Company Car Driver - NX450h test drive

[Hookyman]

As a Uk company car driver I've been driving BMW phev's for the last six years and 150000 miles. Fleet have told me now is the time to choose a new car again. I'm not sure about full electric yet though I do have an I4 test drive booked. I live in a rural area of England, with lots of narrow and muddy lanes, 4x4 is very useful. I go skiing most years, usually driving from the Uk to Switzerland. 

 

My company car scheme is limited to only a few makes. Had a look at Mercedes Benz, tbut he models I sat in seamed massively over styled and not a patch on the old ones I used to own. Had a look at BMW, my natural choice, but the 330e has such a small range it falls into the higher company car tax bracket. The new Active tourer would fit the bill, but none to look at, and a couple of drives in the current 330e suggests that I'd find using the big into screen for almost all functions annoying. Then my fleet manager suggested that I look at the NX 450h. Never driven a Lexus before, never even sat in one.

 

Quick look online suggests that the tax situation would be good, the size is good, and low and behold real buttons for driver modes and temperature controls Contact was made with Toyota fleet and the next week a white F Sport 450h arrived on the drive. 

 

First impressions were a bit sketchy, the driver was more interested in where the local bus went from, and the car had no manual or even quick user guide. Everything switch was in a different place to what I'm used to. All the buttons and fonts were different. 

Great fun was had sitting in the drivers seat and having the steering wheel come towards me. The years evaporated away, and I could imagine myself dropping down into Thunderbird 2 and the wheel moving into position.

 

Anyway, quick drive round the block to get comfy, get my phone paired, and play with the options. I found it easy to get a position, but I struggled to find a truly comfortable seating position, this could be an issue, as I do high mileage, and have a bad back. Anyway work commitments meant that I had to leave the car until my first drive, which was with friends on a night out at the theater in Oxford. My first drive was in the dark, and found the lights very clever but not as good as the led's in my BMW. Then navigating Oxford's torcherous roads and carparks with an unfamiliar car was fun, luckily the 20 inch wheels survived. Had further fun that night, when the passengers couldn't work out the electric door handles and some kind person had turned the interior lights into permanent off mode. Not the premium Lexus feel I wanted. School run next morning, the kids loved the space inside, and the look of the car. Had more time to play with the modes, wasn't expecting two auto ev modes, one prioritising electric, and one prioritising petrol. This is one more than the bmw, but a really good idea, as I often find the bmw will waste all its Battery on a 60mph road at the beginning of the trip. leaving nothing for later on, when you need it. In the BMW you have a hold mode, but its more accurately described as  a charge mode and kills the economy.. I also felt the initial take up on the Lexus far better than the BMW which seems at times to be confused which power train it should select. In general the performance of the Lexus was excellent with real get up and go in the normal mode. Spent some time trying to get the rev counter to automatically display when the engine was running, and the electric power display on ev, with notable lack of success. 

 

That evening time for a road trip down to Wales to give the car a run out. apple Car play was selected to provide the navigation and music away we went. I'd thought ahead this time and downloaded some manuals from Lexus so I had some details on what to expect. Still playing with changes to the driving position, as suffering a sore back. Trip down was effortless, in HV mode, so using the Battery when coasting and stopped. Getting well over 50mph, which was excellent. Suffering a surprising amount of wheel spin from a 4x4, found out later it uses an electric motor on the rear axle for 4x4, not a propshaft connected system . Found the auto steer terrifying on the typical uk A roads, where an inside white line is more of a wish than a reality. A quick swing over the Severn Road Bridge, and up the M5 with a food stop at the always excellent Farm Services for some dinner. Getting more used to the car now, finding the right controls as I need them, and enjoying myself. The adaptive cruise control worked well with the heavy motorway traffic. and then back home via Evesham, the A44 and Fish Hill. Which the NX absolutely demolished  I was amazed in the way it went up for a big 4non sporting x4.  Everybody likes the car, but I'm still not finding love with the seats. 

 

Good school run the next morning, except all of the camera's are covered in road muck, and are telling me they need cleaning. Why do Lexus not put the camera behind the rear wiper, or cover it when not in use. Anyway, big mirrors made reversing not a problem. School pickup showed a potential issue. Child was late out of school, and the temperature was around zero degrees. In all the BMW's there is an option to use the traction motor to heat the car without running the engine. This is wonderful at kids football, and you can set the climate to come on a schedule or turn it on via the phone app, which again is wonderful in the morning.

 

Last night with the car was a solo run for me just to try and get my head around my thoughts. I reset the seat completely and started again, and this time got a position which my back felt comfortable with. 

 

Pick up next morning was fine, the driver seemed to have a genuine interest in cars, and was great to chat to. Amazingly no 20 inch wheels were damaged in this test drive. Interesting to jump back into my BMW, which felt  tinny, the doors clanked, and the central locking motors were amazingly noisy. The Alcantara seats were nice though......

 

Anyway I enjoyed the car

 

Plus points were the looks,  build quality, tech, drive train, economy. and it still has real buttons!

Negative points to me were, seats, black hole interior, traction, no Ski flap in the rear seats. 

Improvements I would like, allow a better split of traction sources in each of the hw auto and ev auto modes, Camera cleaners, Panoramic Roof option for the 450h, non leather or non man made leather interior.

 

Oh and if anybody can let me know how to get the rev counter to show when using petrol and not when using electric, please let me know!

I assume you can use the app to climate control the interior to defrost the car.

 

Anyway update to follow, but unless the i4 is amazing, I'll order the NX..... who would have thought......

 

[Spacewagon52]

20 minutes ago, Hookyman said:

As a Uk company car driver I've been driving BMW phev's for the last six years and 150000 miles. Fleet have told me now is the time to choose a new car again. I'm not sure about full electric yet though I do have an I4 test drive booked. I live in a rural area of England, with lots of narrow and muddy lanes, 4x4 is very useful. I go skiing most years, usually driving from the Uk to Switzerland. 

 

My company car scheme is limited to only a few makes. Had a look at Mercedes Benz, tbut he models I sat in seamed massively over styled and not a patch on the old ones I used to own. Had a look at BMW, my natural choice, but the 330e has such a small range it falls into the higher company car tax bracket. The new Active tourer would fit the bill, but none to look at, and a couple of drives in the current 330e suggests that I'd find using the big into screen for almost all functions annoying. Then my fleet manager suggested that I look at the NX 450h. Never driven a Lexus before, never even sat in one.

 

Quick look online suggests that the tax situation would be good, the size is good, and low and behold real buttons for driver modes and temperature controls Contact was made with Toyota fleet and the next week a white F Sport 450h arrived on the drive. 

 

First impressions were a bit sketchy, the driver was more interested in where the local bus went from, and the car had no manual or even quick user guide. Everything switch was in a different place to what I'm used to. All the buttons and fonts were different. 

Great fun was had sitting in the drivers seat and having the steering wheel come towards me. The years evaporated away, and I could imagine myself dropping down into Thunderbird 2 and the wheel moving into position.

 

Anyway, quick drive round the block to get comfy, get my phone paired, and play with the options. I found it easy to get a position, but I struggled to find a truly comfortable seating position, this could be an issue, as I do high mileage, and have a bad back. Anyway work commitments meant that I had to leave the car until my first drive, which was with friends on a night out at the theater in Oxford. My first drive was in the dark, and found the lights very clever but not as good as the led's in my BMW. Then navigating Oxford's torcherous roads and carparks with an unfamiliar car was fun, luckily the 20 inch wheels survived. Had further fun that night, when the passengers couldn't work out the electric door handles and some kind person had turned the interior lights into permanent off mode. Not the premium Lexus feel I wanted. School run next morning, the kids loved the space inside, and the look of the car. Had more time to play with the modes, wasn't expecting two auto ev modes, one prioritising electric, and one prioritising petrol. This is one more than the bmw, but a really good idea, as I often find the bmw will waste all its battery on a 60mph road at the beginning of the trip. leaving nothing for later on, when you need it. In the BMW you have a hold mode, but its more accurately described as  a charge mode and kills the economy.. I also felt the initial take up on the Lexus far better than the BMW which seems at times to be confused which power train it should select. In general the performance of the Lexus was excellent with real get up and go in the normal mode. Spent some time trying to get the rev counter to automatically display when the engine was running, and the electric power display on ev, with notable lack of success. 

 

That evening time for a road trip down to Wales to give the car a run out. Apple Car play was selected to provide the navigation and music away we went. I'd thought ahead this time and downloaded some manuals from Lexus so I had some details on what to expect. Still playing with changes to the driving position, as suffering a sore back. Trip down was effortless, in HV mode, so using the battery when coasting and stopped. Getting well over 50mph, which was excellent. Suffering a surprising amount of wheel spin from a 4x4, found out later it uses an electric motor on the rear axle for 4x4, not a propshaft connected system . Found the auto steer terrifying on the typical uk A roads, where an inside white line is more of a wish than a reality. A quick swing over the Severn Road Bridge, and up the M5 with a food stop at the always excellent Farm Services for some dinner. Getting more used to the car now, finding the right controls as I need them, and enjoying myself. The adaptive cruise control worked well with the heavy motorway traffic. and then back home via Evesham, the A44 and Fish Hill. Which the NX absolutely demolished  I was amazed in the way it went up for a big 4non sporting x4.  Everybody likes the car, but I'm still not finding love with the seats. 

 

Good school run the next morning, except all of the camera's are covered in road muck, and are telling me they need cleaning. Why do Lexus not put the camera behind the rear wiper, or cover it when not in use. Anyway, big mirrors made reversing not a problem. School pickup showed a potential issue. Child was late out of school, and the temperature was around zero degrees. In all the BMW's there is an option to use the traction motor to heat the car without running the engine. This is wonderful at kids football, and you can set the climate to come on a schedule or turn it on via the phone app, which again is wonderful in the morning.

 

Last night with the car was a solo run for me just to try and get my head around my thoughts. I reset the seat completely and started again, and this time got a position which my back felt comfortable with. 

 

Pick up next morning was fine, the driver seemed to have a genuine interest in cars, and was great to chat to. Amazingly no 20 inch wheels were damaged in this test drive. Interesting to jump back into my BMW, which felt  tinny, the doors clanked, and the central locking motors were amazingly noisy. The Alcantara seats were nice though......

 

Anyway I enjoyed the car

 

Plus points were the looks,  build quality, tech, drive train, economy. and it still has real buttons!

Negative points to me were, seats, black hole interior, traction, no Ski flap in the rear seats. 

Improvements I would like, allow a better split of traction sources in each of the hw auto and ev auto modes, Camera cleaners, Panoramic Roof option for the 450h, non leather or non man made leather interior.

 

Oh and if anybody can let me know how to get the rev counter to show when using petrol and not when using electric, please let me know!

I assume you can use the app to climate control the interior to defrost the car.

 

Anyway update to follow, but unless the i4 is amazing, I'll order the NX..... who would have thought......

 

Interesting intial thoughts from a BMW driver. You gain in some areas and lose in others. Somewhat surprised that you had problems getting the seat correct for you. Lexus seats are some of the most comfortable on the market, though I have no experience of the new NX. Very surprised and disappointed that the BMW uses all its electric first - not a good system.

If you do decide to choose the NX, give it 3 months of ownership and report back please. You need to actually own a Lexus for a few months before you fully appreciate the quality and engineering. I would be surprised if you were disappointed. One key feature you will not be bothered about is the reliability, as it is a company car.

 

 

[NiCoRe]

Thanks for the feedbacK

I considered also an X3 30e as an alternative for my 450H+ as a company car in France.
It was quickly ruled out based on lack of trunk space, gas mileage and being bigger on the outside than the NX. On top of that I managed to get a very sweet deal with the leasing company...

Seats : will suggest a non f sport model, regular ones are for my point of vue (so to speak) way more confortable and they are way superior than my former (and pricey option) Ergoconfort stuff.

Black hole interior : just go for Hazel or Cream interior...and activate the ambiant lightning 🙂

Traction : as you stated, there is no mechanical AWD system and the electric rear motor has limited power. The car is basically FWD "minded". Electric AWD is however useful in tricky situations

Rear camera cleaner : there is one, just use your rear wiper a couple of times and the dedicated washer will pop up and clean the camera for you.

Non leather is avalaible (NULUX) on certain trim levels

Panoroof is stil a no but il is sayed that you can order the Mark & Levinson upgraded audio system

 

[Ken R]

Don't go for the F sport as the standard seats are superb! Definitely specify Hazel interior to avoid the black hole effect.😁

[Andy B]

14 hours ago, Ken R said:

Definitely specify Hazel interior to avoid the black hole effect.😁

Or Black & Rich Cream - a slightly more "conservative" choice but with a splash of brightness.

[Harrier Man]

I like the Dark Rose interior; not so 'black hole' and reduced my concern that a cream or hazel (whilst looking great when new) might show up marks more readily.

[Simon F]

3 hours ago, Harrier Man said:

I like the Dark Rose interior; not so 'black hole' and reduced my concern that a cream or hazel (whilst looking great when new) might show up marks more readily.

What I went for as well.  I really like it.

[Hookyman]

Quick update, test drives are over, and a NX450 Premium with Link Pro and sunroof has been ordered. Terrane Khaki with Black Interior. In the end it came down to a choice of BMW i4 or the Lexus. Not natural competitors, but my company car scheme is limited like that. My thanks to both Lexus Fleet, and Lexus Swindon for putting up with the barrage of questions.

[NiCoRe]

Thanks for the feedback.
Welcome to the Kaki / Nori Team !

What Timeframe did they give you for the delivery of your future NX ?

[Hookyman]

Verbally told end of the year.