How I went down the Lexus Path

[NiCoRe]

After a 14 months wait, yesterday I was finally able to lay my hands on my LEXUS NX 450H+ Executive trim (Kaki / Beige combo - see pics below).

My home is near La Defense, 6 km away from the Champs Elysées where I work, and this gives me the privilege to live in a Low Emission Zone called "Grand Paris"  (Last time that someone used this expression, he wore a little moustache, had a pretty bad temper, lived east of the Rhine river and ruined Europe 🤯).

Paris LEZ will in the forthcoming months ban (yes ban) all diesel cars (even the newests )and many petrol cars (other than Euro 6 compliant)  to enter and drive the area . Driving your banned car between 8 AM to 8 PM from Monday to Friday will translate into an automated fine which amount will increase each time...This is French bureaucracy at its finest. They recently decided to postpone the ban after the Olympics fearing severe unrests. 

Perfectly happy with my VW Passat Variant which suited me for business and my regular trips to Normandy, I was on a clock and had to pick up a car that will allow me to drive out of my parking space whenever I need / want.

As I cannot easily charge at home (at least in Paris)  and I do not stand the prospect of playing Russian roulette game of recharge when you go the BEV path. I narrowed my search to HEV and PHEV vehicles. 
I was looking for a car : higher than the Passat, shorter, confortable with heated seats, with a little punch, torquey at low revs, capable of long range cruising, roomy enough for 4 adults with a decent boot that could accommodate trips to gardening shop, with the most comprehensive security suite, decent audio, large screen for my aging eyes.

To this equation, only one answer : An SUV (or should I write an MPV with an attitude 🙃)

I went on a complete market expedition : BMW X3 30e , MERCEDES GLC 300E, AUDI Q5 TFSIe, DS 7 E tense, VOLVO XC 60, DS 7 E TENSE, LEXUS NX 350H / 450 H+, MAZDA CX 60, HYUNDAI TUCSON PHEV,  KIA SPORTAGE PHEV, FORD KUGA PHEV, VW TIGUAN GTE, PEUGEOT 3008 HYBRID.

So began a long tour of car dealers (but I am lucky enough to have a few of them at pretty short distance from home), rent and insurance quoting, driving test, internet digging, Youtube reviews binge watching... 

Due to taxes consideration, I quickly ruled out the self charging hybrids and short listed :

• BMW X3 30e
• MERCEDES GLC 300e
• AUDI Q5TFSIe
• VOLVO XC 60 T6 Recharge
• DS 7 E TENSE 300
• LEXUS NX 450H+

DS even with the lowest price tag was ruled out due to the rent price and some concern about reliability / efficiency even during the first years of the car

VOLVO was a serious competitor but also ruled out due to overall cabin feeling (I want leather not some eco carpet or whatever recycled vinyl), being a trojan horse for Chinese automakers and electronically caping top speed at 160 kph (I do drive on German Autobahns and 160 is a tad slow 😇)

AUDI was dropped pretty soon as they couldn't guarantee that the car will come with the options ordered and on top of that we found the car looking pretty bland 

MERCEDES was in the middle of a model refresh and the price of the new one killed the idea

Finally, The X3 did not make it for practical reasons : a ridiculous small trunk for its size, small ev range and MPG 

So here comes MIDORI 

[dutchie01]

Great spec Nicolas, in my idea the best color and trim. Nice wheels too!

How is Lexus in France? do you have to explain what it is? What is the image?

[Las Palmas]

Nice car. Congratulations.

Too big to find parking space to here on the island.

Enjoy.

[NiCoRe]

 

31 minutes ago, dutchie01 said:

Great spec Nicolas, in my idea the best color and trim. Nice wheels too!

How is Lexus in France? do you have to explain what it is? What is the image?

Thanks Bernard, 
I do agree, this is one of the best color / trim combo in my opinion 😁. I walked in the dealership with "Payne Grey" (1L1) or "Titanium Grey" (1J7) in mind and black / white trim. I saw it in its full glory in the showroom and changed my mind instantly.

LEXUS is a "small" brand in France. They sell roughly 5000 to 6000 cars per year. I do expect to explain quite often what the car is as it stands out in a swarm of 3008 / 5008 and to a lesser extend  SPORTAGE/ TUCSON / RAV4 / CAPTUR 

It has great success with the taxi drivers (lots of ES300h) and is a "less in the eye" alternative to BMW / AUDI / MERCEDES and VOLVO for executive company cars but has to fight the DS 7 ETENSE which promotes its "French" roots to fleet managers (even if Stellantis is partly owned by Chinese company).

All modes are quite popular within the Japanese car fan base and second hand market is pretty active.

Is the situation the same in Nederlands ? ( username based assumption)

 

[NiCoRe]

8 minutes ago, Las Palmas said:

Nice car. Congratulations.

Too big to find parking space to here on the island.

Enjoy.

Thanks John , 4m66 is 10 cm shorter than my previous Passat SW but I do agree that it is still a rather large beast. I will post shots side by side with our little PANDA 4x4.

I hope that you gain in sunny days what you lose in parking space ! 

[Hillie]

1 minute ago, NiCoRe said:

 

..... I do expect to explain quite often what the car is as it stands out in a swarm of 3008 / 5008 and to a lesser extend  SPORTAGE/ TUCSON / RAV4 / CAPTUR 

This will just make ownership feel even more special.  Congrats on the choice and patience wating for delivery.

[Las Palmas]

3 hours ago, NiCoRe said:

Thanks John , 4m66 is 10 cm shorter than my previous Passat SW but I do agree that it is still a rather large beast. I will post shots side by side with our little PANDA 4x4.

I hope that you gain in sunny days what you lose in parking space ! 

Sunny days are here again. All year. Rain is so seldom that windshield wipers are mostly used to wipe away dust from Sahara and that mean using a lot of windshield wiper fluid. and new rubber inserts from https://www.ebay.de/itm/255489534102  OEM quality Denso Hybrid rubber. Much cheaper than a new windshield.

[dutchie01]

On 4/23/2023 at 12:17 PM, NiCoRe said:

 

Thanks Bernard, 
I do agree, this is one of the best color / trim combo in my opinion 😁. I walked in the dealership with "Payne Grey" (1L1) or "Titanium Grey" (1J7) in mind and black / white trim. I saw it in its full glory in the showroom and changed my mind instantly.

LEXUS is a "small" brand in France. They sell roughly 5000 to 6000 cars per year. I do expect to explain quite often what the car is as it stands out in a swarm of 3008 / 5008 and to a lesser extend  SPORTAGE/ TUCSON / RAV4 / CAPTUR 

It has great success with the taxi drivers (lots of ES300h) and is a "less in the eye" alternative to BMW / AUDI / MERCEDES and VOLVO for executive company cars but has to fight the DS 7 ETENSE which promotes its "French" roots to fleet managers (even if Stellantis is partly owned by Chinese company).

All modes are quite popular within the Japanese car fan base and second hand market is pretty active.

Is the situation the same in Nederlands ? ( username based assumption)

 

Lexus in The Netherlands is having a difficult time. Last year only 413 cars sold compare this with the 3911 sold in 2012. It has been shrinking ever since. The current range is just too limited and the cars offered are not what the market is asking. Current company car market in Holland is almost 100% electric. Lexus has nothing so they cannot even be an alternative. Big sellers in the past were the CT and IS now both gone without replacement. Must be hard to be a Lexus dealer. 

Also the future looks bleak. Polestar and Tesla have made their mark and the Chinese BEV invasion is rolling in. I think Lexus will stay as long as Toyota decides to continue. 

Thats a big ban in Paris. No diesels at all. What about Taxis, deliveryvans, policecars, buses?

[NiCoRe]

1 hour ago, dutchie01 said:

Lexus in The Netherlands is having a difficult time. Last year only 413 cars sold compare this with the 3911 sold in 2012. It has been shrinking ever since. The current range is just too limited and the cars offered are not what the market is asking. Current company car market in Holland is almost 100% electric. Lexus has nothing so they cannot even be an alternative. Big sellers in the past were the CT and IS now both gone without replacement. Must be hard to be a Lexus dealer. 

Also the future looks bleak. Polestar and Tesla have made their mark and the Chinese BEV invasion is rolling in. I think Lexus will stay as long as Toyota decides to continue. 

Thats a big ban in Paris. No diesels at all. What about Taxis, deliveryvans, policecars, buses?

Thanks for the info 

Taxis are already usine mainly hybrids (lots  of Toyota and quite a few Lexus), delivery vans are switching to Electric 

buses are not concerned but they are replaced by hybrids and electrics (same for police cars)

 

[Haydn]

I got the RX350F Sport 4 weeks ago.

it rattled so much and Lexus couldn’t repair that I got rid of it last week

what a shocker 

back to Mercedes for me

[Gary H]

Enjoy!

That's practically identical to what I have on order - Takumi spec in Terrane Khaki, with the tan leather and panoramic roof. The only difference, barring being right hand drive of course, is that it’s in the company's 'reluctant to build' 350h flavour. 

The one I ordered was identical to the one in my local dealer's showroom at the time. I wasn’t actually looking at a Takumi spec to begin with. It was an F-Sport - like I have with my current UX. However, other than a change of colour for the leather, there’s no major difference to what I have now...and I did fall in love with the Takumi they had in the showroom. 

A Volvo XC60 was my second option and I do really like them. My previous car to the UX I have, was an Audi Q5.