Lexus RX 450h or NX 300h

[KenMavor]

So have the final blessing from her indoors to get another Lexus.

Have a potential budget of £16kish and starting to see NXs coming in around that price.

Have had a drive of a RX 450h but never a NX.

What would be the general consensus .....450h or 300h?

Away to read all the various reports, reviews etc but keen to hear from those that have maybe had both.

 

Thanks

 

[Herbie]

The RX is bigger in both physical size and engine capacity (cc) so you'd think the NX would be better on fuel but from what I've read the difference is minimal and hardly worth bothering about.

Unless you're a nervous driver and/or would have trouble with the larger size of the RX, for me it would be RX all day long.

[First_Lexus]

59 minutes ago, KenMavor said:

So have the final blessing from her indoors to get another Lexus.

Have a potential budget of £16kish and starting to see NXs coming in around that price.

Have had a drive of a RX 450h but never a NX.

What would be the general consensus .....450h or 300h?

Away to read all the various reports, reviews etc but keen to hear from those that have maybe had both.

 

Thanks

 

^^ I’m on my second NX. It’s a great car - quality interior, relatively practical, good ride, comfy seats. Economy 38-42 in normal use.

Between the two NXs (waiting for the second) I had two RX 450h on loan for 3-4 months in total. I had an F-Sport and a ‘normal’ Sport. It’s a bigger car - noticeably so imho, especially down the narrow lanes in rural Wiltshire - but also very nice. Interior same quality, seats also comfy if perhaps a bit big for the smaller frame, very practical. I found the F-Sport ride too harsh, and the car surprisingly noisy. The regular Sport was much more to my liking. I only got 28-32 mpg from the RX on the same commute as in my NX. 

My feeling is your choice is about a newer NX vs an older RX - is that right?  If you need the extra space then the choice is clear. However, if you don’t then you should just try to drive an NX and make a call based on the actual cars available.

[KenMavor]

10 minutes ago, First_Lexus said:

^^ I’m on my second NX. It’s a great car - quality interior, relatively practical, good ride, comfy seats. Economy 38-42 in normal use.

Between the two NXs (waiting for the second) I had two RX 450h on loan for 3-4 months in total. I had an F-Sport and a ‘normal’ Sport. It’s a bigger car - noticeably so imho, especially down the narrow lanes in rural Wiltshire - but also very nice. Interior same quality, seats also comfy if perhaps a bit big for the smaller frame, very practical. I found the F-Sport ride too harsh, and the car surprisingly noisy. The regular Sport was much more to my liking. I only got 28-32 mpg from the RX on the same commute as in my NX. 

My feeling is your choice is about a newer NX vs an older RX - is that right?  If you need the extra space then the choice is clear. However, if you don’t then you should just try to drive an NX and make a call based on the actual cars available.

My feeling is your choice is about a newer NX vs an older RX - is that right?

 

Bang on...older RX, probably higher miles vs newer NX lower miles possibly.

Need to go and drive a NX as you suggest.

[Eggie]

Be aware also the RX susceptible to catalytic  converter thefts.

[vu5ter]

Went from a 2016 RX to a 2019 NX.  Only one problem with the NX was the car was significantly smaller then the RX SIGNIFICANTLY.  We didn't think much of it when viewing and reading the specs but in daily use became a bit of an issue.  This was for my family of 2 adults and 2 children.  For the back definitely 2 child seat or 1 childseat and 1 adult only.  With the RX can just about manage 2 child seat and 1 adult in the rear.  Boot space was also a problem as once the child push chair went in there wasn't much room for other things for a long weekend say.

I know it is stating the obvious but the larger space really does make a difference.  Both are as comfortable as each other i.e. after a long journey you will exit both cars feeling refreshed but in a full RX it just less claustrophobic

Local dealer said we can change now so looking to go back to the RX albeit an older and less spec RX to my current top of the range NX but willing to make that compromise for the additional space.

 

47 minutes ago, Eggie said:

Be aware also the RX susceptible to catalytic  converter thefts.

 We have a big problem with this around our area.  As far as I can tell its not an issue with an NX due to the location but do you know whether its an issue with MY2019 RX?  So sad to think that this is the decider as to whether I should change car or not.

[Eggie]

2 hours ago, vu5ter said:

We have a big problem with this around our area.  As far as I can tell its not an issue with an NX due to the location but do you know whether its an issue with MY2019 RX?  So sad to think that this is the decider as to whether I should change car or not.

I have read that it affects all years and series of the RX. I believe NX not affected due to position as you say.  If I was going to go for an RX I would invest in a catloc.

[rayaans]

I think the RX450h is more refined and more powerful. The difference in fuel economy is negligible. 

The size difference between the 3RX and the NX is small too. It depends on whether you prefer a more modern vehicle or not

[JeffL]

Just reading the February issue of the Which? Car Guide. Any idea why they would say on Page 39 in the Test Lab Buyer's Guide that the 2014 onwards NX has 'Awful CO emissions' ? (BTW They love the RX4 page36/37)

[First_Lexus]

9 minutes ago, JeffL said:

Just reading the February issue of the Which? Car Guide. Any idea why they would say on Page 39 in the Test Lab Buyer's Guide that the 2014 onwards NX has 'Awful CO emissions' ? (BTW They love the RX4 page36/37)

Seems a bit odd. Do they give any context or just make the comment?

What Car? give the NX an ‘average’ rating in their monthly magazine, but the RX gets a ‘poor’ rating! However, online they give both ‘average’ 3* ratings. I guess the inconsistency is down to different editorial teams working on the two platforms, but it could simply be incompetence!

I am going back to the 1980s, but Which magazine used to have a terrible reputation in publishing circles for the quality of their journalism. That may have changed, obviously...

 

[royoftherovers]

42 minutes ago, JeffL said:

Just reading the February issue of the Which? Car Guide. Any idea why they would say on Page 39 in the Test Lab Buyer's Guide that the 2014 onwards NX has 'Awful CO emissions' ? (BTW They love the RX4 page36/37)

I`ve not seen nor would I wish to see the Article Jeff. Only you can try to determine why.

Having read more poor motoring articles, written by so called Motoring Journalists, than I have had Yorkshire Puddings since the dawn of the Millenium, I despair.

To an educated man like wot I think you is, it must refer to the relative emissions as compared to what is on the market today.

[JeffL]

41 minutes ago, royoftherovers said:

I`ve not seen nor would I wish to see the Article Jeff. Only you can try to determine why.

Having read more poor motoring articles, written by so called Motoring Journalists, than I have had Yorkshire Puddings since the dawn of the Millenium, I despair.

To an educated man like wot I think you is, it must refer to the relative emissions as compared to what is on the market today.

Yes, as you say, it must refer to relative emissions. I was just surprised to see that they had printed that. It won't put me off the NX. However, I don't put Which? in the same category as the run of the mill motoring journalists but I do agree that it is best to ignore a lot of what the run of the mill ones say. There's a lot of good stuff in Which? but an educated man wot like I is can make decisions on what to accept and what to disregard🤣

[JeffL]

1 hour ago, First_Lexus said:

Seems a bit odd. Do they give any context or just make the comment?

What Car? give the NX an ‘average’ rating in their monthly magazine, but the RX gets a ‘poor’ rating! However, online they give both ‘average’ 3* ratings. I guess the inconsistency is down to different editorial teams working on the two platforms, but it could simply be incompetence!

I am going back to the 1980s, but Which magazine used to have a terrible reputation in publishing circles for the quality of their journalism. That may have changed, obviously...

 

No context, it's just mentioned in a chart. I shall ignore it.

[Martin J]

When the testing regime moved from NEDC to WLTP a couple of years ago, the NX took a bigger hit on both CO2 emissions and fuel economy than the larger RX.  So much so, on fuel economy, that real world owners can now easily beat the WLTP consumption figure (I average around 39 to 42 mpg).  Yes, the NX now looks to be worse on CO2 emissions than it did when it was launched - but it's still better than most of its competitors.

Can't comment on size - it's a matter of how much space you need - but in general I find that most of what motoring journalists write about Lexus, and in particular about the hybrid drivetrains, can be safely ignored.

[Steve Oliver]

Reviewed by Which in 2014, they said, "The Lexus NX complies with emission limits in official tests. However, when faced with our own, more realistic emission tests, the amount of CO (carbon monoxide) produced was so vast that it would not only fail all EU emissions limits set this century, but the Euro 1 limits from 1992 - despite it being a hybrid."

I knew this before I bought mine in 2019 and it didn't put me off. I also wrote to Which to ask them to retest as there have been a few tweaks since then. Looks like they never did, so still quote this fact all the time. ☹️

[royoftherovers]

Who was it that said that Journalism was a professional profession ?