Reasons To Buy An Nx

[Goggy]

Reasons to buy a NX

Stunning looks. It is the best looking medium sized SUV out there right now.

Build Quality. The NX has just been voted number 1 in the Auto Express Power Survey. Enough said.

Reliability. Voted number 2 in the same survey. It's a Lexus and we all know they build cars to last.

Seat Comfort. Lexus build the best seats, as good as, or better then Volvo.

In Car Tech. Up there with the best even without Sat Nav.

Luxury. The interior beats anything in its class. BMW and Audi are nice too but they still lag behind Lexus. The leather used in the Luxury, F Sport and Premier models is excellent quality, better than other leading brands.

Quiet. When in EV mode it is silent other than road noise. In petrol mode it is still quite quiet unless you drive aggressively then the engine can wine a bit. But certainly no diesel engine noise to spoil your enjoyment.

Low emissions, 116g/km if you go for the two-wheel-drive model, 121g/km with four-wheel drive. So no road tax and free of (London) congestion charge.

Lot's of kit included, unlike a BMW where the extras can push the final price up a huge amount.

Feel Good Factor. Just sit in a NX and it feels a very nice place to be.

Practical. A fair size boot which is even bigger with the seats folded down. Not class leading, due to space for a spare wheel, but certainly enough for most users. In fact the spare wheel is a bonus that many other SUV's don't have.

High riding driving position. It's an SUV so the seat height is great for those who don't like bending to get in and out and also like to see over other cars.

Best dealerships in the business. They treat you like royalty.

Things that could be improved.

The ride quality is good, but not class leading and still a long way behind Range Rover levels.

Performance. Most will find the engine has plenty of poke, but to get the best out of it you need to drive aggressively which will impact on mpg.

MPG is not bad for a car of this size, but it could be better. Quoted figures of 56.5 mpg are not achievable. Real life MPG is 35-40 so slightly less than a similar sized car with a noisy diesel engine.

Basic Sat Nav at £995 is quite high. Most other manufactures now do it for half that price.

Reasons not to buy a NX

If money is tight then a Nissan Qashqai is a nice car for a lot less. Just don't expect the build quality, reliability and levels of luxury to be comparable. Or a Skoda Yeti which will be reliable, but looks like a box on wheels.

Want something bigger? Try a Lexus RX.

Want a plug-in electric. Go for a Mitchibishi Outlander Phev. Nowhere near as plush, and a bit boxy, but the first 30 or so miles are on electric, so for short journeys it is ideal.

Want to go off-road a lot. The NX is four wheel drive, except for the 'S' version, but is not a true off-roader. If you want something to do serious off-roading it would be best to go for a Range Rover Discovery. But it is a big car and a lot more expensive to buy and run. Also reliability is an issue.

All this is just my opinion of course.

[ColinBarber]

Good write up although I've a few points to make:

Not sure how the NX got in that survey given it had only just come out, reliability is yet to be known however the RAV4 it is based on seems fine along with the engine and drivetrain from the ES250h in the US.

No first year tax but you will be paying £100 per year for anything other than the 2WD SE model.

Economy reported first seemed very poor, although owners are now quoting over 40 mpg after adjusting their driving style, engine run in and the warm weather. Still this isn't much better than an RX450h which has a much more powerful and larger engine and is a bigger vehicle too.

There is the 200t option for those who want more performance, at the expense of higher road tax. If you do want a noisy diesel then a RAV4 will save you some money for what is essentially the same vehicle with an inferior interior.

[rayaans]

Also, the current RX is not much larger than an NX but is much smoother with greater sound deadening. Of course, MPG wise, im getting 30mpg regularly and I have not adjusted my driving style in any way. I have achieved 40-42mpg on a 30mile run when actually trying so it almost renders the NX economy as an embarassment considering its got 101hp less with poor rolling acceleration.

The worst aspect of the NX is the lack of features available on F-Sport grades. Lexus is targeting younger buyers but the features arent available, even as an option so thats the main deal breaker for a lot of people I have spoken to. They have either bought an RX or moved to another brand.

From driving the NX, I found it a pain on hills. I live in Yorkshire so hills are everywhere, going up them in an NX is a rather annoying affair. It seems like it can't pull itself up steep hills sometimes.

Also, the middle seatbelt comes from the roof! That annoyed the hell out of me on the motorway with my kid in the middle seat! Im not a fan of the touchpad either. I dont find it anywhere as good as the Remote Touch system - I accidently click things by pressing down on it too hard!

In terms of in car tech - Id rate the Premier as great but the others are frankly rubbish - half of the features just arent available!!