First_Lexus

Having had my NX Sport for nearly two weeks, today was the day for my first clean. The car has the 'Williams F1' ceramic coating applied by the dealer (well, by an indy the dealer uses) so today was also a good chance to assess the quality of the application and finish The good news is that the paintwork is flawless. Regardless of the merits or otherwise of the Williams coating - which I didn't pay for - the preparation of the car was evidently done very well. My basic regime today was the same as I use for my other cars, although with the Williams coating present I didn't (at this stage) clay or actually prep the paintwork, which I would normally have done. - Snowfoam - Bilt-Hamber Auto-Foam - Wash - Bilt-Hamber Auto-Wash (three bucket method - body, wheels & rinse) - Paintwork & wheels - CarPro Re-Load sealant - Tyres - Bouncers Dress to Impress - Glass - Dodo Supernatural followed by Auto-Perfection Pro Clear - Exterior plastics - Chemical Guys New Look Trim Gel

http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/audis-still-britains-favourite-car-to-have-driving-right-up-your-arse-201204245156 http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/environment/tests-on-audi-cars-find-they-contain-tossers-20150930102445 http://www.gazetteandherald.co.uk/news/headlines/15389223._Reckless__Audi_salesman_told_police_LED_headlights_meant_he_could_drive_at_speed_in_thick_fog/ One of the stories above is fact rather than parody...

According to the brochure, LED is standard across the range for dipped, with halogen for full beam on S, SE, Sport.

To be fair, we are all coloured by our own experiences. Somewhere there is somebody who will never have another Lexus, although I guess the odds of that are somewhat smaller. In my case with VAG, I've owned three VWs and two were a reliability nightmare. My Sister and her husband had three Audis (A4 and A6) and had one new engine and one new DSG gearbox (under warranty) as well as a number of more minor issues. They've driven Honda and Subaru for a few years since without issues. Oh, my other Sister had an Octavia DSG which had major issues under warranty. A former colleague had a Tiguan that needed...a new DSG gearbox under warranty too. Just last week my neighbour traded his 2015 Golf as he'd started having issues with his DSG gearbox and wanted rid while it was under warranty. Maybe I'm just unlucky? Either way, I'm never taking the risk with a VAG product again.

I haven't noticed a parking sensor lag @Omegajb Persevere with the DAB. It only needs setting up once, and once I'd finally worked out how to do it the process was all over in a few minutes. Just don't ask me to remember how I did it in a few months time...

Can't disagree with any of that @Omegajb One more 'dislike' I've found over the past few days is how poor I find the standard LED headlights. The high beam is great, but on dipped I'm finding them a challenge when compared with my previous Honda with HIDs. My only other dislike is that it's getting very dirty on the lanes around here...but hey, that gives me an excuse to clean it this weekend.

Regardless, you'll understand given my personal experience and that of too many friends and acquaintances why I could never have or recommend a VW. Unless it was a recommendation to somebody I really didn't like... As for the looks, that's a matter of opinion. I think they look bland and oddly proportioned.

Speaking from personal experience, if you are looking at a VW Tiguan, beware the DSG gearbox amongst other things. Apart from being hesitant and clunky to drive, mine went bang (literally) on the M1 at only 40k miles - under warranty fortunately - but it took weeks for VW to replace it. The reason? The gearboxes were on back order due to the number failing and my dealer alone had four cars of various types awaiting new boxes. Other than that, the paintwork quality was terrible, the interior rattled, the touchscreen started to fail and the driver's seat and carpet wore badly. Quality was - to be frank - hopeless. I also had two acquaintances with similar experiences, one needing a new engine and gearbox. I only now buy Japanese cars as VAG 'quality' is a myth in my personal experience and that of quite a few friends, relatives and colleagues.

From the beginning... 1988 E Lada Riva 1200L. In beige. Mmmm, nice. Bought for me by my Father to learn to drive in so I didn't have to use his car or my Mum's car. Not cool, despite my "Street Machine" magazine "awesome" sticker on the back. An early attempt at irony...1980 Vanden Plas 1500. An Allegro with a big grille and a leather interior. And walnut picnic tables. Far too cool for school. 36k miles but terminal rust in the chassis. Shame. I rather liked this one.1988 Mini Mayfair automatic. Given to me by my Mum when she upgraded to a new Nissan Micra (mainly because the Vanden Plas above failed the MOT). Went to Mini 30 at Silverstone in this one. She was a bit slow for the track though...happy memories even so.1985 Austin Montego 1.6HL automatic. Great car. Loved it. No rear seatbelts, and you could fit a surprising number of people on the rear bench when needed. My first University chariot, I had some 'fun' times in that one...1991 Rover Metro 1.1C. Terrible, terrible, terrible. Everything in the world went wrong with this one. Gear linkages. Paintwork. Electrics. Seats. Rubbish. Still the only car I've ever crashed. I didn't want it but my Father decided it was more 'sensible' than my Montego. Sigh.1993 Daihatsu Charade CXi 16 valve automatic. And the "16 valve" was so important it was in red letters down the sides. An absolute peach, I loved that car. Should never have sold it, but my (now ex) wife wanted something more practical, so we bought a...1996 Hyundai Accent 1.5GSi automatic. Very good. Reliable. Practical. But never as good as my Charade. And very dull. Nothing more than an appliance.2000 VW Polo 1.4S automatic. Nearly as bad as the Metro. VW took it back and replaced it due to all the problems. Hopeless.2001 VW Polo 1.4S automatic. VW provided a new replacement for the previous pile of poo Polo. No problems with this one, but by then I wanted a...2001 MINI One automatic. The demonstrator from the dealer, so no waiting list for me. British racing green, with two tone beige and black leather and lots of options. Wonderful.2004 MINI Cooper automatic. Still have this one in the garage 13 years later, and with only 12k careful miles. Every extra ordered except the John Cooper bodykit, and I went to Plant Oxford to see it built. She's only been driven in the rain twice. Sad? OCD? Guilty on both charges. My second car for the weekend.1974 Mini Clubman automatic. A genuine 12k mile, one owner, classic and I still regret selling it again 5 years ago. This was a third car for other weekends!2005 Renault Scenic automatic. Practical and cheap, I needed an everyday driver to go in and out of London so I didn't have to use either of the Minis. Lots of bits fell off, but my niece had it for years after I traded up, and it is still going in the Aylesbury area despite some pretty severe punishment. 2009 VW Tiguan automatic. Never again VAG, never again. Ever. EVER! Good at first, but then kept going wrong, ending up destroying the gearbox in the third lane of the M1 after just 40k miles. Had a hole in the drivers side carpet, the touchscreen was patchy and the paintwork quality poor. If only everything in life was as reliable as a...grrr.2012 Honda Accord i-DTEC EX automatic. Brilliant. Just brilliant. One of my better decisions...a truly superb car. But a change of job meant that after 50k miles it had to go as I didn't need a diesel and potential DPF issues. 2015 Honda CR-V 2.0 i-VTEC automatic. An odd one this. The Twilight Blue paintwork had an issue with 'bleaching' noticed at just a few days old. Honda replaced it, almost straight away. I'm not sure how many other manufacturers would have done that. 2015 Honda CR-V 2.0 i-VTEC automatic (take two). This time in White Orchid Pearl, I had a happy 22k miles in this - a really excellent car - until i fancied a change.Which brings me to my Lexus NX Sport. I don't think I've missed any out...

Rural Wiltshire here and the first clean of my new NX coming up this weekend. I've also noticed the build up on the inner rear doors. To be fair my Honda CR-V was similar, and as a solution I had the side steps fitted to see whether they kept mud and muck at bay. It worked to a point, but instead I got a big build up on the bottoms of the side-steps... MPG over my first 180 miles is 46.9 on rural roads at 30-40mph mainly, no motorway miles to speak of. Or a-roads. Or b-roads...just lanes.

Just to echo a few other comments, over the past two days I've had the car set to 'Eco' mode and have seen no difference in mpg attained. The average after c180 miles - journey types as described above - is 46.9mpg. I'm very happy with that.

Indeed so @javadude - I was approaching this by trying to use the audio system in the car rather than by using my iPhone as the method of control. I can now stream Spotify by downloading the play lists to the iPhone so they can be used off-line, then connecting with Bluetooth from the car, selecting a play list on the phone and it then comes through the in-car audio. Jolly good...not had a car that could do this before. I may even give up CDs at some stage...

I ran my previous Honda CRV (I- VTEC petrol) only on BP Ultimate for over a year, then switched to only Tesco standard unleaded for a few months, and posted the results on a Honda forum where a similar debate was raging. BP Ultimate gave an increased economy of 2-4mpg over the period, and my perception was that the engine performed better with it, although I accept this is both subjective and liable to the placebo effect. As others have said, this is mostly about preference and belief. Some consumers buy Tesco Value baked beans, others have to buy HP or Heinz. Both effectively do the same job at different price points. Are they really much different? It's all about choice and preference.

I agree @yeahchap although we will have to see exactly how consumers react to the negative press about diesel over a longer period. How local authorities chose to implement congestion charging will also have a big impact on future customer behaviour. Sales figures are showing a sharp decline in diesel sales, with strong growth in hybrid sales although normal petrol is also growing to fill most of the gap left by the diesel decline. http://cardealermagazine.co.uk/publish/decline-diesel-car-sales-offset-demand-petrol-across-eu/140127 IMHO in order to fully capitalise Lexus should start to offer 'scrappage' as an offer on the CT. From a customer perception perspective, offering (say) £5k scrappage rather than discounts or deposit contributions could see them shift quite a few CTs. Certainly a number of other manufacturers are being quite aggressive with such an approach.

I need to add another like. When playing a CD the screen shows a colour picture of the cover artwork. Very nice...

I looked at the QX30 before choosing my NX. Quality was excellent but I found the interior not quite as plush as the Lexus, although the hybrid saloon Q50 was a significant step up. A few small things put me off, but mainly as you say initial purchase price and depreciation. They do seem to represent good value at 12-24 months old though once that initial drop has happened. Somehow the Infiniti didn't feel as expensive as the Lexus, and thus I didn't feel justified the price. They don't have that many dealers either, so location may be a factor. I thought I'd read somewhere that they share a lot with Mercedes, and that may be a reliability worry - although I doubt a high-end Japanese manufacturer would take a significant reputational risk.

Now that's I've found all the DAB stations and entered the pre-sets (see the 'likes and dislikes' thread), does anybody know if I can stream Spotify to the audio system? As far as I can tell, the system will only find the one album saved to my iPhone and won't find Spotify. Is it something to do with Mirrorlink?

I've just worked it out, and now have the full range of DAB stations. Setting pre-sets requires first going into manual mode, then selecting 'next ensemble' wait until it picks up a station - then tilt the knob left to go to pre-sets, highlight the number you want, then push and hold the knob down until it beeps and replaces the station that was there previously. Obviously...! It also seems as though there are pre-sets for each ensemble set when auto tuned. So actually if I'd worked out how to find the ensembles I probably didn't need to bother! Anyway, I'll likely have the car for at least 4 years and won't ever need to do that again. Hurrah!

I've actually now found the BBC Radio stations using the manual mode and going through the ensembles. If only I could work out how to set them as pre-sets... The owners manual doesn't help, so HELP!

There is a sticker on the windscreen, and the invoice says it is the Ceramic Coat. I think that the dealer (Lexus Swindon) gets a local independent detail company to apply it rather than doing it themselves - there was certainly one doing a car when I turned up to collect mine. I may be wrong though... My cars never get very dirty. I'm slightly obsessed... I'll be interested to see how long this lasts and whether it is any goo i.e. whether I can tell something has been applied. I've always avoided paying for any of these treatments, preferring to do it myself. Included for free though, so why not?!

Reading through this thread again, a few things strike me. First, satisfaction with any feature in a new car will be based on previous experience. If you've had a system that you loved and found easy previously there will always be a period of adjustment to a new set-up. One user's 'dated' is another user's 'modern.' My previous Honda navigation system - even though the car was a 2015 model - dated back to 2008 when the 8th Generation Accord was launched. If you think the Lexus standard system is dated, then don't ever go and look at that! Second, expectation plays a huge part. Third comes personal preference and the likely user base. Honda replaced their trusty 'old' 2D system with a Garmin based system called 'Connect.' Many of their loyal customers didn't want apps, or a touchscreen, or a 3D navigation system (me included). For the next generation of CR-V in 2018 they are believed to be going back to a more simple system as that is what their customer base values. Personally I don't like over complicated systems. I found the BMW i-Drive system a total nightmare. I just want simple, reliable and effective, and hopefully the Lexus system will deliver that for me. Mind you, I don't use internet banking preferring cheques for most things and I still use CDs and even cassettes most of the time at home on my old faithful Marantz/B&W separates system... I think a lot of people these days are 'fooled' into thinking that they need the latest system, whereas in reality there are a huge number of features that the majority will never use. Many of those people then convince themselves that they needed or valued that functionality. Nobody has yet been able to convince me - really convince me - why an iPhone 7 or 8 would actually improve my experience when compared to my iPhone 4 for example. Maybe it's just me...

Looking at the latest brochure for the NX, the standard nav (i.e. with the rotary controller) comes with an 8 speaker Pioneer audio system and the Premium nav comes with a 10 speaker Pioneer audio system. Over my first 100 miles, with the car in 'normal' mode I'm getting 45-50 mpg. My daily commute is 15 miles on country lanes and a b-road so generally 30-40 mph is the maximum you can achieve due to the nature of the roads. I guess that type of driving suits the NX hybrid pretty well, especially as the final 3 miles down into Bristol are all downhill (on my way TO work, anyway!). On the drive down the M4 after collecting the car from Lexus Swindon the computer was only showing 38-40 at 60-70 mph and driven very carefully (as one does with a brand new car). Diesel still has a place for those doing plenty of motorway miles IMHO.

This is what my Lexus was treated with before delivery. http://www.autoprotect.co.uk/ceramic-coat I've never believed the claims for these products but as this was thrown into the deal for free, and as it appears to have been applied very well, it will be interesting to see how it holds up.

My perception - and clearly that of some of my work colleagues - is that Lexus generally tend to be bought by an older customer. They were actually surprised at how cool the NX looks, and I've had plenty of comments about how surprised and how impressed they are. As with many things, perception is reality. Take MINI as a brand. I'm sure most people would have an initial reaction that those are bought by the young and hip - and the marketing and even the dealers have been set up to propagate that image since the start of the BMW era. However, take a look and you'll actually find that a significant number are driven by older drivers, especially female ones. BMW itself - 'The Ultimate Driving Machine' - has as much of the whiff of the older golfer about it (in reality) as people seem to perceive Lexus to have. Brand image in terms of the 'who' and the 'what' doesn't bother me much. I've had VWs, Renaults, and lately plenty of Hondas. I've got my 2004 MINI Cooper in the garage that I've owned from new. I've never been attracted to 'prestige' brands that don't deserve the moniker, which IMHO is most of the German marques. As I see it, Lexus has managed to build an image which is exclusive, built on excellent customer service, and obsessed with quality and reliability. Whether that is what the marketing department would like to read or not, that's how i see it and that's why I've bought one.

Thanks @Ian J. Parsley no problem. Oddly I can now find quite a few stations - although how to store them as pre-sets still eludes me (!) - but cannot find BBC Radio2, 4, 5 or 5X. I can find BBC Radio Wales for some reason. Go figure! Not a huge issue as I can use FM, and I'd actually forgotten how much I liked the sound compared to the rather compressed nature of digital. My NX is going into the dealer next Friday to have the side protection strips fitted and they've already said they'll go back through anything I haven't been able to work out with me then. This is top of the list, followed by the cruise control... I can also add a further 'like' after the comment from @Ian M I didn't realise that the eco meter changed to a rev counter until I read that post. Now that IS cool...