Nice Car, but maybe flawed

[Vince Donald]

I have a IS300h, and took it for a service at Lexus Sheffield, they gave me an NX300h as a courtesy car - great cos if I could have afforded one, I would probably got one of these when I was looking for a car over a year ago to replace my Honda CRV, but it was a little out of my price range.

So I had a drive from Sheffield to Doncaster and back involving urban and motorway, so I got to try it in a variety of situations, my thoughts, well I really like this car, it would have been better than my CRV in every way apart from one... the engine, the CRV had a great diesel engine, the NX has a great Hybrid engine except that its not the right one for this car, most of the time its fine, but under fairly brisk acceleration such as joining the motorway - yikes its harsh, mainly due to revving quite high, much higher than my IS does I'm sure.

 

I tried the radar cruise control, think that would take some getting used to, think I prefer the standard cruise but maybe more time I would get used to it. The driving position seems really high (compared to the CRV), but that ain't a problem, the ride and everything else would make this my next car, its just that engine, could maybe do with 500cc more or even a beefier electric.

 

I don't know what any of you guys who own one think, but if this car had a little bit more power so that brief acceleration wasn't as harsh then there would be no other car to look at for me, okay the RX is nice but it just seems huge having sat in one, will have to see what transpires with the new UX having a new engine, maybe there will be more new engines for the rest of the range.

 

When I was looking for a new car, I looked at loads, but always came back to the Lexus, having driven one for a year, I don't see anyone else tempting me away, with a slight engine improvement it would be an NX for sure.

 

Vince

[First_Lexus]

It depends how you like to drive. If your style is relaxed, the hybrid engine/gearbox combo seems popular. It certainly suits me. If you like to accelerate faster or drive more aggressively then it probably isn't for you.

Having owned my NX for almost 6 months I've not yet needed to use anywhere near full throttle, hence no issue. Mind you, I never exceed the speed limit - IMHO life's too short to rush - so you'll get the idea of how I like to drive! Never had a speeding ticket and been driving since 1988, including long periods at 15-20k miles a year up and down the motorways too...

It probably also depends what you're used to. I came from a petrol/auto CRV and the NX is very perky in comparison.

 

 

[ColinBarber]

It is a shame the NX engine behaves the way it does. It isn't the same engine as in the IS300h, it is very similar however it revs up much quicker (possibly because of the reduction in power), which is also more noticeable because it isn't as well insulated from the driver as in the IS.

The disappointment for me is that the heaver and larger RX can deliver the same mpg or better for most drivers, with much more power and a smoother delivery.

[rayaans]

Its also down marginally on outright combined power compared to the IS300h as well - which is really odd when you think about it.

I hear there's some new engines coming, some are electric.

However, Lexus notoriously takes ages updating engines so I would presume that they would come with the 2nd gen NX in 2021

[Vince Donald]

19 hours ago, First_Lexus said:

It depends how you like to drive. If your style is relaxed, the hybrid engine/gearbox combo seems popular. It certainly suits me. If you like to accelerate faster or drive more aggressively then it probably isn't for you.

Having owned my NX for almost 6 months I've not yet needed to use anywhere near full throttle, hence no issue. Mind you, I never exceed the speed limit - IMHO life's too short to rush - so you'll get the idea of how I like to drive! Never had a speeding ticket and been driving since 1988, including long periods at 15-20k miles a year up and down the motorways too...

It probably also depends what you're used to. I came from a petrol/auto CRV and the NX is very perky in comparison.

 

I came from a Diesel CRV (no auto back then), that engine is very punchy, the IS300h I have now feels less punchy but thats because its so smooth, still feels pretty brisk though.

 

On the whole I liked the NX, but as others have alluded, maybe the engine set up different to the IS even though it would appear to be the same 300h, this may be a necessity due to the NX obviously carrying extra weight over an IS.  The real eye-opener to me was when I was joining the M1 at J34 Tinsley Viaduct / Meadowhall, a road I know how my IS behaves, I know its uphill, but I was only joining at the national speed limit.

 

I know what you mean about relaxed driving style though, I have found that if you're too aggressive with the IS, it too isn't a pleasant experience, but with the NX it was enough to maybe put me off choosing one, which is a pity because otherwise I think it would be a perfect car for me.  The relaxed driving style I'm used to, I used to drive 30k mile per year and I did that in a Saab Aero auto, I got used to driving more relaxed even though it was a powerful car.

 

Good to hear what others think though.

 

Vince

[ColinBarber]

7 hours ago, Vince Donald said:

On the whole I liked the NX, but as others have alluded, maybe the engine set up different to the IS even though it would appear to be the same 300h

It is a different engine. The IS engine has direct injection, which allows for a higher compression ratio which provides more power and greater efficiency.

[as13]

8 hours ago, Vince Donald said:

I came from a Diesel CRV (no auto back then), that engine is very punchy, the IS300h I have now feels less punchy but thats because its so smooth, still feels pretty brisk though.

 

On the whole I liked the NX, but as others have alluded, maybe the engine set up different to the IS even though it would appear to be the same 300h, this may be a necessity due to the NX obviously carrying extra weight over an IS.  The real eye-opener to me was when I was joining the M1 at J34 Tinsley Viaduct / Meadowhall, a road I know how my IS behaves, I know its uphill, but I was only joining at the national speed limit.

 

I know what you mean about relaxed driving style though, I have found that if you're too aggressive with the IS, it too isn't a pleasant experience, but with the NX it was enough to maybe put me off choosing one, which is a pity because otherwise I think it would be a perfect car for me.  The relaxed driving style I'm used to, I used to drive 30k mile per year and I did that in a Saab Aero auto, I got used to driving more relaxed even though it was a powerful car.

 

Good to hear what others think though.

 

Vince

I also came from honda and have chosen NX 

The honda has a very strong engine which I admit takes some beating,  I was finding it hard to use that power as the roads are so busy. 

It was time to change and I loved the look of the NX and some of the extra refinement especially the comfort when driving. 

Deep down I loved my old honda's, the NX is just over 10 weeks old with me, I love the look but yet to fully appreciate it

[paulrnx]

Some of us desperately need an NX450h. Well me anyway!

[as13]

Maybe the engine would benefit from a double overhead cam engine instead of the single, but I guess emissions would be the knock on (higher road tax).

[PWOOD]

I recently took an F Sport  out for an hour whilst my IS 300h Sport was getting the 2nd service. I was disappointed by it in term of ride quality and overall road and vibration noise in general. I knew it would be slower than my  IS, however was impressed by how well it went round corners for a tall car. I can’t help but think the F Sport suspension may have been a factor. 

[ColinBarber]

On 16/03/2018 at 5:34 PM, as13 said:

Maybe the engine would benefit from a double overhead cam engine instead of the single, but I guess emissions would be the knock on (higher road tax).

It is DOHC. Lexus has never sold a vehicle in the UK without a DOHC head design.

[paulrnx]

What it really needs is twin carbs