Lexus NX 300 F Sport AWD 2018 review

Really well. It positively zooms up the hill near my house I test all cars on and is smooth and powerful. I’m high off the road so I feel safe and there’s no question that it’s solid, but also easy to manoeuvre and park with great handling and easy steering. 

I also feel like I’m in a luxury car - more than once this week I went to use the blinker on the left hand side because I thought I was in a European car, so it was actually a pleasure to be able to blinker from the right.

I did have a bit of trouble with the visibility out the back window because my children’s car seats came up over the top of the back seats, partially blocking the back windscreen. The booster seat in particular almost took up half the height, which I thought was an issue. It’s because the actual back seat is higher than in other cars, and putting a car seat on top of them makes it all too high.

The backseat has loads of room for my two girls aged four and six. (image credit: Dean McCartney)

You can’t really complain about the car’s design. From the outside, it’s swish. The shape, the curved lines, the way the blinkers work like KITT from Knight Rider… I mean, it’s hard to go wrong here. I don’t particularly love the huge grille at the front, but it’s certainly not a deal breaker. 

Inside is just as good. The seats are particularly comfortable. I may even go as far as to say they are the most comfortable I’ve sat in, because I’ve had a twinge in my back and it didn’t become worse driving the Lexus, while it has in other cars. They’re also a lovely leather, and come with a heating and cooling feature. 

The steering wheel is leather and feels fabulous to drive with, as does the gear stick which I would never normally comment on, but this one made me feel like a professional driver. 

The steering wheel is leather and feels fabulous to drive with. (image credit: Dean McCartney)

The whole effect of the interior is luxury. I like the matt black console and the way the centre is designed. There’s one particular spot of storage that completely stumped me though - it was too small to fit anything in and the lid had a mirror on it. I couldn’t figure out what it was for and that area could have been better laid out.

There are eight airbags in the Lexus NX 300 F Sport with the driver and front passenger getting knee airbags, and side curtain airbags extending to the back seat. 

It has two ISOFIX points and three top tether points for children’s car seats which means your kids will be locked in place. It also comes standard with Auto Emergency Braking and things like pre-collision warning systems and active cruise control. It gets a five star ANCAP rating. 

With 14 speakers in the sound system, you won’t be lacking any moments where you can let loose in the car on your own and pretend you’re Beyonce (just me? I doubt it). There’s also a digital radio and a 10.3 inch multimedia screen.

Less easy to use is the mousepad which controls the screen. I found it tricky to navigate and only landed on what I needed after a few tries, which is not ideal. You can control it with the voice control system if you’d prefer, though.

The Lexus NX 300 F Sport AWD I am in this week comes in at $71,022 and is a fairly fuel efficient car for an SUV of this size, coming in at 7.9L/100km on the combined cycle.

The Lexus NX 300 F Sport AWD delivers 7.9L/100km on the combined cycle. (image credit: Dean McCartney)

It’s covered by Lexus’ four year/100,000km warranty and you'll be given a loan car during each service, or your car will be picked up and dropped off from your home or work.