Nx - Loads To Like, But What Don't You Like

lee789 · February 4, 2015

My gripes.....1. Lack of driver memory seat on F Sport, with no option to upgrade. Should be standard in this price band, and pretty stupid not to offer it as an option across the range. 2. Remote touch pad - far too sensitive, and unusable if you wear gloves in winter. A good job the car has forward collision alert, because if you are trying to use this pad whilst driving you are likely to need it. A triumph of design over usability. 3 Electric tailgate - wake me up when it's finally shut. 4.Position of the remote jump/charging points, and the 12V Battery if you ever need to charge it - why put the positive terminal inside a fuse box, and the recommended negative/earth point under the engine cover? I normally trickle charge directly to the Battery, but Lexus have decided to hide this away under a difficult to remove, and even more difficult to refit piece of trim in the side of the boot.

February 4, 2015

Agree on the tailgate,far to slow.Much prefer the dial to a pad,we thought that would cause problems when we seen it in the showroom.

Also agree with memory seats.

Would also have liked a digital clock in the centre info display.

A few to many unnessasary gadgets.

By the way does anyone know how to get the mpg on centre display which isn't just the blue bar moving back and forth?

Only a few little moans we are very happy with it.

lee789 · February 4, 2015

I thought the MPG could be viewed in the car settings on the main nav screen, and also by scrolling through the info pages on the smaller display, but I wouldn't swear to it. I read somewhere that a digital clock is available on screen, but I can't find it. One other thing that really should be present on the car is a digital speedometer that displays on the information screen. I believe this is standard on some cheaper Lexus cars, so why not the NX?

February 5, 2015

I think the MPG on the Nav car settings screen is just the best of MPG not a current one.

lee789 · February 5, 2015

I think you are right Eamonn. I'm finding some of the features on the car difficult to work out without a proper manual, and sometimes looking at the on-line version only adds to the confusion. I have found that the official MPG figures given by Lexus for the NX are wildly optimistic, and not even close to what drivers will achieve in the real world. I am currently averaging 30.4 mpg on a mixture of 40% town and 60% motorway driving. I got similar figures a few years ago from my old RX450H with a 3.5 V6. So, anybody who buys one of these thinking they are going to save money on fuel is in for a bit of a disappointment.

stevet · February 5, 2015

When the 200t comes out; if the mpg is anywhere near the 300h it will kill 300h sales.

lee789 · February 5, 2015

Lexus reckon 90% of NX sales in the UK will be the 300H, and 10% for the 200. In the States it's 90% 200, 10% 300H. I think if Lexus had priced the 200 to undercut the 300H by a few grand it would be a really big seller here. As I said in another post, it makes no sense pricing them almost identically because the 2.5L engine and all that hybrid equipment must cost a lot more to produce and build than a 2L turbo. Also, if you think the consumption figures are bad for the 300H, they seem a lot worse for the 200. Some owners are reporting sub 20 mpg, or very low 20s. Most hybrid owners say the 300H seems to be averaging around 35, so a massive difference. The current price of UK fuel will go in the 200s favour for a while, but when it rockets back up again the hybrid really starts to make sense. I think the hybrid feels a lot quicker than the official figures, and with immediate torque available from the electric motors, I bet it is quicker off the mark than the 200 - at least until it hits 40mph!! Great if you want a nippy town car, but not so good if you want to get anywhere fast on a motorway.

February 5, 2015

We have found the mpg getting better and better with miles added and have already hit 40mpg so we are pleased its going the right way.

rayaans · February 5, 2015

Lexus reckon 90% of NX sales in the UK will be the 300H, and 10% for the 200. In the States it's 90% 200, 10% 300H. I think if Lexus had priced the 200 to undercut the 300H by a few grand it would be a really big seller here. As I said in another post, it makes no sense pricing them almost identically because the 2.5L engine and all that hybrid equipment must cost a lot more to produce and build than a 2L turbo. Also, if you think the consumption figures are bad for the 300H, they seem a lot worse for the 200. Some owners are reporting sub 20 mpg, or very low 20s. Most hybrid owners say the 300H seems to be averaging around 35, so a massive difference. The current price of UK fuel will go in the 200s favour for a while, but when it rockets back up again the hybrid really starts to make sense. I think the hybrid feels a lot quicker than the official figures, and with immediate torque available from the electric motors, I bet it is quicker off the mark than the 200 - at least until it hits 40mph!! Great if you want a nippy town car, but not so good if you want to get anywhere fast on a motorway.

US MPG is lower than UK MPG btw. Usually the petrol only engines have a very similiar MPG compared to the variable nature of hybrid fuel economy. The NX MPG figure can surely be met but it takes serious dedication to do so and is not worth it IMO. Itll make you go crazy.

I think the 200t will have cost more in development. Reason being is that the 300h drivetrain has been taken out of the Toyota Camry so has already been developed and is selling in huge numbers, therefore costing less per unit as they make them in big batches. Any deviation from the norm eg one 200t for every 9 300h's selling is going to cost something - depends on if theyre made on the same production line or not.

lee789 · February 6, 2015

It will certainly be interesting to test drive the 200 next month. When I was comparing insurance prices for my 300H I inadvertently entered the details as an NX 2L Petrol Turbo. I got quite a shock, as they were more than double those I had seen previously. I don't know whether the prices were accurate as the car is yet to be launched here, but if they were, they are up there (for me) with the likes of 3.0 XF's and BMW 640's. You are right about the 200 engine being a brand new development, so I can see your reasoning on pricing strategy.

te0xdsm · February 6, 2015

Pretty much agree - things to improve for me would be 1) tailgate slow 2) offer memory seats on F-sport 3) make clear all the differences between standard nav/premium nav 4) the lower part of the inside of the doors gets really dirty - I am not sure what the design constrain was to not have standard sills - but the amount of muck it gets.... and 5) the half opening boot cover, I rather have a fully opening one - it makes the use of the boot a bit ackward.

rayaans · February 6, 2015

It will certainly be interesting to test drive the 200 next month. When I was comparing insurance prices for my 300H I inadvertently entered the details as an NX 2L Petrol Turbo. I got quite a shock, as they were more than double those I had seen previously. I don't know whether the prices were accurate as the car is yet to be launched here, but if they were, they are up there (for me) with the likes of 3.0 XF's and BMW 640's. You are right about the 200 engine being a brand new development, so I can see your reasoning on pricing strategy.

Cant say the insurance bracket will be much different - maybe 1 higher but theyre just taking the mick if theyre trying to get double. They may do that on all new cars so you have no option but to be bullied into getting an insurance policy?

lee789 · February 6, 2015

Possibly an unrealistic guess by the insurers, and the correct prices will be uploaded when the car is actually launched here.

stevet · February 6, 2015

It will certainly be interesting to test drive the 200 next month. When I was comparing insurance prices for my 300H I inadvertently entered the details as an NX 2L Petrol Turbo. I got quite a shock, as they were more than double those I had seen previously. I don't know whether the prices were accurate as the car is yet to be launched here, but if they were, they are up there (for me) with the likes of 3.0 XF's and BMW 640's. You are right about the 200 engine being a brand new development, so I can see your reasoning on pricing strategy.

Its 0-60 is faster then a 3.0 XF so I can see why the insurance is about the same.

lee789 · February 6, 2015

Actually the standard 3.0 XF is slightly faster than the NX 200. 6.7 secs to 60 as opposed to 6.9 secs, and a top speed of 149 as opposed to 124. The S 3.0 XF is even faster at 5,9 to 60, and a top speed limited to 155. Way more torque too, 600nm for the XF, 350nm for the Lexus 200. However the ageing XF is far too common a sight on the road now, whilst the NX is a mere baby. Jaguars can be horribly unreliable too, as I found to my cost with an XF and two XJ's/

rayaans · February 7, 2015

and it's a smelly diesel which rattles! Last time I drove a Jag XF 3.0 it felt pretty lethargic tbh. The 1st gear seemed pretty tall and I was unimpressed by the shocking interior quality - leather was like vinyl and bottom of the doors was poor plastic imo not to mention the outdated touch screen. Have jag fixed the touch screen yet?

lee789 · February 7, 2015

The software for the touchscreen has been updated, but it's still not very good. You are right about the diesel rattle, and mine was particularly bad every time you put your foot on the accelerator. The sound used to reverberate between the houses either side of the road. Build quality and electrics were the worst aspects though. Loads of annoying little glitches and unexplained warning lights. The DPF was a pain too.

stevet · February 7, 2015

Actually the standard 3.0 XF is slightly faster than the NX 200. 6.7 secs to 60 as opposed to 6.9 secs, and a top speed of 149 as opposed to 124. The S 3.0 XF is even faster at 5,9 to 60, and a top speed limited to 155. Way more torque too, 600nm for the XF, 350nm for the Lexus 200. However the ageing XF is far too common a sight on the road now, whilst the NX is a mere baby. Jaguars can be horribly unreliable too, as I found to my cost with an XF and two XJ's/

I was looking at the 3.0 petrol I wouldn't compare the NX to a diesel.

lee789 · February 7, 2015

Sorry, misunderstood you. The original 3.0 Petrol XF was slow and expensive to run. Probably why it only stayed in production for just over a year. The Supercharged version is a lot better, and a much nicer and more refined car to drive than the diesel XF.

stevet · February 7, 2015

No problem. I always think I'm going to get a supercharged jag when I retire :)

rayaans · February 7, 2015

No problem. I always think I'm going to get a supercharged jag when I retire :)

Nah your not - get Stockport to start looking for an LS460 or even the 600h :D

stevet · February 7, 2015

No problem. I always think I'm going to get a supercharged jag when I retire :)

Nah your not - get Stockport to start looking for an LS460 or even the 600h :D

Had a 600h as a courtesy car once, nice but huge! The RX even looked small next to it :)

rayaans · February 8, 2015

No problem. I always think I'm going to get a supercharged jag when I retire :)

Nah your not - get Stockport to start looking for an LS460 or even the 600h :D

Had a 600h as a courtesy car once, nice but huge! The RX even looked small next to it :)

Still - it seems fit for a pensioner! Stockport only gave me a CT200h! :(

ScottKFC · February 20, 2015

I'm surprised there's not a comment on what NOT TO LIKE regarding the vibrations from the rear tailgate when you are playing anything with a modicum of BASE.

I fitted private plates and noticed the vibrations got much worse. I padded the new plates with a few bit of felt to stop the noise but because I'd already tuned into the vibration I continued to investigate. The rear plastic which surrounds the tailgate (internally) just at the point of access to the rear light cluster internal was the cause of further noise.

Again I fitted a little felt pad to eradicate the problem.

For over £40k it's not what I'd expect.

On my first service I will be pointing out to the dealer out all that I've done to stop the noise. Oh and the centre console box needs to be felt lined as well....that's my next assault!

February 22, 2015

Well we have just come back from a week in Cornwall and done about 700 miles,so we are now over four thousand miles all in .
The NX was very comfortable and smooth as you would expect, cruise control and radar worked as it should,economy was fine.But where it really struggled was on the cornwall hills even driving carefully and thinking a head the slightest touch of the accelerator and it would sound terrible,i would go as far to say it was even dangerous at times with cars queuing behind you.You will never have the confidence to pass anything quick in the 300h.We think for a car that cost us nearly 40 thousand pound this is very poor.

Don't get me wrong for normal town and motorway driving it performs beautifully,but next time we go to Devon and cornwall(which is a lot)i will be taking my five year old freelander which copes with anything.