2022 Lexus NX earns five-star safety rating from ANCAP

The 2022 Lexus NX has earned top marks for safety from the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) in petrol, hybrid, and plug-in hybrid guises.

Based on a broad range of crash tests analysis of inbuilt autonomous safety features, the local independent evaluator allocates locally-sold new vehicles an aggregated score out of five.

The Japanese medium SUV scored strongly in most areas of occupant protection, however a ‘marginal’ score was recorded for driver chest protection in a deformable barrier crash.

Further, a penalty was applied for poor vehicle-to-vehicle compatibility – suggesting the occupants of other cars involved in a collision with the Lexus may be at risk.

Despite these concerns, strong results in side impact, frontal offset, full width frontal, and oblique pole tests delivered the maximum five-star score available.

“Lexus has provided an impressive suite of safety features and active safety equipment in its latest NX model,” Carla Hoorweg – the CEO at ANCAP – said in a media statement.

The new score means all Australian-delivered Lexus models with current (and yet to expire) ANCAP ratings – including the ES and UX – have earned top marks for safety.

You can read Drive's full coverage of ANCAP results and safety uptakes in Australia by clicking here.