Written by /C Jun
Edited / Kilig
Design / Zoi.
Among the luxury brands, The Lexus, which is played by Kiyoyu, not only has a unique oriental aesthetic design, but also creates too many unique Japanese car-making spirits and manga-like blood stories in the not-so-long history.
In recent years, Lexus, which has made more consumers willing to wait for a long time, has not ended up, but has tried to keep up with the general trend of electrification at its own pace. After seven years, the replacement of the new generation of NX has brought three different powertrains, and has begun to emphasize the exclusive "Lei family" driving philosophy - Lexus driving imprint.
When the always gentle Lexus painting style mutation began to talk about driving control, like an old good man suddenly... Furious: fiercely cut the original entry of 2.0L, directly from 2.5L, high-end import plug-in hybrid 400h+, the maximum power covers the range of 151kW to 195kW...
In fact, this change began with president Akio Toyoda's concept of "using electrification technology as the cornerstone to fully explore the performance of automobiles.". Electrification gives Lexus stronger performance, while building on top of TNGA's good mechanical qualities to create a driving machine that is no longer warm. It can be seen that in the pursuit of electrification, Lexus is cautious and meticulous and takes into account performance.
Before the Lunar New Year in 2022, Che Lizi experienced this kind of "driving mark" in Guangzhou, with distinct changes, but the silent mark of moisturizing is still there.
Sitting in Lexus, the feeling of relaxation and calmness has not changed, and the silky smooth power output of NX is still in the mind. But the interior of the new generation of NX began to quickly break the previous look and feel, the "TAZUNA reins" concept cockpit design is more driver-centric, intended to pursue the "human-horse" sense of control; 7-inch full LCD instrument, 14-inch touch LCD screen plus HUD head-up display, compared to the previous generation of multimedia systems, this generation of NX seems to directly step into the new generation.
The new electronic door lock is also quite careful, unlocked in the car, you need to press and hold the button and then push the door, an action to replace the mechanical way needs to pull twice to unlock the function. This set of devices is associated with the rear warning of the car, and completely bids farewell to the "open door killing". Opening the door from the outside of the car is also electronically unlocked, located on the inside of the door handle, without pulling the handle, just hold and press it.
In short, in the grasp of refinement, Lexus is an old player. Even when the test drive had just left the parking lot, this feeling of not changing was still in my heart.
The first experience of the day is the NV's 400h+ model, although the data acceleration of hundreds of kilometers is not as good as 350h, but after the high speed, the car's push back feeling is not weak at all, but it is more sensitive and rapid under the blessing of the electric drive, the acceleration ability of the EV pure electric mode is also very good, the key is more quiet and quiet than before, calm and self-satisfied, especially in the high-speed road conditions, NX uses double soundproof glass, and the tranquility in the car is stronger than the previous generation.
The most surprising thing is that NX's 400h+ "very understandable", can take into account "fast" and "smooth" very well, lightly step on the throttle, the motor and engine are always full of tacit understanding, and the intervention is basically ignored. The delicate chassis tuning also keeps Lexus's consistent linear output very good, it can be said that this linear and balanced dynamic performance has created a maximum sense of connection between people and the car, and also makes the driver more confident to control the car.
This is all due to the NX's replacement TNGA-K architecture, which has the characteristics of lightweight and high rigidity, coupled with the independent suspension arrangement of the front McPherson rear multi-link, presenting a solid, resilient suspension feeling. In some big bumpy pothole sections, there will not be too many bounces, and it is still very advanced.
The follow-up test drive of the 350h F SPORT is a four-wheel drive model, the power output is also higher than the 400 h+, but from the acceleration of the body feeling, the 400h+ seems to be more energetic, the rear axle motor helps a lot in the cornering, and the mountain road is more fun to run.
In simple terms, the 350h F SPORT gave me back the familiar taste of Lexus: the power tension is measured, the response is extremely brisk, but the sense of direction is strong, which to hit, and the deep throttle is a bit of a setback, but then it is still smooth.
It is worth mentioning that this generation of NX is equipped with a new generation of Lexus intelligent security system LSS+ 3.0 as standard, which improves the recognition ability of a variety of traffic situations and driving scenarios by expanding the detection range of millimeter wave radar and monocular cameras, and with the PDA pre-judgment active driving assistance system, it can well reflect the driving imprint of Leijia's "moisturizing and silent".
For example, release the throttle first slightly brake, and then the braking force gradually increases, this kind of linear matching of light and then heavy, not as easy as the general electric vehicle single pedal to make the passengers in the car motion sickness; such as following the distance and braking conditions of the front car, judging the strength of kinetic energy recovery, helping to glide distance longer; such as encountering traffic lights, the front car brake deceleration, NX 400h+ also increases the brake recovery intensity, this brake is not suddenly braked, but slowly at a speed that is not easy to detect, the speed is slowly reduced, Maintaining a safe distance from the car in front of it reflects Lexus' intelligent understanding of the trend of autonomous driving.
With the initial perception of power and control, after arriving at the test drive destination and then looking back at the changes in the appearance of NX, the most obvious change is the front net part, the black trim with the shape of the large grille, is still luxurious, the shape is more three-dimensional, the headlight light group will also integrate the daily running lights together, and the through-style tail lights are more in line with today's fashion trends. The blue logo of the hybrid model is no longer used, but replaced by all black, which is more sporty and imposing.
The body size of this generation of NX is "larger" than before, the wheelbase has increased by 30mm, although it is not too long "tall", but it has a fairly harmonious sense of proportion. For example, the gap between the wheel arch and the tire has been reduced, and the rear wheel track has been increased by 55mm, the front and rear wheels have been further expanded, and the larger 18/20-inch wheels have been used, and these detail adjustments have combined to shape the new NX's sturdy and sleek posture.
This time, the new NX automatic parking is also one of the highlights, only need to choose the parking space to park, after which it no longer needs any operation and control on the car, the entire parking process is handed over to the car machine and mobile phone remote control, the actual experience is still more convenient and practical.
Write at the end
The change of this generation of NX, a simple summary is the rational "impulse", it sounds like a bit contradictory, well retaining the inheritance and heritage of the original Lei family, but in terms of openness and innovation, put aside the old me, a little driving control passion with this restrained and delicate luxury, people can't stop, this seemingly contradictory conflict is actually very interesting, but surprisingly harmonious, let people start to look forward to the future "electricity" Lexus.
From the new NX, Lexus's understanding of electrification is unique, the original set of emotional use of artistic conception to impress the user's practice began to return to the "driving" itself, and began to emphasize the unique driving genes and imprints, the new life of this old luxury car company began to appear.
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