ANCAP has awarded a five-star safety rating to all Lexus NX petrol, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid variants. According to ANCAP, the medium SUV performed well in testing by sister organisation Euro NCAP across all key areas of assessment, achieving high scores for its protection of vehicle occupants and other road users.
Maximum points were awarded for driver protection in the side impact test and front passenger in the frontal offset (MPDB) test. A mix of good and adequate scores were also shown for adult occupants in the full width frontal and oblique pole tests. A ‘marginal’ score was recorded for the chest of the driver in the MPDB test, and a moderate penalty (-1.21 points out of 4.00 points) was applied for vehicle-to-vehicle compatibility, which assesses the potential impact on the occupants of a collision partner vehicle. High scores were awarded for child occupant protection in the MPDB and side impact tests.
In addition to physical crash performance, ANCAP said the NX is fitted with a range of crash avoidance technologies which performed well across the range of performance tests. The autonomous emergency braking (AEB) system is capable of detecting and responding to other vehicles and pedestrians, including in turning scenarios, and cyclists.
The Lexus NX also introduces a capability to detect and prevent or mitigate crashes with motorcycles through its enhanced radar- and camera-based AEB system. From next year, this functionality will be encouraged by ANCAP under revised ANCAP rating criteria, effective from January.