Lexus RX450h running costs

[mitadoc]

Good evening, fellows.

I am torn a bit between new NX350h and old and reliable (model, but 2022 production year anyway) RX450h.

Your feedback and comments will be quite important , thank you in advance for them.

Running costs - what are they?  I am interested in what you pay for insurance ( 41 group - 40 yrs old, no claim bonus, no points).

What is the cost of services?

What is real world MPG?

Once again - thank you.

Dimi

 

[Spock66]

1 hour ago, mitadoc said:

What is the cost of services?

What is real world MPG?

Service costs are the same at all UK dealers, an interim service is currently £315, major service £540.

Honest John lists real world mpg at 33.9 which is about what I get.

[Herbie]

1 hour ago, mitadoc said:

I am interested in what you pay for insurance ( 41 group - 40 yrs old, no claim bonus, no points).

Really no point in trying to compare because there are so many variables it's just impossible.

1 hour ago, mitadoc said:

What is the cost of services?

As Andrew says above. What I would add though, is to take out a service plan. There are no discounts but it does mean that you can lock in today's price and pay monthly for it at no extra cost.

I've averaged about 33-34mpg over the last 10 months of mixed driving.

[mitadoc]

NX350h with premium pack, pan roof, link 14" is approx 44K and with 4.9% lease in 36 months equals to 49.5K

RX450h base + pan roof is 47K ( carwow 7.5K discount) and when we add 1.9% lease in 36 months ,then it equals to 50.5K

I know that NX is newer generation with better infotainment and probably more technology added as standard equipment, with better consumption and lower maintenance cost + cheaper insurance + cheaper tax ,but RX is proven already ( soon to be replaced , with no teething problems).

I like both as styling. What would you chose then?

[Spock66]

RX is larger so better driver & passenger accommodation and boot space, plus you have a 3.5L V6, the new RX will apparently only be available as a 4-pot.

[First_Lexus]

Not sure if this will really help - as others have noted there are a LOT of variables at play here - but here goes…

I owned two NX from new, changing to a new RX in November. Clearly, this was the previous generation NX, but for comparison purposes;

- my insurance cost (fully comp, multiple years of NCD, c8k miles per annum) increased marginally by £45 annually;

- fuel economy in the NX was 38-42mpg. On the same journeys, driven the same way by the same driver I’m getting 28-32mpg in the RX. Note, both mpg figures are from the in-car computer.

@mitadoc There we’re two things that swung the decision for me, as I did consider the new NX. First, I was offered an amazing trade in price for my previous NX, and a very large discount on the RX - larger than the £7.5k you mentioned so haggle hard and be willing to buy colour and spec available on a ship in transit. As a 42 month PCP, the RX was almost £100 per month CHEAPER than a new NX. That’s because the new NX wasn’t discounted much, the interest rate was higher and there weren’t Lexus deposit contributions on top at that stage (Oct 2021). Worth checking now, obviously.

The second reason was simply that I fancied an RX with that big V6 engine, and I personally prefer to buy a car later in its lifecycle (better deals) as well as any gremlins should have been ironed out by ‘early adopters.’ With Lexus I think any risk is actually minuscule, but it is still a factor for me.

Hope that helps. I love the RX by the way - but then I loved my NX too!

[mitadoc]

1 hour ago, First_Lexus said:

Not sure if this will really help - as others have noted there are a LOT of variables at play here - but here goes…

I owned two NX from new, changing to a new RX in November. Clearly, this was the previous generation NX, but for comparison purposes;

- my insurance cost (fully comp, multiple years of NCD, c8k miles per annum) increased marginally by £45 annually;

- fuel economy in the NX was 38-42mpg. On the same journeys, driven the same way by the same driver I’m getting 28-32mpg in the RX. Note, both mpg figures are from the in-car computer.

@mitadoc There we’re two things that swung the decision for me, as I did consider the new NX. First, I was offered an amazing trade in price for my previous NX, and a very large discount on the RX - larger than the £7.5k you mentioned so haggle hard and be willing to buy colour and spec available on a ship in transit. As a 42 month PCP, the RX was almost £100 per month CHEAPER than a new NX. That’s because the new NX wasn’t discounted much, the interest rate was higher and there weren’t Lexus deposit contributions on top at that stage (Oct 2021). Worth checking now, obviously.

The second reason was simply that I fancied an RX with that big V6 engine, and I personally prefer to buy a car later in its lifecycle (better deals) as well as any gremlins should have been ironed out by ‘early adopters.’ With Lexus I think any risk is actually minuscule, but it is still a factor for me.

Hope that helps. I love the RX by the way - but then I loved my NX too!

Thank you. Does it mean I can negotiate further discount,even now with the scarcity of new cars being built? 

[First_Lexus]

4 minutes ago, mitadoc said:

Thank you. Does it mean I can negotiate further discount,even now with the scarcity of new cars being built? 

I’d ask the dealer what they have that is built - either in stock in the UK or on a vessel en route. They’ll be able to do a strong deal and reserve a car for you based on my experience. Cars built to order will, I imagine, attract a lower discount. Also, be willing to travel - whether you buy a new Lexus from London, Manchester, Swindon or Exeter doesn’t really matter beyond the initial collection.

[mitadoc]

24 minutes ago, First_Lexus said:

I’d ask the dealer what they have that is built - either in stock in the UK or on a vessel en route. They’ll be able to do a strong deal and reserve a car for you based on my experience. Cars built to order will, I imagine, attract a lower discount. Also, be willing to travel - whether you buy a new Lexus from London, Manchester, Swindon or Exeter doesn’t really matter beyond the initial collection.

Thank you, Ed. I am located in Brighton area, so I am prepared to travel anyway. Nearest showrooms are in Tunbridge Wells and Gatwick,however the best offer so far I have received is from North London's not too bad really. Wow, I thought 12.3% was a great discount, but now you encouraged me to try for more if feasible.

 

[PDM]

I have come from the first gen NX to a 2021 RX. Thoroughly enjoy driving the NX and it has been bullet proof.  I also drove a gen 2 NX450h+ last week on demo. So I can't comment on the 350 that you are considering but the 450+ had great performance and very good handling for an SUV.

The new RX, as Andrew says above, will very likely be a 4 cylinder. The current V6 in the RX is excellent and very smooth. The car has plenty of power for me and I like driving it in and my family riding in it. Very smooth.

When we bought our NX in 2015 were in a similar position to you: go for the brand new NX or buy a late gen 3 RX on which there were great discounts as people were starting to wait for the upcoming 4th gen RX. What swayed it for me at the time to the NX was what i perceived significantly improved technology in the NX (surround cameras, much higher resolution HUD, better safety stuff etc).  And the 3rd gen RX was the previous Lexus design language with the spindle grill grafted on on the mid cycle update. I thought the outgoing RX looked dated.

At this point i perceive the technology gap is much less between the updated 4RX and the new NX than the equivalent gap was in 2015. The obvious thing is the MM19 infotainment in the RX versus the new MM21 in the new NX. As both have apple car play and Android auto one could argue the differences are less important. Also the current RX is the same design language as the rest of the range (new NX included) so doesn't look out of date on the same was the gen 3 did, back in 2015 (subjective of course).

I also like physical buttons in the cabin and i like the track pad more than touch screens, with finger prints galore and the need to reach out Infront of you to press them with no arm rest are not, in my opinion, the panacia that many people, including most motoring journalists, perceive.  The RX has both track pad and touch screen though so the choice is yours.

So, the move away from the track pad, the move to 4 cylinder power, the move to fewer physical buttons, all pushed me to get a late year of 4RX rather than go for a 2NX or wait for the upcoming 5RX. I think the current RX could become quite sort after - in the same way the V6 GS450h models have.

Paul

[PDM]

23 minutes ago, mitadoc said:

Thank you, Ed. I am located in Brighton area, so I am prepared to travel anyway. Nearest showrooms are in Tunbridge Wells and Gatwick,however the best offer so far I have received is from North London's not too bad really. Wow, I thought 12.3% was a great discount, but now you encouraged me to try for more if feasible.

 

I can vouch for Gatwick and for Edgware road (if this is the one in North London you are talking about). Both are excellent.

Paul

[First_Lexus]

36 minutes ago, mitadoc said:

Thank you, Ed. I am located in Brighton area, so I am prepared to travel anyway. Nearest showrooms are in Tunbridge Wells and Gatwick,however the best offer so far I have received is from North London's not too bad really. Wow, I thought 12.3% was a great discount, but now you encouraged me to try for more if feasible.

 

Suggest you give Lexus Swindon a try too.

Also, watch out for certain dealers advertising new cars on AutoTrader that they haven’t actually got! Had that with a couple of Lexus dealers when I bought my RX - the cars advertised with large discounts had “just sold.” Funny thing - both of those dealers are still running the exact same adverts now as they were in October. Poor behaviour imho, and just trying to get a sale on a factory order at a vastly increased price.

[mitadoc]

38 minutes ago, PDM said:

I can vouch for Gatwick and for Edgware road (if this is the one in North London you are talking about). Both are excellent.

Paul

To be ordered, to be delivered in Jul-Sep. Swindon.

[Spock66]

You could also consider a Lexus approved used RX, you get to inspect the actual car you are purchasing plus of course save a few £££s.

[mitadoc]

6 minutes ago, Spock66 said:

You could also consider a Lexus approved used RX, you get to inspect the actual car you are purchasing plus of course save a few £££s.

Not much savings with current preowned Lexuses. But thank you anyway.

[First_Lexus]

3 minutes ago, Spock66 said:

You could also consider a Lexus approved used RX, you get to inspect the actual car you are purchasing plus of course save a few £££s.

Weirdly, at the moment, that option would have actually been more expensive for me! Prices for a one year old RX were sky high, discounts small, trade-in price lower…and then the interest rate on a PCP was 4.9% vs 1.9%, no deposit contribution (£2k) and no loyalty bonus (£1k).

I know the current car market is a bit bonkers, but I couldn’t really work out how they could discount a new RX so heavily when we know new cars are in such short supply and used prices high as a result. Bigger margins to play with and bonuses from Lexus UK I assume?

32 minutes ago, mitadoc said:

To be ordered, to be delivered in Jul-Sep. Swindon.

NX or RX?

[mitadoc]

1 minute ago, First_Lexus said:

Weirdly, at the moment, that option would have actually been more expensive for me! Prices for a one year old RX were sky high, discounts small, trade-in price lower…and then the interest rate on a PCP was 4.9% vs 1.9%, no deposit contribution (£2k) and no loyalty bonus (£1k).

I know the current car market is a bit bonkers, but I couldn’t really work out how they could discount a new RX so heavily when we know new cars are in such short supply and used prices high as a result. Bigger margins to play with and bonuses from Lexus UK I assume?

NX or RX?

RX. Which is weird as I saw couple in stock in Reading.

[Moleman]

1 hour ago, PDM said:

I also like physical buttons in the cabin and i like the track pad more than touch screens, with finger prints galore and the need to reach out Infront of you to press them with no arm rest are not, in my opinion, the panacia that many people, including most motoring journalists, perceive. 

Agree 100%.

[mitadoc]

No more than 7.5K discount, this is what I was told, still hefty, I like it.

[First_Lexus]

9 minutes ago, mitadoc said:

RX. Which is weird as I saw couple in stock in Reading.

My last three Lexus - two NX and and RX - have been from Swindon. They’re very VERY good, and nice people too. I’d say £7.5k discount on a factory order is excellent. Tbh I’d have rather had the darker brown leather interior (I have black) but the car available on the vessel that was due had black and I couldn’t turn down the deal on offer.

Congratualtions - now all you’ve got to do is wait… 😬

[mitadoc]

10 minutes ago, First_Lexus said:

My last three Lexus - two NX and and RX - have been from Swindon. They’re very VERY good, and nice people too. I’d say £7.5k discount on a factory order is excellent. Tbh I’d have rather had the darker brown leather interior (I have black) but the car available on the vessel that was due had black and I couldn’t turn down the deal on offer.

Congratualtions - now all you’ve got to do is wait… 😬

Too early to congratulate , not ordered it yet, but in process of taking decision. Your feedback is very helpful, thank you all.

[johnmac1956]

Hi

I went through the same thought process as yourself. Decided after getting quotes in from Carwow that I preferred the RX. My previous 2 cars were RX300 and RX400. I do prefer the size difference compared to the NX.

Also prefer the RX inside with the new touchscreen, CD player and lots of push buttons to control functions. Yes may look a little dated. Then you also have the proven 3.5 lt engine,which will not be available in new model, if the press leaks are correct.

I negotiated on a Takumi, Ice Ecru  over 12% off list price,negotiated discounted service deal over 3 years.Then 1.9% finance. Also reasonable option of trade in.

Hope to get Car sometime this Summer.I was quoted 6 month delivery. Hope that helps with your decision.

±

[mikey2001]

Just echoing what others have said here already. I bought my delivery mileage RX in Dec 2019 with just over £10k off the list price, seemed like a good deal at the time. I've averaged about 35 mpg over that time, and my insurance is roughly £600 per annum (I'm about the same age as you, but have 15 years NCD). I also travelled to Milton Keynes from Manchester to secure the deal. Best of luck with whatever model you decide to go for.

[Spottedlaurel]

Steven Eagell are having one of their "Manager's Confidential New Car Events" next weekend, with up to £5,000 deposit allowance. I don't know whether they have any genuine savings available that you wouldn't get elsewhere with a bit of negotiation.

[mitadoc]

3 minutes ago, Spottedlaurel said:

Steven Eagell are having one of their "Manager's Confidential New Car Events" next weekend, with up to £5,000 deposit allowance. I don't know whether they have any genuine savings available that you wouldn't get elsewhere with a bit of negotiation.

Thank you. Do you think this deposit allowance will be on the top of the Carwow discount or within?

Rgds and many thanks again.

Dimi