Do a google search for “Lexus NX towcar” and you’ll find a good write up from 2019 of an NX as a caravan towcar. Seemed to fair better that I’d have expected. Then again I used to tow a caravan with a BMW X5 4.4 V8 so I was spoilt somewhat! 😀
in my experience the slightly poor secondary ride - jiggly feeling, poor over expansion joints, a bit of tyre bump thump, etc - is due to tyre choice. Neither the OE Bridgestone or Yokohamas appear to be good in this respect. Putting a different set of premium tyres on such as Goodyears or Michelins seem to make a huge experience. Matches what I’ve experienced myself and there are plenty of reviews from others to suggest the same.
An NX is brilliant when keeping to under 50 allowing the electric motors to do more of the work. Not so good at speeds of 50-70. You’ll still get drive from the motors but only in conjunction with the petrol engine. Over 70 and the consumption does take a fair hit because you’re lugging a fairly heavy car around.
As someone who has a bad lower back from time to time as a result of 16 years of playing rugby, I find the seats in an NX to be among the most comfortable of any car I’ve ever owned. As others have said, comfort and quality are top drawer.
The sweet spot in the range for what you want to pay would probably be a Luxury. The adaptive cruise control is standard on a Luxury (others too mind).
Useful options are the convenience pack - electric tailgate and inductive phone charger in the central cubbyhole under the armrest. Tailgate is quite slow mind and the charging panel restricts access underneath. It does lift up out of the way but I found it fiddly. Other useful options are the panoramic roof which provides a lot more natural light into the cabin. It does reduce headroom in the back though. You might find the odd car with a traditional sunroof which tilts up or slides back.
If going for an F-Sport make sure you test a non F-Sport and an F-Sport over the same roads back to back. Some like the slightly harder ride of the F-Sport some don’t. An F-Sport with AVS - Adaptive Variable Suspension - is brilliant because you can have comfort or sport settings at the touch of a switch and there appears to be a genuine difference between each mode. Like hen’s teeth though.
Colour is a personal choice I think.
I’m always surprised nowadays at how well these cars handle for what is an SUV. They’ll never be as good as a sports saloon or sports hatchback but they aren’t bad at all.
Interior trim appears to be well made and well screwed together. I have a 5 year old car with no rattles or creaks at all.
Try to buy from a Lexus dealer if you can but equally I saw some decent private cars for sale when I looked for mine. Check service history - they should be serviced every 10k miles or every year whichever comes first. There were, in my experience, a number of cars being advertised as having full service history but were missing one or more services. If annual mileage is low in the past I think it’s not too bad if it’s missed one service but if it’s gone say 20k+ miles between two services this would worry me a bit more.
I think these cars are fairly bulletproof and they appear to go to higher mileages without too many problems as long as they have been correctly serviced.
Hope this helps. Look forward to hearing about your search.