THERE is no need for earth-trembling excavation to uncover why the NX has been a Lexus success.

Within four months a trio of new-generation medium SUV rivals have hit the market – Audi Q5 in July, Volvo XC60 this month, and imminently the BMW X3 – yet Lexus executives do not blink when asked if a facelift of its three-year-old NX is enough to maintain its strong sales performance.

That might be because the NX is thousands of dollars cheaper than those rivals. It is also about the same price as premium small SUV models such as the Audi Q3 and BMW X1, yet it is hardly pricier than mainstream medium SUV models such as the Mazda CX-5 and Volkswagen Tiguan.

For buyers looking for a premium badge, in-betweener space and an affordable entry ticket, this NX continues to form a unique mainstream-to-premium bridge. The question is whether this lightly revised Lexus is an overly expensive mainstream, or superbly affordable premium, contender.