Lexus NX SUV offers up a little bit of luxury, zest

 Mark Glover’s AutoGlo car reviews also can be seen in the Northern & Central California Cruisin’ News magazine published monthly out of Folsom, California.

Sacramento, California -- A little bit of Lexus goes a long way, especially in the luxury compact sport-utility vehicle wearing the NX label.

My tester was the 2021 Lexus NX 300 F Sport, and I thoroughly enjoyed every minute I had in the vehicle.  That was certainly helped along by a smooth, quiet cruising mode; a wealth of customer-pleasing comfort/convenience features and an F Sport package that added the right amount of zest to what otherwise might have been the typical crossover SUV experience.

The NX grabs attention with the now-familiar, monster-size grille, an aggressive feature that stands out from the otherwise smooth, aerodynamic shape of the vehicle.

Nice options included the heated/ventilated front seats, a power rear door with kick sensor, a power tilt/slide moonroof and a premium Mark Levinson audio system. Beyond-the-norm extras included Intuitive Parking Assist -- a most handy feature in tight parking lots with low-lying obstacles -- and triple-beam LED headlamps.

With the extras, the bottom line on the sticker was pushed to $50,215.

I was somewhat surprised to see other NX reviewers knock the "underpowered" drivetrains, because that was not my experience at all.  The 2-liter turbo-4 rated at 225 horsepower handled all the test driving chores I threw at it, and my ride easily snapped out of harm's way when asked.

The tester handled flawlessly, showing off a rock-solid frame even when steered hard into downhill turns. It was responsive and secure-feeling.

Fuel mileage was pretty fair at 22 miles per gallon in the city and 28 mpg on the highway.

Once again, I struggled with the touchpad-based infotainment system, but that's likely 50 percent my fault.  I never seem to get the hang of correctly swiping the pad lightly, and I end up three screens from where I want to be.

A generational thing?  Yeah, probably.

All in all, I liked the sporty experience of driving the NX, an experience that also found me in the lap of luxury while on the move.

If this is your kind of mix, this NX might be your kind of sport-ute.