My little review of my (loan) NX300h

[Deathstar]

After having an NX300h for a few days as part of a curtesy car whilst my IS was in for a service I thought that I would write a little review on my findings.

 

I picked the car up late on Thursday evening form my local Cardiff Lexus. The car was a demonstrator; SE spec. From what I understand the SE is not the base model but one up. It had some of the usual refinements that I like, heated seats, sat nav etc, but it was missing the basics such as parking sensors, although it did have a reversing camera! One thing that I really did think was a serious need for improvement was the info entertainment system. There was a USB port but it seemed this was to be used to charge phones and not as a socket where you could plug a USB stick full of music. The audio quality on the standard system was not amazing either.

 

Visually the car is very striking to look at. What’s really weird is when you first start driving it. Being a Hybrid the first time you turn it on its complete silence. Even when the engine springs into life it doesn’t really make much more noise. The cabin layout was nice with a screen upon the dash, heating controls underneath and the usual buttons on the steering wheel allowing you to change the volume, answer phone calls etc. This car also featured an electronic hand break. This can be activated via the press of a button, or when the vehicle is placed in ‘Park’. Something that was a little strange was the break hold. This comes on automatically on my partners Golf, but you need to press the ‘break hold’ button at the start of each journey to activate it. Once the ignition is turned off you have to turn the break hold feature back on. This essentially puts the hand break on when you come to a stop regardless of whether you are in park or not, a handy feature.

As previously mentioned, the driving element of this is fun. Initially I didn’t like it as much but as I drove around town I found myself fixated on the energy monitor. The Hybrid system will start you off, and, providing you are light with the throttle, can take you up to speeds of 40MPH. However, the range is incredibly limited, although this maybe down to the fact that I live in Wales and we have lots of hills here (I think I managed just over a mile on Battery power). The car is almost silent when driving below 10MPH, and it doesn’t really get much noisier when you go faster. If I am being truthfully honest though I do think my IS is quieter at speed.

The gearbox in this car is not a traditional 6 speed automatic. The E-CVT is a ‘gearless’ gearbox which does have massive benefits around town. You will never feel it change gear… as it doesn’t! The gearbox seemed to cope really well with around town driving, however when driving back to the dealership there was a section of road on the motorway which was uphill. When I put my foot down to overtake the engine did roar into live to give a little extra boost. Some of the car reviews slate this, but honestly it’s not as bad as people make out. If you are going to be planting the throttle everywhere you go then yes, the engine will generate quite a bit of noise, but if you are gentle with it, then you’ll be fine.

Most of my driving is usually around town. On the motorway the car’s trip computer displayed 44MPG. When handing it back it was showing 42MPG. That included Cardiff to Swansea and the return trip one trip to work and a trip to a local city in total probably around 200 miles. Although this is not an acid test as I didn’t have the car long enough to do a lot of town driving I still feel that around town economy was better than what the IS would usually give. Motorway driving however, was disappointing. Considering the official figures are low 50s, this falls short.

So I suppose the million dollar question would be would I buy one? At the moment the prices are too high for me, as typically I like to buy second hand and there’s not too many of them around. I did like the size and rear space (not that I take many people) and I did like the elevated driving position, but I do feel that there needs to be tweaks made. It would be nice if the Battery range was a little longer as Mitsubishi have a 38 mile range in their SUV equivalent (although it’s a PHEV). The other thing that I found strange was the Battery technology that Lexus are using, I would have thought LiPO would have been put into their modern cars. All in all an enjoyable drive.

[Goggy]

Good review. The NX does have its faults, but luckily they are not many. You are right about the infotainment system, although it does the job, it is a bit behind the competitors in this class, the best being the BMW idrive in my opinion. Real life MPG is well down on what the quoted figures are, although that is the same in most cars. Despite the few drawbacks, it is a lovely car drive and a good long term ownership prospect. 

[C Mclean]

Just a small bit of info on the parking/hold feature. The parking brake is operated by electric motors on the rear calipers, but the hold feature keeps the hydraulic foot brake pressurised to stop the vehicle moving. You can notice the difference when you use them. When the hold feature operates, the car just sits normally, same as when the foot brake is operated, but if you use the parking brake, the back of the car dips slightly as the rear wheels are held, but the front ones are not.

Clear as mud or a political statement....

[Adrian28]

Also, when the hold facility is being used the brake lights remain on. 

[paulrnx]

23 hours ago, Adrian28 said:

Also, when the hold facility is being used the brake lights remain on. 

Hadn't realised this. Thought I was always doing a favour for the person behind by using the hold function. Guess not then. Will check to be sure. Given the explanation above re keeping the braking system pressurised, this would tend to suggest the brake lights will stay on assuming a pressure switch is used rather than a pedal position switch?

[Omegajb]

Just to add, when a USB stick is plugged into the USB slot. The car does play audio via this method, you just need to press the "mode" button until it switches to USB.

[Goggy]

On 7/20/2017 at 2:26 PM, paulrnx said:

Hadn't realised this. Thought I was always doing a favour for the person behind by using the hold function. Guess not then. Will check to be sure. Given the explanation above re keeping the braking system pressurised, this would tend to suggest the brake lights will stay on assuming a pressure switch is used rather than a pedal position switch?

I didn't either. 

I find that when I use the hold function the car jerks a little when starting off again, rather than removing the foot from the brake which makes the car creep forward slightly before you hit the accelerator. I prefer the latter. but still use hold if I am going to be there for a while. 

[paulrnx]

Agreed Alec. I like the hold facility and then when I come to the end of my journey and need to park I dislike it because the car is a bit jerky and won't creep forward slowly which is often what you want when parking.

[Ala Larj]

On 20/07/2017 at 2:26 PM, paulrnx said:

Hadn't realised this. Thought I was always doing a favour for the person behind by using the hold function. Guess not then. Will check to be sure. Given the explanation above re keeping the braking system pressurised, this would tend to suggest the brake lights will stay on assuming a pressure switch is used rather than a pedal position switch?

Out of interest did you check?

I always use it as I thought I wasn't blinding the person behind me!

[paulrnx]

Not yet. Haven't driven anywhere at night where I could check this

[Ala Larj]

I've just popped out to check mine and disappointingly discovered that the brake lights remain lit when on 'Hold'!

[Adrian28]

On 21/07/2017 at 10:01 PM, Goggy said:

I didn't either. 

I find that when I use the hold function the car jerks a little when starting off again, rather than removing the foot from the brake which makes the car creep forward slightly before you hit the accelerator. I prefer the latter. but still use hold if I am going to be there for a while. 

I have found that if you tap the throttle pedal momentarily before you pull away, this will release the brakes and then allow you to pull away with the usual Lexus smoothness.

[Ala Larj]

On 20/08/2017 at 3:35 PM, Adrian28 said:

I have found that if you tap the throttle pedal momentarily before you pull away, this will release the brakes and then allow you to pull away with the usual Lexus smoothness.

Great tip Adrian, works a treat. I too found it a bit jerky at first.