good road, the craving for more zest under the hood subsides.

The NX 200t feels more youthful than any other Lexus crossover, partly because you won’t find dark, glossy wood trim on nearly every surface. The car instead looks and feels like an IS sedan clean and modern. Lexus also redesigned its Remote Touch infotainment interface, re-placing the old mouse-like controller with a touchpad that operates like a smartphone, al-lowing you to pinch and zoom quickly. We dig it.

Slide into the back, and the slick power folding seats have a full inch less legroom than in the RAV4. Cargo capacity is sliced by more than half, thanks to the Lexus’s sleeker roofline. At 17.7 cubic feet, this is a far less capacious crossover than vehicles like the BMW X3 and Audi Q5. The NX’s compromised cargo capacity is the same as the Porsche Macan’s, even if its back-road moves aren’t.

The new small Lexus may not be a Porsche, but it certainly is a New Lexus.

PRICE $38,000 (est)
POWERTRAIN
2.0-liter I-4, 235
hp, 258 lb-ft; FWD,
6-speed automatic
WEIGHT 3940 lb
TOP SPEED 124 mph
ON SALE Now