Hello from a soon to be UX owner

[EvilRacer329]

I often find that American reviewers can be very critical of anything with less than 300bhp and aren't as interested in fuel economy, so they all seemed rather bemused by the UX250h. Here in the UK it makes loads of sense! I live in Milton Keynes, and the constant acceleration to 60/70mph and braking back down for roundabouts every two minutes means I'll only average high 30's running errands, but more normal drives and even longer trips can top 50mpg. The trip computer seems very accurate, as my own fuel economy measurements at the pump bear them out. I'm a big fan of the Lexus Link app for showing where I was in electric mode and where I was resorting to petrol.

Frustratingly, mine is currently experiencing an issue where it takes several hours to update, making the "Where's my car?" feature unusable. The fault is apparently waiting on Lexus Technical while they try to figure out what's wrong. It's been like that for more than a month...

Nick

[Navnan2]

On 11/5/2020 at 11:46 PM, ALAW said:

The benefit of the link app is its on your mobile. For me i like the find my car section its like having a tracker fitted, hopefully in the event should the car be stolen it should be easily located. It also has other things like hybrid coaching and informs you how your drive was, showing braking points acceleration points apparently im heavy footed i can assure you i aint. There are other things you can do. The portal from the lexus website allows you to send journeys you want to do to the head unit so when you get in the car go on maps and its there. I would think the download latest maps will be useful if one wants to give you opportunity to send it to a usb stick then plug into car and install. You can of course do this straight to the car but takes a while around an hour or thereabouts. The economy so other posts show is better in summer. Yes i too use Android Auto and it works very well to be honest this is why i aint bothered about the map updates. I also play some music via it as well. Its all controlled by the touchpad it is not a problem Barry and you can set the touchpad to how you want it to respond. A final word about the youtube posts i mentioned the Northfield Texas they do Tech tip Tuesdays but a good one to find is their full tutorial of the UX its about an hour long but worth the watching.

Brent.

Thanks Brent, I'm wondering if link app and its reliability is worth the effort of installing. I'm the type of person that gets very frustrated with things that should work but don't. I'm like a dog with a bone! Sometimes better I stay away! The Tracker sounds good, i'm an advocate of Google Maps navigation through Android Auto so I'm unlikely to want to use the Lexus routing and Maps facility as it sounds so slow. I recognise that US tutorial you mention, I think I will look at that again just before I get the car otherwise I will forget it all. Currently its on a ship expected at Suez late on the 10th November so a while until I will get it.

[Navnan2]

On 11/6/2020 at 9:16 AM, EvilRacer329 said:

I often find that American reviewers can be very critical of anything with less than 300bhp and aren't as interested in fuel economy, so they all seemed rather bemused by the UX250h. Here in the UK it makes loads of sense! I live in Milton Keynes, and the constant acceleration to 60/70mph and braking back down for roundabouts every two minutes means I'll only average high 30's running errands, but more normal drives and even longer trips can top 50mpg. The trip computer seems very accurate, as my own fuel economy measurements at the pump bear them out. I'm a big fan of the Lexus Link app for showing where I was in electric mode and where I was resorting to petrol.

Frustratingly, mine is currently experiencing an issue where it takes several hours to update, making the "Where's my car?" feature unusable. The fault is apparently waiting on Lexus Technical while they try to figure out what's wrong. It's been like that for more than a month...

Nick

Sounds like the link app is more trouble than its worth Nick if I understand yours and Brent's reply correctly.:-(

[EvilRacer329]

It was great, up until the moment when it wasn't. And now Lexus seem stumped, but I'm going to keep haranguing them. I loved the data I was getting as it allowed me to see how individual journeys stacked up, efficiency-wise. It was easy to set up and generally just works - I've just got a weird delay on mine...

Nick

[Navnan2]

Thanks to Peter's guidancies I tracked my vehicle's arrival at the Port of Bristol early on the 20th November. So I then got on the dog and bone to my dealer in Hedge End Hampshire for an update for when I can pick it up. Initially they were unaware it was here and then investigated when I should be able to pick it up. 17th December was the response! It will take longer to get from Bristol to Hedge End then it took to get from Japan to Bristol by sea! Good old covid was one the factors quoted again for the protracted time-frame. I hope its worth it when it finally arrives, I am preparing myself for a call to say its been delayed into the New Year as everything has been so fluid so far. Sorry for boring you all with my moans, perhaps I'm being unreasonable.

[royoftherovers]

5 minutes ago, Navnan2 said:

Thanks to Peter's guidancies I tracked my vehicle's arrival at the Port of Bristol early on the 20th November. So I then got on the dog and bone to my dealer in Hedge End Hampshire for an update for when I can pick it up. Initially they were unaware it was here and then investigated when I should be able to pick it up. 17th December was the response! It will take longer to get from Bristol to Hedge End then it took to get from Japan to Bristol by sea! Good old covid was one the factors quoted again for the protracted time-frame. I hope its worth it when it finally arrives, I am preparing myself for a call to say its been delayed into the New Year as everything has been so fluid so far. Sorry for boring you all with my moans, perhaps I'm being unreasonable.

Good to learn that it has arrived Barry. I`m sure you will be delighted with it. Does not seem that long since you broke the news to us all on Sept30.

[Habu]

49 minutes ago, Navnan2 said:

Thanks to Peter's guidancies I tracked my vehicle's arrival at the Port of Bristol early on the 20th November. So I then got on the dog and bone to my dealer in Hedge End Hampshire for an update for when I can pick it up. Initially they were unaware it was here and then investigated when I should be able to pick it up. 17th December was the response! It will take longer to get from Bristol to Hedge End then it took to get from Japan to Bristol by sea! Good old covid was one the factors quoted again for the protracted time-frame. I hope its worth it when it finally arrives, I am preparing myself for a call to say its been delayed into the New Year as everything has been so fluid so far. Sorry for boring you all with my moans, perhaps I'm being unreasonable.

17th December seems like a long time for a PDI and prep.  Mine was turned around in a couple of days and I picked it up only just over a week ago but I elected to leave it to the weekend to pick up.  It gave them more time to prep the car including Gen 3 ceramic to the paint, wheels and side windows, front & rear cameras and mud flaps.  Maybe your centre is very busy but I'm sure that date will come forward once the car arrives there.  My local centre has some sales people on furlough but the service department is fully operational.

Lexus link should show your car at the Port of Entry and then when it sets off for your centre.  You might need the VIN number for this to work but your centre will have this.  Mine did have a delay at the port (more checks to be done for C-19) so maybe your centre has built this into your date of the 17th?

[Navnan2]

3 hours ago, royoftherovers said:

Good to learn that it has arrived Barry. I`m sure you will be delighted with it. Does not seem that long since you broke the news to us all on Sept30.

September 30th is about the time I joined the Forum John. I ordered my car towards the end of July with an expected ETA at that time early October. That's why I have become a bit cynical. Thanks for your reply.

Barry

[Navnan2]

2 hours ago, Habu said:

17th December seems like a long time for a PDI and prep.  Mine was turned around in a couple of days and I picked it up only just over a week ago but I elected to leave it to the weekend to pick up.  It gave them more time to prep the car including Gen 3 ceramic to the paint, wheels and side windows, front & rear cameras and mud flaps.  Maybe your centre is very busy but I'm sure that date will come forward once the car arrives there.  My local centre has some sales people on furlough but the service department is fully operational.

Lexus link should show your car at the Port of Entry and then when it sets off for your centre.  You might need the VIN number for this to work but your centre will have this.  Mine did have a delay at the port (more checks to be done for C-19) so maybe your centre has built this into your date of the 17th?

Thanks for your reply Peter, from the way the salesman spoke to me the time factor was out of their control i.e. dictated by whatever happens with it before it arrives at the showroom. Once its there it should be very quick as I am doing my own ceramic coating and fitting mud flaps etc. Pleased with yours so far? 

Cheers,

Barry

 

[Habu]

15 minutes ago, Navnan2 said:

Thanks for your reply Peter, from the way the salesman spoke to me the time factor was out of their control i.e. dictated by whatever happens with it before it arrives at the showroom. Once its there it should be very quick as I am doing my own ceramic coating and fitting mud flaps etc. Pleased with yours so far? 

Cheers,

Barry

Hi Barry.  The RX is a beast of a car but there are things that the ES I had previously did better.  I knew this beforehand so no great surprise.  Fuel economy is a bit different.  The ES could breeze >50mpg all day long (4th gen hybrid system with new battery and new combustion engine) whereas the RX will be doing well to achieve half of the ES's figure 🙂

 

[Chrisvert]

I am starting a 'replacement' move of my current Volvo Xc40 first edition(fully loaded). The NX is high on my list of 'look at'. 

 

Q? Can Spotify be used directly from installed SIM card (as my Volvo) or does it have to link via my phone service? 

 

Q? Does phone have to hard cabled link for Android services? Or can it be linked for maps/Spotify etc by wireless? 

 

Any thoughts from Android auto users most helpfull

[Navnan2]

Still waiting for mine so can't help you Chris. I am sure some of the experienced and knowledgeable owners on here will be able to help you.

Cheers,

Barry

 

[Andy B]

21 hours ago, Chrisvert said:

I am starting a 'replacement' move of my current Volvo Xc40 first edition(fully loaded). The NX is high on my list of 'look at'. 

 

Q? Can Spotify be used directly from installed SIM card (as my Volvo) or does it have to link via my phone service? 

 

Q? Does phone have to hard cabled link for Android services? Or can it be linked for maps/Spotify etc by wireless? 

 

Any thoughts from Android auto users most helpfull

Hi Chris.

I am an NX owner with an Android phone using Android Auto (it was recently retrofitted to my 2018 NX) so may be able to help:-

1. I wasn't aware of the ability to run Spotify directly from a SIM card. Are you instead referring to using the SIM card as the mobile data provider rather than using your phone's mobile data plan? If so, then I believe that some of the newer Lexus models come with a Wi-Fi router (anyone please feel free to correct me if I'm wrong here) but I'm not sure exactly what you can use it for. My 2018 NX definitely doesn't have this but it's possible that the next generation of NX (possible production in 2021) may do. I use Spotify (via Android Auto) but any data usage is from my mobile phone.

2. Although a number of in-car head units running Android Auto do offer wireless connectivity, the Lexus ones do not unfortunately so at the moment the phone connection has to be made using a data cable plugged into one of the car's USB ports. And knowing Lexus' track record of implementing cutting edge technology I don't expect they will be offering this functionality anytime soon. Also, at present there aren't any wireless adaptor solutions on the market for Android Auto that will enable your phone to connect wirelessly (unlike some that are available for apple CarPlay). Having said that, there is a wireless dongle that is currently in pre-production\final design that may well do the job. The project is being funded via the Indiegogo crowd-funding website with deliveries of the unit to the early "investors" sometime in December - so fingers crossed for this.

Hope this helps.

 

[Chrisvert]

Thanks for info. 

As an aside the volvo has its own sim slot so you buy a data only card '3' and you can get Spotify and other apps directly into car without using your phone daya/connection. 

So looks like a step backwards if I go ahead! Ha

 

Have seen a dongle that may allow noncable connection from USA may explore this sometime.. 

Thanks for reply

 

[EvilRacer329]

I think Volvo and Tesla are two of the few manufacturers doing that kind of direct integration. It basically requires the entire Infotainment system to be running a full OS that can in turn run apps like Spotify. It'll be interesting to see how many manufacturers bother with that approach, given that apple CarPlay/Android Auto can do it all without having to ask users to sign in to their car separately. But yes, if that's a feature you really like, then I'm afraid you won't find it in any Lexus I'm aware of!

Nick

[Chrisvert]

Thanks for info.... Will test drive after Christmas its no ball breaker, more concerned on size of boot and reports on how bad touchpad controller for info is? However Volvo touchpad is not exactly smooth or very user friendly!! 

[EvilRacer329]

The touch pad is...frustrating. But I will say this: unlike touch screens, you don't need to keep wiping finger prints off the screen, and you don't find yourself turning the wheel every time you lean forward to touch a button. You do get used to it, but it's not great. CarPlay/Android Auto integration has solved many issues, as you can program the route/choose your music before you leave using your phone.

As for the boot, well - everything is relative. There's a surprising amount of space underneath as well; my partner and I went on vacation for a week and easily fit all our luggage under the parcel shelf and were able to smuggle back a great deal of gin and mixers in the under-boot storage compartment. And you can always put the seats down...

Nick

[Navnan2]

Boot space is mentioned by Chris above. I posted something on this on another thread and got no reaction. Perhaps people didn't see it? I was hoping it might be helpful and of course welcome any experiences UX owners have had with this product if I have purchased the right one from Lidl. Thanks, Barry

 

[ALAW]

On 11/29/2020 at 2:34 PM, Chrisvert said:

I am starting a 'replacement' move of my current Volvo Xc40 first edition(fully loaded). The NX is high on my list of 'look at'. 

 

Q? Can Spotify be used directly from installed SIM card (as my Volvo) or does it have to link via my phone service? 

 

Q? Does phone have to hard cabled link for Android services? Or can it be linked for maps/Spotify etc by wireless? 

 

Any thoughts from Android auto users most helpfull

Chris I'm new to the Lexus family i am also new to Spotify and still getting the hang of it. Regarding Android auto i use this and the UX conveniently has two USB ports within the central armrest storage area. It also has a nice little tuck away so you can plug your phone in via the USB and i rest my phone where the wireless charging station is plugged in the cable runs nicely down the side of the centre and through the tuck away into the USB port very very easy convenient set up. So when powered up I hit the menu button go to Android Auto on the touch pad and presto no problem whatsoever Spotify is there and anything else you require from the Android Auto platform its very user friendly. I don't have a wireless charging station but the USB connections there are four in total two in the back below the air vents are so convenient.  So the spotify i have on my phone is relayed to the head unit via USB  and Android Auto with no need for a sim card, i cant answer for the NX hope this helps. By the way the UX is a good car and more room than what the critics say.

[Chrisvert]

Thanks for reply sound like the best solution, hopefully test drive new year will work out OK... 

[Navnan2]

Well I thought you were all wondering did he ever get his UX? It finally arrived at my dealer at the weekend and I picked it up yesterday. So far very pleased with my experience with the vehicle albeit very early days. I must credit Hedge End after my frustrating ordering experience. The vehicle was Diamond coated (FOC), first service free, Mud guards fitted (FOC), rubber boot liner supplied (FOC) and rubber floor mats (FOC). The salesman did a fine job of anticipating all the multitude of settings you can set up on the vehicle and ran through them with me which just left me my specific tastes in music register. I will put some pictures up when the bl**dy rain stops and I have cleaned it again! ☺️

The above additional kit Hedge End supplied and fitted left me with some purchases I had made beforehand now no longer needed by me. I have a tailored rubber boot liner unused, and some mud flaps with fixings. Both non-Lexus. If anybody is interested in either or both let me know and perhaps we can come to some arrangement.  For some reason I was unable to upload my pictures, I will follow this up if anybody is interested.

Cheers Barry and Happy Christmas to you all from Tier 4 from Boxing Day!  

[Navnan2]

On 12/23/2020 at 5:45 PM, Navnan2 said:

Well I thought you were all wondering did he ever get his UX? It finally arrived at my dealer at the weekend and I picked it up yesterday. So far very pleased with my experience with the vehicle albeit very early days. I must credit Hedge End after my frustrating ordering experience. The vehicle was Diamond coated (FOC), first service free, Mud guards fitted (FOC), rubber boot liner supplied (FOC) and rubber floor mats (FOC). The salesman did a fine job of anticipating all the multitude of settings you can set up on the vehicle and ran through them with me which just left me my specific tastes in music register. I will put some pictures up when the bl**dy rain stops and I have cleaned it again! ☺️

The above additional kit Hedge End supplied and fitted left me with some purchases I had made beforehand now no longer needed by me. I have a tailored rubber boot liner unused, and some mud flaps with fixings. Both non-Lexus. If anybody is interested in either or both let me know and perhaps we can come to some arrangement.  For some reason I was unable to upload my pictures, I will follow this up if anybody is interested.

Cheers Barry and Happy Christmas to you all from Tier 4 from Boxing Day!  

 

[ALAW]

At Last Barry you got it. I was beginning to wonder what's happened. Let us know after you have got a few miles under your belt. All the best.

[Beduffshirl]

I test drove a UX at last today with Premium Plus Pack. Have to say going from my CT it's fantastic.

The "oomph' pulling away and on the motorway was just so different. It felt responsive on country lanes and that was all without going into Sport.

I like the electronic boot lift on the Premium Plus Pack. Only slight downside was the screen size being slightly smaller than on my CT. The standard stereo beat my upgraded CT one hands down just listening to some stuff on the radio.

Need to do the sums now. Brand New at my regular dealer is better price than nearly new but another local dealer has 0% on used at the moment so I'm waiting to hear back from them on a nearly new F Sport with similar spec to compare.

Would I notice any difference in the drive or general feel in the f-Sport?

[ColinBarber]

17 hours ago, Beduffshirl said:

Would I notice any difference in the drive or general feel in the f-Sport?

The F-Sport has different, firmer, suspension and seats so there is a difference although not a huge one.