2022 Lexus NX scores five-star ANCAP safety rating

The 2022 Lexus NX range has been handed a five-star safety rating by independent crash testing authority ANCAP.

Having gone on sale earlier this year, the Lexus NX lineup is fitted as standard with autonomous emergency braking (AEB), lane keep assist (LKA), lane departure warning (LDW) and emergency lane keeping (ELK), a speed assist system (SAS) and blind-spot monitoring (BSM) – all of which contributed to its high score for safety assist systems.

This allowed the NX to score 92 per cent for its safety tech with 14.75 out of 16 points, the highest-scoring of the four categories, with perfect marks given to its occupant status and AEB junction assist systems.

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Just one per cent behind was the NX's adult occupant protection rating, as 34.59 out of 38 points contributed to a score of 91 per cent – with only its frontal offset, MPDB test (vehicle-to-vehicle compatibility) given a penalty of more than one point, dropping its total to 6.68/8.

For child occupant protection it scored 89 per cent, with 43.87 out of 49 points, let down by a 0.13 point penalty in the front dynamic test – but helped by its lower Isofix anchorages on the rear outboard seats and top tether points for all rear seating positions.

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Last but not least was the NX's vulnerable road user protection rating, with its 83 per cent final score helped by 45.15 points scored from a maximum of 54 available.

The NX fared particularly well with its upper and lower leg impacts, as well as forward AEB for pedestrians, although it lost two points due to the lack of an AEB backover system – as well as taking just 17.43 out of 24 points in head impact tests.

ANCAP Chief Executive Carla Hoorweg praised the NX, saying: “Lexus has provided an impressive suite of safety features and active safety equipment in its latest NX model."

Set to take effect from January next year, ANCAP will implement testing for AEB systems and how they detect and prevent or mitigate crashes with motorcycles – a feature which is already fitted to the NX through its radar and camera-based AEB tech.