No Reserve!! Mechanic Special / Clean Title / Needs Engine / Mint Cosmetic Cond! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

2022 Lexus NX Review | A solid entry for hybrid hunters

We’ve never considered the Lexus NX a leader in its segment. While a premium compact SUV promising Lexus reliability and finishes seems like a perfectly reasonable proposition on paper, the NX didnÂ’t strike us as the proper execution of that philosophy. Well, it was redesigned from the ground up (What, you couldnÂ’t tell?) for 2022 and now packs a new interior, vastly improved (but still imperfect) tech and a four-pronged powertrain offensive comprising two gasoline-only offerings alongside two hybrids. While NX models powered exclusively by gasoline are perfectly acceptable transportation devices, we wouldn't necessarily recommend them over any of their competitors. However, both hybrids offer powertrains that are not yet commonplace among small luxury SUVs. The NX 350h hybrid returns a whopping 39 mpg combined, which is exponentially better than its gas-only competitors, even if its acceleration is lacking. However, we particularly like the new NX 450h+, which largely shares its plug-in hybrid powertrain with the also-excellent Toyota RAV4 Prime. PHEVs in this space are few and far between, and with 302 horsepower and 37 miles of all-electric range, the 450h+ checks boxes most manufacturers canÂ’t even advertise; only Volvo offers a compelling alternative. Interior & Technology   |   Passenger & Cargo Space   |   Performance & Fuel Economy What it's like to drive   |   Pricing & Features   |   Crash Ratings & Safety Features What's new for 2022? While the NX may not look new, it's in fact a clean-sheet redo based new, fundamental architecture that supports expanded electrification. This innovation has spawned a new plug-in hybrid model dubbed 450h+. The PHEV offers 304 horsepower and 37 miles of all-electric range and now sits atop the NX heap, with the standard hybrid slotting beneath it wearing a “350h” badge. There's also a new base model featuring the same gas-only naturally aspirated four-cylinder as the Toyota RAV4. You can read more about all the changes in Autoblog's NX first drive review. What are the Lexus NXÂ’s interior and in-car technology like? While it may be difficult to tell the second-generation NX apart from its predecessor from a quick glance at the exterior, the same cannot be side of the cabin. The 2022 NX sports a redesigned interior bereft of the silly old touchpad infotainment interface Lexus committed to when this very model was introduced way back in 2014.

Lexus in no hurry to be a big player in China

For a while now, China's spiraling wealth, population and development has had the world's luxury automakers in an expansionist fervor, with many executives exhibiting the sort of gleefully maniacal behavior historically reserved for gold-rush prospectors. Yet Toyota, of all companies, is exercising a surprising amount of caution in the Asian nation.
As The Wall Street Journal notes, Toyota's premium brand, Lexus, sold all of 64,000 vehicles in China last year, while BMW cleared its books of 326,000. In fact, it didn't even bother entering the market until 2005, while rival Audi built its first car in the market a decade and a half earlier. Even now, Lexus doesn't build any vehicles in China, and with the country's notoriously high tariffs on imports, that's a major disadvantage. Yet the business daily quotes Lexus executive vice president Mark Templin as saying that the brand is nowhere near ready to start building cars in the market. "We're not having those discussions about when we're going to go to China... We have a lot of work to do before we get to that point."
Part of that work includes establishing a more expansive dealer network - Lexus only had 99 stores as of 2012, while rival Mercedes-Benz had over two-and-a-half times as many, and it's still expanding. Adding a lot of dealers without having a goodly number of competitively priced offerings for them to sell may seem like an odd strategy, but Templin tells the WSJ that the goal is to "cultivate our image for quality and customer service and let the customers that we have go tell that story for us."

2019 Lexus ES350 F Sport Drivers' Notes | Some F, more luxury

The 2019 Lexus ES 350 is a big step in the right direction for the Camry-sized sedan. It looks eons better than the last ES, and it has the Lexus ride and luxury to back it up. Lexus redesigned the mid-size sedan for the 2019 model year, putting it on Toyota’s TNGA platform. ItÂ’s a good place to be, as every new Toyota that has come out on this architecture is more dynamic and comfortable than the last. Lexus even went so far as to add optional adaptive shocks to the equation, which stiffens up the ride in Sport mode. Our first tester was this gorgeous, blue F Sport model, which is comparable to the one West Coast Editor James Riswick drove last year. Consumer Editor Jeremy Korzeniewski tested an ES 350 with Lexus' top Ultra Luxury package. Our blue test car came with the aforementioned adaptive suspension, but the F Sport also gains 19-inch wheels and trim-exclusive sport seats. A Sport+ driving mode is added with the adaptive suspension, as well, joining the existing Sport, Normal and Eco modes. Without options, the ES 350 F Sport is a $45,160 car. All our tester's extras brought the final price to $54,450. The most expensive addition was the Mark Levinson audio system, combined with navigation for a hefty $2,900. Blind-spot monitoring with rear cross-traffic alert costs $1,065; triple-beam LED headlights are $1,515, and the adaptive suspension is $750. A swath of unnecessary accessories balloon the price even higher, but itÂ’s still cheaper than many of the German sedans. A generously equipped car could come in right around $50,000 if youÂ’re willing to compromise on a few amenities. Editor-in-Chief Greg Migliore: IÂ’m going to zero-in on the infotainment system's touchpad, which sits to the right of the driver. ItÂ’s tricky to use, especially while driving. To be fair, I didnÂ’t spend a ton of time in this otherwise enjoyable ES 350 F Sport, but tuning the radio and toggling through the different sources (FM, XM, etc.) shouldnÂ’t require all that much education. There are redundant controls for some of the functionality, but this still isn't great. You can do a lot of things with this touchpad -- flick, zoom, scroll -- itÂ’s good in theory. But in practice, I find it annoying, and in traffic it can be distracting. There are simpler solutions that are better. Toyota has plenty of good tech hardware. The next day I drove an Avalon hybrid and had no issues with the touchscreen-operated infotainment. There was almost no adjustment period.