Lexus Puts Safety First In The NX
2014-09-15 13:22:52
The new Lexus NX 300h hybrid model will become the company’s first model to have radar-controlled safety systems fitted as standard such as Pre-Crash Safety System and Adaptive Cruise Control to help keep occupants safe.
A millimetre-wave radar sensor set into the front grille detects vehicles and other obstacles in the road and warns the driver of a collision risk by sounding a buzzer and offering a visual warning and activating the seatbelt pretensioners. The Pre-Crash Safety System works in partnership with the Pre-Crash Brake System to help avoid a collision by assisting in braking when the driver begins to brake. If the driver fails to act resulting in an inevitable collision, the PCSS automatically applies the brakes to help reduce the impact speed and lessen the consequences of the resulting crash.
The Adaptive Cruise Control, meanwhile, also relies on the same radar to recognise a vehicle ahead and maintain a safe distance. The system works at all speeds, even bringing the car to a complete standstill if required, in the same way as the excellent, and in first4auto’s opinion the market-best Volvo system operates. Like the Volvo system, when moving again, the system will automatically accelerate back to the pre-selected speed.
The systems are part of Lexus’s overarching Activity Safety System which also includes Lane Keep Assist, Blind Spot monitoring and Rear Cross Traffic Alert. The steering control sounds a warning buzzer if the system judges that the vehicle is about to cross lane markings without the driver using the indicators beforehand. Meanwhile, Blind Spot monitoring and Rear Cross Traffic Alert both deploy radars on each side of the NX that detect vehicles moving in the driver’s blind spot, or approaching from either side when it is being reversed out of a parking space. Both systems warn the driver by triggering lights set into the door mirror on the side of the car where the event is taking place.
In addition to the high-tech safety systems, the NX 300h is also equipped with daytime running lights, a rear view camera and fog lamps at both ends. It also comes equipped with a plethora of other electronic safety and handling systems including emergency brake signal, Vehicle Stability traction control, ABS with brake assist and Electronic Brakeforce Distribution, and Hill Start Assist. As you would expect, it also has a full complement of eight airbags and pedestrian protection.
The NX 300h will start from £29,495 when it arrives in October after the Paris motor show. It is available to order now and comes fitted with a 2.5-litre engine mated to a hybrid synergy drive system which has a combined output of 195bhp. It is expected to emit less than 120g/km of CO2 and achieve an official fuel economy figure of at least 54.3mpg on the combined cycle.
This is an abridge article prepared especially by First4Auto on behalf of EcoCars4Sale.
Chief Editor
Andrew Merritt-Morling
