2027 Lexus NX Says The Quiet Luxury Part Out Loud

I'm driving around Elora, Ontario, in an all-wheel-drive 2027 Lexus NX 350h painted in Copper Crest. Brilliant orange and yellow leaves flutter down to roads washed clean by an early morning thunderstorm. I've got a hot cider in the cup holder. The experience is akin to guest starring in a three-episode arc on "Gilmore Girls." For a brief moment, I am become Lorelai Gilmore, the peak of self-actualization for white woman everywhere.

I don't mean it as a bad thing. Not at all. I rarely get to indulge in my Live, Laugh, Love side, and the Lexus NX had my triple Ls at the max. Being in the facelifted Lexus NX is a soft, cushioned, comfortable experience. Like being raised by parents who are dentists, driving the NX is a chance to move effortlessly through the world with the assurance that you're safe and supported. Inside it sips at the good life, with rich leather interior and plush seats. On the outside, the flashier, sportier-looking Lexus NX announces the level of quiet charm within.

Full disclosure: Lexus brought me out to the charming town of Elora, Ontario, put me up in a hotel, fed me and gave me a fully gassed-up Lexus NX to drive.

At first glance, the 2027 Lexus NX looks a lot like the 2026 version, which had been basically unchanged since the second generation was introduced for the 2022 model year. Sure, the spindle grille is more dramatic and the lines are sharper. The headlights and cornering lights are more integrated into the body, but all told, the face of the NX remains immediately recognizable.

This refresh of the NX includes bigger changes under the skin, though. The NX is now electrified only, either as a plug-in or traditional hybrid, with the gas-only NX being dropped from the lineup. Both the NX 350h and NX 450h+ have a revised 2.5-liter inline-4 engine that produces 186 horsepower and 173 pounds of torque. If you get an all-wheel-drive NX 350h, your electric motors have 160 hp in the front and 54 hp in the back. Add all that up and the NX 350h has a total of 244 hp combined in both AWD and FWD versions according to Lexus, which is 4 hp more than the outgoing model. The NX 450h+ has a 203-hp front motor to replace last years' 180-hp unit, and the same 54-hp rear motor as the 350h for a combined total of 324 hp, a 20-hp improvement over the last year's NX PHEV.

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The Lexus NX I tested for most of the day was the 350h AWD, which gets a manufacturer estimated 38 miles per gallon. Not bad. If you go with the "cheapest" version, the Lexus NX 350h FWD, you can score a city and highway combined rating of 40 mpg. While regenerative braking is available in both hybrids, there is no one-pedal driving option. The 450h+ comes standard with DC fast charging and an NACS charge port; charging up its newly developed lithium-ion battery from 10% to 80% takes around 35 minutes, and with a full battery you'll have an estimated EV-only range of 45 miles before the gas engine kicks in. That's enough electricity to get you pretty far for daily driving. The powertrain in both the 350h and the 450h+ now rely more on the electric motors for propulsion to give the NX a more torquey, pure electric feel.

All trims of the NX 450h+ get all-wheel drive as standard, and AWD comes standard on the NX 350h's F Sport and Luxury trims. You can option AWD on the two lower trims of the NX 350h as well, but at that point just go up the trim line. (Both the NX 350h hybrid and NX 450h+ PHEV are offered in four trim levels: Premium, Premium+, F Sport, and Luxury.) As the electric motor up front provides a lot more power, the NX still feels more front-wheel-drive biased, but while the rear motor is small, it punches beyond its weight as far as stabilization and preventing wheel slip goes. I tested it out on some gravel roads near a nature preserve and had the damnedest time trying to get it to skid, to the point some kind Canadians inquired if I was quite alright.

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My NX 350h proved nimble and quick in the few curves that can be found in Ontario. You're not squeezing out every last inch of power in the apex with this car, but that's not what the NX is for. Everything from the steering to suspension felt soft and yielding, not overly engaging. The NX is a car that lets the driver get lost in an audiobook while zipping through their day because it's just so easy to drive. Speed bumps barely registered, but keeping to posted limits was no problem at all. Switching to Sport mode gave me dynamics closer to the feel of pure EV driving than I expected, with torque being the focus rather than dynamic steering. Folks in the 450h+ will get that johnny-on-the-spot EV power delivery during EV-only driving.

Lexus already was no slouch when it comes to cabin noise. The brand even took us on a tour of its Cambridge North factory, where the NX is currently built. There, we heard from team members on the floor about their pride in outdoing parent company Toyota in terms of allowable defects and variances. That attention to detail is what made it possible to get the engine noise in the cabin to be 20% quieter than the previous model. That's according to the brand, of course, but it is one of the quieter compact SUVs I've been in in a while. A whole lot of engineering went into that quieter cabin, starting with the new 2.5-liter engine, which was strengthened in key areas to reduce vibration and noise inside the cabin. Then from nose to tailpipes, Lexus packed in more sound dampening systems, like an inner dashboard silencer, improved weather stripping on the doors and windows, and noise-cancelling materials in the bumper.

For this facelift Lexus totally redesigned the NX's interior, where you'll find all the tastefully appointed soft surfaces you've come to expect from the luxury automaker. The steering wheel has been redesigned with the nice new Lexus font, and the dashboard features a soft-touch horizontal control panel with haptic responsive buttons for common climate control features and the defrosters. The interior is full of mood lighting that can be adjusted to the driver's tastes or put on a colorful light show.

The center console also contains haptic buttons lined along the bottom, which look like digital buttons. It seems like we're coming full circle on the buttons. A new 14-inch touchscreen comes standard, and its graphics are brilliant and responsive but it's still a bit cumbersome to navigate through all the options. The infotainment screen pairs with a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster, and a head-up display is optional.

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This is a complex car, after all, one that's filled with all the tech you could hope for. A built-in dashcam means you can capture every instance of wayward driving without a bulky aftermarket unit suction-cupped to your windshield. You get a pile of advanced driver-assistance systems as well, such as lane-keeping assist and collision avoidance. I experienced the automatic rear-pedestrian braking system for myself while trying to back up on a narrow road, only to get the car slamming to a stop because some trees were nearby. Lexus does not play when it comes to safety. The car also comes with a few party tricks, like remote parking, an intelligent assistant you can summon by saying "Hey Lexus," and, of course, the all-new Sensory Concierge.

The 2027 Lexus NX doesn't just look like a Barnard College graduation present, it smells like one, too. Lexus kicked off the drive encouraging journalists to experience the Sensory Concierge. Available on the F Sport and Luxury trims, the Sensory Concierge has three settings: Inspire, Radiance, and Revitalized, which each come with their own fragrance. The scented air is pushed into the cabin via a specialized diffuser, and each of the three scent capsules carries 180 hours of full-blast scent for owners to enjoy. For instance, a floral scent accompanies Inspire. The car also automatically increases airflow by opening up the moonroof and adds some upbeat music and a colorful light show for passengers.

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It took me a second, but I navigated through the touchscreen to where the Sensory Concierge option was and turned it off. It's a nice idea at first, but after an hour of having perfumed air blasted at your face (the diffuser is where the front of the windshield and dashboard meet), it got a little old and headache-inducing. Still, it's a fun feature to help air out your NX after picking up the kids from soccer practice, or to mask the boozy scent of a late night right before work. More importantly, it's a feature we're seeing pop up more often in the luxury segment. Scented air does make things feel more luxe, but there's only so much of the stink of exclusivity my poor person nose can take.

The 2027 Lexus NX is a brilliant reminder of how even everyday activities in life can be elevated. If you don't care about driving, but you care about comfort and taste, the facelifted NX will make your experience effortless and lofty. It's like buying the $10 fair-trade organic single source chocolate bar over the Hershey's — if you're going to enjoy the sweet life, go all the way. There's currently no word on pricing, which will be revealed closer to the end of the year when the 2027 models go on sale, but a 2026 Lexus NX 350h runs $46,570 to start, including a destination charge of $1,395.