Modern Art Monday: 2015 Lexus NX F SportPrepare to be polarized

They say art is supposed to evoke different emotions and ideas in different people. Some might look upon Van Gogh’s Starry Night and long for a quiet evening under the stars in some far off land. Other’s, however, might see a confused landscape that longs for the light of day. The 2015 Lexus NX is a piece of automotive modern art, in that it will surely evoke a wide range of responses from those who gaze upon it. I recently spent a day in a variety of NX examples, hustling along the backroads around Whistler in British Columbia. I can’t yet tell you anything about how the NX drives… but we can chat about how it looks, and how that makes you feel. It’s clear that Lexus is eager to add aggression in its current lineup. The lines of nearly everything under the rising L-badge sun feature sharp angles, a gaping maw, and haunch like fender-flared wheel arches. It works on some vehicles better than it does on others. For example, the latest GS350 F-Sports looks appropriate, and also happens to drive wonderfully. The RX F-Sport, however, looks silly, and it’s driving experience leaves a bit to be desired… well, for a vehicle that wears the F-Sport badge, at least. The reason for the increasingly aggressive styling? Toyota president Akio Toyoda wants his family of vehicles to return to a sporting nature from which they were long ago born. Hence the arrival of the Toyobaru siblings, the injection of fun into the Lexus lineup, and even a Camry that’s available in a SE trim capable of kinda-sorta smoking its front tires. Still, it’s possible to take things too far in the styling department. The Lexus NX will have folks treading the line on whether that’s what has occurred here or not. Personally, I enjoy seeing automakers push their design departments to deliver to customers what may be considered the looks of the future. When Audi gave the world the R8, this is exactly what happened. Cadillac did this in a smaller format when moving on to its Art & Science theme, and now Mazda is pushing forward with its KODO design language. The NX is the Lexus equivalent of pushing its own boundaries a bit. If that means we wind up with a car that’s far more interesting than the Lexus RX, then I’m all for it. I wish I could tell you that it also drives far better as well, but I can’t do that for a few more days… What say you, dear Reader, does the Lexus NX strike you as an interesting leap forward or an overly dramatic clash of angles and misplaced anger? Sound off below. [Images copyright 2014 Hooniverse/Jeff Glucker]