Martin J

After 6 months with the brilliant EV6 AWD, I'm not tempted back to the Lexus by the RZ. I'm sure the quality will be great, but the range, charging speed and performance are unexciting, and it won't be great value. As others have noted, EVs are redefining the meaning of "premium". Kia themselves are grappling with this; in the EV6 they've turned out a car that, in quality and driving experience, is world class, if not world-leading. Which, Stinger apart, is not (yet) true of the rest of their range.

Yes, thanks, fabulous drive with great ride/handling compromise and what I can only imagine are RC-F levels of acceleration (up to 70, anyway). First 600 mile trip averaged 3.7 miles/kWh, with 290 mile range. The app for remote control of the car is not so great, but hopefully that will improve. I imagine Lexus will Lexify the Toyota bZ4x at some point, but it'll have to be really special to better the EV6.

I see no evidence for this on that forum, apart from some speculation and misunderstanding about whether heat pumps can be dealer fitted. They can't, as far as I know (have you seen how complex the plumbing is?). It's possible that some customers may have opted to forego heat pumps to hasten delivery times. Kia UK secured a lot of build slots of RWD cars without heat pumps, which is why AWD and HP customers are having to wait longer now. Fortunately I pre-ordered in May & got an early build slot.

Not so far. Only 12V battery I've had to replace was in my NX (a side effect of the first lockdown).

Can you provide a source for this?

Service intervals of 20,000 miles/2 years are an improvement on most ICE/hybrid cars.

My thinking was along these lines: 1. The EV6 is much better-looking, especially in the metal. In fact I think it's one of the best designs on the market. Realise that's subjective! 2. Too many build quality/quality control problems in the Model 3 to ignore. EV6 has flawless paint and Lexus-like panel gaps; & no delivery issues (touch wood). Realise that Tesla supposedly improving. 3. Don't like the Model 3/Y control ergonomics - too much controlled through the touch screen (okay in the showroom, not so good on lane 3 of the M1 in heavy spray at 70 mph) and speedo too far from line of sight. 4. EV6 800V architecture means faster charging than Model 3/Y (though admittedly not many 350kW chargers around yet; banking on that improving). 5. A local dealer to deal with rather than remote Tesla service. 6. Better driving position (for me) than Model 3 (haven't seen a Y) and hatchback practicality. 7. Similar performance and range (M3 LR has longer WLTP range but in most tests Kia have come closer to achieving WLTP range). Ultimately the only area where Tesla had a clear lead was the Supercharger network, and it wasn't enough. On price, no discounts on EV6 (Kia are building a long waiting list) but similar price to M3, and cheaper than comparably equipped Model Y.

Yes, I think it's a better-resolved design than the Ioniq5. It's great to drive, though I'm still getting used to it.

Thanks. Yes, this is an AWD. Very good ride and handling, and astonishing acceleration (I see one road test says 4.8 sec to 60, though I'm still treating it gently).

Thanks, still early days, haven't recharged yet. So far, impressed by the ride quality and handling, and the extraordinary acceleration. Motorway wind and road noise is about the same as my NX. There are a few finishes which aren't up to Lexus quality, but overall build quality is on a par, and much better than I'd expected.

Well, the NX's replacement has arrived. Just a word of thanks to fellow forum members for the invaluable advice and discussion during the years I had my NX. I can well imagine returning to Lexus when it has a wider range of EVs. By the way, I was pleasantly surprised by the strong residual value of my 2015 NX.

Well, you won't be alone if you do. I'm sad to be leaving Lexus, but the EV6 represents the boldness Lexus had when they brought the RX400h to market 15 years ago. For me the 2nd generation plug-in NX is too little, too late, and too expensive in terms of electrification, and I wonder what its resale values will be like in 5 to 10 years' time.

I've driven facelift cars (as loan cars) and would agree with this. The slightly improved ride and reduced noise was noticeable when I first jumped out of my car into a facelift. But soon afterward I fitted new tyres (Michelin CrossClimates), which delivered an almost identical improvement in NVH, so there's not much in it.

That's pretty much what I'd estimated. In contrast, an EV6 GT-Line AWD dual motor is £49K, and accelerates to 100km/h a second faster than the NX450h+, not that that matters much. Like Peter, I'd planned that my next car would be fully electric. Had the new NX not been such an aesthetic disappointment (and yes, I'm aware that other members seem to like it, but my sense of lost opportunity is undiminished), I might have considered the PHEV version as an interim step. But I like to keep cars for at least 6 years, so I'd prefer to go electric sooner rather than later. After looking closely at the Model 3 and weighing up the build quality lottery against the supercharger network, the launch of the EV6 with its beautiful surfacing, well-resolved design and advanced 800V electric architecture resolved any doubts. So I've ordered an EV6. I'll miss Lexus - the brand is mostly a great fit with what I want from a car - but perhaps I'll be back when they have a state-of-the-art compact BEV for the next stage in my automotive journey.

The higher resolution images we now have of the 2022 NX reinforce my disappointment that the design isn't more radical. I know it's on a completely new platform, but it looks like an alternative finalist in an internal competition to sign off the production version of the original back in 2012. In my opinion it lacks the coherence of Nobuyuki Tomatsu's original design, and the interior, with its awkwardly integrated touchscreen and slab of featureless grey on the passenger side, destroys the distinctive cockpit ambience of the first generation while not looking significantly more modern. Setting aside the question of why there is as yet no BEV version (presumably there will be a Lexus version of Toyota's bZ4X in due course), it's frustrating that Lexus has given us the gorgeous LF-Z and then told us that it represents the style and aspirations for *2025*, while serving up a highly conservative re-hash of the existing NX on the TNGA platform to be going on with. I have no doubt that the new NX will be a great car in terms of driving and ownership experience, and a step forward in performance and fuel economy, but it's nowhere near as innovative or exciting as the first generation seemed in 2014. When companies like Kia and Hyundai are already offering NX-class BEV designs now that look far more modern, Lexus is starting to look somewhat behind the curve.

You get used to it quickly! The Toyota power-split device, which makes its hybrid systems much better integrated than some other manufacturers' hybrids, is designed to allow the ICE engine to run at whatever if the most efficient speed for the requirement being placed on the system. Over twenty years after the Prius launched, motoring journalists still seem congenitally incapable of understanding drivetrains where the traditional linear relationship between road speed doesn't apply. On the upside, for the 95% of time you're not calling for maximum acceleration, the drivetrain is much quieter than in a non-hybrid, especially around town. Hope you enjoy your NX - it's a great package.

Thanks for the comment @Linas.P and agree with you: it's curious how British views of car size seem skewed compared with most of the rest of the world. And yes, if you compare any modern car with the 1959 Mini, it will look huge. Of course, people are bigger than they were in 1959, too...

This piece on the BBC news website surprised me https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-56647128 It mentions the NX as the "large SUV" most likely to be owned by a city driver. The context is a comment from Steve Gooding of the RAC in relation to a report from the New Weather Institute about the growth in popularity of "SUVs" and how "bad advertising" has contributed to it. (Coincidentally, the Transport & Environment thinktank has a new report out laying into PHEVs, and SUVs in particular, branding them as a "con" designed to greenwash manufacturers' average CO2 emissions while delivering real word emissions not much better than regular hybrids). The comments from Gooding on vehicle choice are actually quite sensible, but the BBC piece refers to "SUVs" and "large SUVs" without ever defining them, and the NWI's report is no better. The coverage manages to conflate three different things - appropriate vehicle size, vehicle shape, and CO2 emissions. One of the reasons I bought an NX was its relatively low emissions (although the switch from NEDC to WLTP testing has revealed that the NX drivetrain isn't anything like as green as it appeared in 2015). SUVs have become popular (not with Linas, I know) because they're easy to get into and out of, have a good driving position, and actually provide more space in a shorter length than traditional saloons. Thinking about small and midsize "SUVs" like the Qashqai, or RAV4, or NX, for that matter, it's clear that this shape is what a versatile and comfortable family car now looks like. And, to be more provocative, they're the kind of height cars used to be until they got lower in the 1960s. Indeed, taking a long view, low cars (sports cars excepted) can be seen as a bit of an aberration from the latter half of the 20th century. At what point does an SUV become an outrage against society? Not the Yaris Cross or Puma, probably not the Qashqai or CHR/UX, but what about the RAV4 and NX? And is a Tesla Model 3 acceptable but not a Model Y? Does the raised ride height of the Polestar 2 make it an SUV? So, as Gooding observes (but the headlines don't reflect), the term "SUV" has become so broad as to be useless. Perhaps manufacturers should stop using it?

A little surprised at these consumption figures. I do a fairly frequent 500 mile round trip between northern England and southern Wales which is 80% motorway, driving at a similar speed, and usually manage 38 to 40 mpg. An alternative route that's 60% A and B road, when I'm in less of a hurry, yields 42 - 46 mpg. In general, I agree that steady motorway cruising doesn't show this drivetrain at its best, although the NX is pretty quiet during the 95% of the time the foot isn't to the floor. Wonder what new RAV4 owners are getting, as that should be a pointer to what we can expect from the 2022 NX.

When I took the NX to Spain some time ago (including, coincidentally, to Granada) Lexus confirmed that the low beam was flat and no converters were needed. Presumably the same is true for LHD cars being driven in the UK and Ireland. I didn't get flashed by oncoming traffic at night.

Also a fan of manual boot lids. When I ordered my NX, Lexus wanted £450 for a powered hatch, and the dealership did its best to persuade me. But having stood around and watched one doing its thing, while occasionally checking my email, I spent the money on a weekend in Venice instead. Still love the NX - it's a perfect size, has been faultlessly reliable, and looks as fresh as if it was launched yesterday.

Still very happy with the CrossClimates I put on nearly 3 years ago. As well as the noise and ride benefits compared with the original Bridgestones, they're wearing very well too.

I'll just leave this here and log off.

The same. https://www.theguardian.com/media/2005/sep/19/guardianobituaries.pressandpublishing

Quite a few NX owners whose first cars were Vivas, it seems (mine was a Honey Starmist HC). Incidentally, the 1800/2300 ohc engine that made its way from the Victor into the Viva and Magnum (and later into the droop-snoot Firenza and Chevette 2300HS) was praised by legendary motoring historian Leonard Setright for its advanced design, torque and longevity. He said something along the lines that the engine would just be coming into its stride at around 50,000 miles - by which time the car around it would be falling apart. For some reason this makes me think of Tesla.