Is the NX a Girl’s Car?

By adpock - May 5, 2015

lexus nx

The compact crossover segment is thriving, and so to is the NX. So much so that Lexus can’t seem to make ’em fast enough. But who exactly is driving the car? I know the whole segment skews towards the ladies, as noted in this Fortune article, but is it fair to say that the NX is a “girl’s car”?

As we’re in the 21st century, you can’t really say that about any car, even a Bug. So of course it’s not fair. But still, it seems as though the Aurora Sentinel‘s review of the NX is trying to tell me just that, albeit with no facts to back it up.

Tell me you’d assume anything but the “girl’s car” moniker from this headline: “REVIEW: Lexus NX flirts with women.” Perhaps you’d prefer to give the rag the benefit of the doubt and read the article before passing judgment, but you won’t find anything of substance to explain that headline.

Here’s the one paragraph that gets into automotive gender studies in the piece:

“Up front, Lexus managed to slap a spindle grille on the NX that is passable (although the trapezoidal-shaped grille doesn’t look great on SUVs or crossovers) and construct the NX like an egg-shaped missile aimed squarely at female buyers. I’m not kidding, the NX targets females like daytime TV. To Lexus’ credit, the RX did the same thing and only managed to be the best-selling luxury SUV in always.”

I’m not going to analyze the author’s usage of “in always,” because I’m too shocked at how he moves on by saying, “beyond gender stereotypes…” And he doesn’t mention women again. Nothing.

So I guess we’re just supposed to take it as truth. The NX “flirts with women.” The “NX targets females.” So does that mean it’s a girl’s car? Cause that’s certainly the way I’m reading it.

I’m inclined to think that anything that looks like the NX and performs like the NX is actually a car for people who love good cars, particularly good cars of a certain size. All people. Am I missing something?