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2026 Lexus NX Plug-in Hybrid Safety Rating

Midsize luxury SUVs Β· Current IIHS listing Β· IIHS data updated 2026-09-04

Provisional record

The 2026 Lexus NX Plug-in Hybrid is not yet ranked. IIHS has published 3 of 4 primary tests and 3 of 4 selected occupant-protection details. Missing results are shown as missing, never assumed.

Reported so far: Small overlap front Good; Side (updated test) Good; Headlights Good; Latch ease of use Good.

β€”
Safety score / 100
Awaiting 2 results
No award
IIHS award
No current award
11
Class driver death rate
per million vehicle-years; all vehicles 38

IIHS crash-test results

Front Crash Prevention: PedestrianGood
Front Crash Prevention: Vehicle-to-VehicleGood
Small Overlap Front Good
Side: Updated Test Good
Headlights Good
Latch Ease Of Use Good
Detailed results by test (40 entries)

IIHS publishes these under the test they belong to, so the same label can appear more than once. Rear restraints and kinematics, rear head protection, structure and safety cage, and front restraints are the four that count toward the score (25%).

Small overlap front

Overall driver-side evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Overall passenger-side evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Acceptable
Passenger restraints and dummy kinematics Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Chest Good
Hip/thigh Good
Lower leg/foot Good
Driver restraints and dummy kinematics Good

Side: updated test

Overall evaluation Good
Structure and safety cage Good
Driver injury measures
Head/neck Good
Torso Good
Pelvis Acceptable
Driver head protection Good
Rear passenger injury measures
Head/neck Good
Torso Good
Pelvis Good
Rear passenger head protectionPart of the dummy's head moved beyond the rear portion of the side curtain airbag and contacted the C-pillar. The head protection is inadequate. Acceptable

Headlights

Overall rating Good
Distance at which headlights provide at least 5 lux illumination:
Overall ratingApplies to 2022-26 models Good

Front crash prevention: vehicle-to-vehicle 2.0

Overall evaluation Good

Front crash prevention: pedestrian

Overall evaluation Good

Child seat anchors

Overall evaluation Good
View the IIHS report

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How the score is built

Primary IIHS tests (55%)
91.0
3/4 reported Β· small overlap, updated moderate overlap, updated side, headlights
Occupant-protection details (25%)
80.7
3/4 reported Β· rear restraints, rear head, safety cage, front restraints
Pedestrian front crash prevention (10%)
100.0
IIHS pedestrian AEB result: Good Β· vehicle-to-vehicle: Good (shown, not scored)
Class context (10%)
86.0
Damped class-level driver death-rate term; award status is shown above but carries no weight
Injury-measure average (tiebreak only)
97.41
Mean of 29 published injury measures across the three crash tests. Orders vehicles with equal scores; carries no weight in the score.

Full formula, weights, and missing-data rules β†’

Real-world context

MeasureResultWhat it covers
Class driver death rate11 per million registered vehicle-yearsMidsize luxury SUVs as a class, adjusted for driver age and sex (Farmer, 2023); all vehicles average 38. Class context only.

Compared with other midsize luxury SUVs

Closest-scoring current midsize luxury SUVs with complete IIHS records, plus the class leader. See every midsize luxury SUVs ranked β†’

VehicleClass rankIIHS awardRear restraintsStarts atScore
2027 Tesla Model Y #1 of 23 TSP+ Good $39,990 98.6
2026 Volvo XC60 #18 of 23 β€” Good $49,700 90.6
2026 Cadillac Lyriq #19 of 23 β€” Acceptable $59,200 90.0
2026 Acura MDX #20 of 23 β€” Marginal $51,800 84.5

Our analysis

The 2026 Lexus NX Plug-in Hybrid belongs to the Midsize luxury SUVs class. This class has one of the lowest driver death rates of any category, well below the national average of 38 deaths per million registered vehicle-years, reflecting mass, structure, and typical driver demographics. The class figure is adjusted for driver age and sex, which removes a large part of the selection effect in raw death rates. It is still a class average, not a measurement of this model.

The Lexus NX Plug-in Hybrid has no IIHS Top Safety Pick award for 2026. That can mean a result below the award threshold in one test, or tests IIHS has not completed. Absence of an award is not evidence that the vehicle is unsafe.

Across the 4 IIHS rating categories reported, the Lexus NX Plug-in Hybrid earned 4 Good ratings. Check the occupant-protection details above as well; a Good headline result can hide a weaker rear-seat subscore.

This analysis is produced independently; we have no affiliation with Lexus or any manufacturer. Read the full methodology or learn more about us.

Safety recalls for the 2026 Lexus NX Plug-in Hybrid

NHTSA does not yet list this model year in its recall database. That usually means the vehicle is too new to appear, not that it has been cleared.

Check your VIN at NHTSA

Questions about the 2026 Lexus NX Plug-in Hybrid

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