2022 Genesis GV70 vs. 2022 Lexus NX350: Compact Luxury SUVs With a Surprising Role Reversal

2022 Genesis GV70 vs. 2022 Lexus NX350: Compact Luxury SUVs With a Surprising Role Reversal
These two compelling luxury compact SUVs deliver the opposite of our expectations.
Spoiler alert: The overall result of this comparison test between the all-new 2022 Genesis GV70 and Lexus' recently redesigned 2022 NX350 was pretty much what we expected. But the journey to our verdict took an unanticipated path, with the Lexus impressing us in ways we never anticipated. Most surprising, though, was how upstart brand Genesis has mastered traditional luxury while old-timer Lexus forges a novel youth-oriented path. Our showdown proved to be an eye-opening comparison test between these two compact luxury SUVs.
Meet The Players
Regular MotorTrend readers need no introduction to the Genesis GV70: It won our 2022 SUV of the Year title in V-6-powered 3.5T form, in which it practically overwhelmed us with its mix of luxury and performance. However, this latest comparison features the less expensive four-cylinder GV70 2.5T, priced at $42,595 with standard all-wheel drive. Equipped with the Select and Advanced packages, this 2022 Genesis GV70 listed for $51,320.
The second-gen Lexus NX is new for 2022 and greatly improved compared to the previous model, with better-looking styling and more appealing powertrains. Among its four (!) available engines, the 2.4-liter turbocharged four-cylinder that powers the NX350 seemed the best match for the four-cylinder Genesis. Lexus delivered to us an F Sport model with all-wheel drive and a base price of $47,725; a healthy sprinkling of options brought the as-tested price up to $54,410.
Genesis GV70: A Modern Take On Old-School Luxury
The interior is one of the most important factors in a luxury SUV comparison; after all, posh accommodations are what buyers pay a premium for. No one can say Genesis doesn't have posh down pat: The 2022 GV70 surrounds its occupants with high-quality soft-touch materials and attractive design. The Vanilla Beige leather in our test SUV, along with the horizontal-bar steering wheel, gave it a decidedly old-school feel, but this is no throwback; note the lack of wood trim and the modern, sensible control layout.
The GV70 SUV makes excellent use of its wide-format center screen; there's a lot going on, but both young tech-oriented staffers and the old grizzlies found the menu system intuitive and easy to use, thanks largely to a well-executed multimedia knob on the center console. Our biggest complaint was that the knob is nearly the same size as the one that shifts the transmission, and it's easy to inadvertently grab the wrong one.
Lexus NX350: A Youthful Take On The Compact Luxury SUV
Lexus has forged its own path on luxury, and while we don't dig all its interiors, the NX's is a bright spot. While the 2022 GV70 SUV rocks its traditional cream-and-chrome style, the new NX350 is monolithic and modern, and we were surprised by how much we liked it. The new center screen is a high point: It displays infotainment up top and some climate controls down below, with actual dials to adjust the temperature. There's also a proper volume knob. Most of the materials were top-notch, though we found a few bits of cheap-feeling plastic in some unlikely places. Case in point: the plastic shift paddles, which felt inferior to the Genesis GV70's metal paddles.
While the Lexus NX350 looks good, it had some usability issues. Take the multi-function capacitive-touch buttons on the steering wheel. You can't just press them; you must touch them, wait for their function to appear on the head-up display, then press; otherwise, they do nothing. We kept forgetting this, and it took double presses to accomplish simple tasks like skipping a track or increasing cruise-control speed. Why overcomplicate such simple tasks? It also seemed silly that despite its massive infotainment screen, the Lexus NX350 only lets you display one sub-system (navigation, phone, audio, etc.) at a time. There is no tiled home screen like there is in the Genesis (or older Lexus systems). These are minor frustrations, to be sure, but we encountered no such annoyances in the Genesis GV70.
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