John Walker

2 hours ago, ColinBarber said:

and anyone reading this in the London area that hasn’t contacted Lexus yet, do so today and arrange to get anti-theft plates fitted ASAP.

Exactly! This way hopefully the inssurance for this model will go down although I have the feeling that the inssurance companies will take advantage of that and keep the premiums high which means a lot of people might be put off. I m getting an insurance quote of over 3k for another RX and as much I loved my car I might have to look somewhere else. 

Just now, John Walker said:

Having owned both the RX and NX, I can say….both are great cars. RX definitely has more passenger space but the boot it’s very very similar (check the technical details) 

The 2.5l engine in the NX feels somehow more agile and more responsive at low speeds especially in town so you might like it more. Best to do is try both and see what suits you. 
 

Both with F Sport package look and feel great to drive. 
 

Don t be scared to buy a high mileage one if it has full Lexus history. 
 

34-36 mpg for the RX on average and 39-43 mpg for the NX in case you’re wondering. But that’s with sensible driving style and mostly in the summer. 

When I say “feel great to drive” don’t imagine they get even close to a Porsche Macan or Cayenne. 
 

PS : RX is more comfortable if this what you re after. 

Having owned both the RX and NX, I can say….both are great cars. RX definitely has more passenger space but the boot it’s very very similar (check the technical details) 

The 2.5l engine in the NX feels somehow more agile and more responsive at low speeds especially in town so you might like it more. Best to do is try both and see what suits you. 
 

Both with F Sport package look and feel great to drive. 
 

Don t be scared to buy a high mileage one if it has full Lexus history. 
 

34-36 mpg for the RX on average and 39-43 mpg for the NX in case you’re wondering. But that’s with sensible driving style and mostly in the summer. 

To answer the question Premier vs F Sport, i d choose F Sport every day (but with the premium pack that includes Mark Levinson, 360 camera, HUD and heated steering wheel) 

Premier looks too….oldish. If you have the money for a facelift Takumi, that’s another story. 

On 7/29/2023 at 1:55 PM, Spock66 said:

Premier was the top of the range so will have every option, FSport was available with a wide range of options so check the exact spec carefully.

Last week I did a 500 mile round trip (mainly motorway cruise set to 70) and averaged 43 mpg which I think is pretty impressive.

Maintenance is reasonable, 10,000 / 1-year service plus you get the Relax warranty thrown in, I have had zero issues with mine.

Be aware of the Can Bus theft issue, but there is a modification for this available from Lexus.

Unless you were going down a hill most of the time or you had strong wind from behind I highly doubt it can go as high as 43mpg especially at 70mph. Probably at around 55-60mph maybe. 
 

Btw the speedometer in Lexuses always shows less with about 3 to 6mph. So if you re on the speed lane with cruise control at 70mph and you have someone flashing you from behind, now you know why. 

Had my RX F Sport stolen from the front of my house. Still waiting for the insurance to pay. Police wasn’t very helpful like usual. 
 

Didn’t realise it’s one of the most stolen cars in the UK. 
 

Did a bit of research to the best thing to do is to install a Ghost II imobiliser (about £500) or probably the best choice, a Pandora imobiliser, tracker and alarm that will send you notifications all the time on your phone, it has sensors it will be triggered, all as a package for around £1300 or just the imobiliser for £500. In any case, make sure they do the extra wiring to prevent the can bus theft. 
 

Go to Pandora website and find an authorised installer in your area. Don’t wait until they take your car, it’s a nightmare to get through all this. 

https://thinkwaredashcam.eu
 

Check Thinkware, some of them will send you notifications on your phone (if you add a sim with internet) everytime someone gets close to your car or drives it away. Take the normal dash cam to the next level with a bit of security judging how many of these cars get stolen. I would advise a Ghost II or Pandorma imobiliser for maximum security. 

On 3/13/2016 at 4:39 PM, jamesinchamonix said:

Has anyone managed to find crossbars for the panoramic roof , please ? Thule or otherwise . I see from the options list that if you order the panoramic roof then the roof rails are removed . Thule do offer cross bars for an nx without rails but has anyone with a panoramic roof tried them?

cheers. 

 

You have quite a few options for the NX with panoramic, this website has it all. 
 

1. https://www.roofracks.co.uk/thule-evo-squarebar/k/1547?s=Lexus NX Series, 5 door SUV without flush rails 2015 to 2021

2. https://www.roofracks.co.uk/thule-evo-wingbar/k/1548?s=Lexus NX Series, 5 door SUV without flush rails 2015 to 2021
 

3. https://www.roofracks.co.uk/thule-evo-probar/k/1550?o=C&s=Lexus NX Series%2C 5 door SUV without flush rails 2015 to 2021
 

4. https://www.roofracks.co.uk/thule-evo-slidebar/k/1549?s=Lexus NX Series, 5 door SUV without flush rails 2015 to 2021
 

All of them include the fitting kit 1768 and everything else you need. 

13 minutes ago, ColinBarber said:

The change in grades (including Takumi) came late 2018/early 2019 which was before the facelift itself.

Are you sure it was a 2017 and a UK model?

17 plate, UK model, meanwhile got sold and I can t find the advert anymore 

33 minutes ago, rayaans said:

It was available on the FSport models with takumi pack

On pre facelift? You sure? Also they called Takumi the cars after 2019. 
Funny thing that it has rear reclining seats but the passenger memory seat is missing. But if you know for sure I believe you, just never saw it before on a pre facelift 

Hey everyone, i m in the market for an RX and saw a 2017 one (f sport) that had rear electric and heated seats. I thought this was put only on the facelift models starting in 2019. Anyone else has those on a non facelift model? Just thought it was strange 

1 hour ago, rayaans said:

The F-Sport dampers are stiffer so it does give a slightly stiffer ride along with sportier seats and different interior/exterior colour options . Its not as stiff as the NX300h F-Sport. 

The Premier should have a sunroof and HUD, Mark Levinson as standard whereas the F-Sport has these as options. Otherwise adaptive cruise control / lane keep assist etc is standard on both variants

Thank you for your reply. May sound silly to a lot of people but the stiffer car is what I need. Most of my drive is around Europe (on highways). Also I find the seats in the F Sport more supportive for my bad back. 
 

Not sure if the steering wheel is also stiffer, I have a feeling that it is. 

After owning a 2016 RX450h Luxury for couple of years decided to sell it to buy something more…exciting. However after a very disappointing experience with a Porsche Cayenne I m looking to get back into the RX. 
 

I m a bit confused if there is any difference between the 2016+ F Sport and Premier apart from the obvious design elements. Premier also comes with a few optionals as standard. Both have the adapative suspension, but is the F Sport “tunned” for a more sporty experience? Are the direction or the suspension any stiffer? 
 

Couldn’t find any info online. 
 

PS : We have in our family an NX300h F Sport and it seems to handle very well in comparison to my old 2016 RX Luxury. The direction is definitely stiffer and feels a bit more precise. However this comes with a price, the ride is VERY stiff (suspension wise) 

On 3/4/2023 at 3:26 PM, jpjsavage said:

We had our test drive in the new RX450+ plug-in hybrid today. It didn't disappoint. It is a complete transformation from the current model (our car is a 2020 Takumi spec). It builds on all the good features of the current car but brings them up-to-date and refines them in a number of respects. We found the drive to be more planted, definitely quieter and more refined than the current car. Build quality seems excellent as always. We loved the new screen based technologies and even the heads-up display stuff was less fiddly than I'd been led to believe from reading online reviews. I didn't like the camera tech in the rear-view mirror. I couldn't quite get that to focus with my vario-focals (another joy of old age!). But, as we know, you can just push the mirror and go back to the 'analogue' version. We preferred the interior trim of the new Takumi spec. The mix of materials is excellent and beautifully blended. The interior lighting is wonderful and the sound system is as good as one would expect. There are the obvious benefits of the longer electric only range. For most of our driving day to day, we won't be using any petrol and we'll probably manage without a bespoke charging point at home given that we are seldom in a huge rush to get anywhere nowadays. 

So, we'll be either trading our current 2020 RX450 in (black, cream interior, just over 33k miles and climbing slowly) unless anyone wants to buy it here. PM me for further details. 

Here are a few pictures of the black one we drove today. The one we ordered comes in mid-April. We went for dark sonic grey with a dark interior. 

 

And a couple of pictures of the RX500 that was also there for test drives. It's not the one for us but did look very nice indeed:

 

That sounds like a very positive feedback and we are looking forward to see yours when it arrives 😊

9 hours ago, Spottedlaurel said:

I tend to fill up a little bit before that, but that's what I'm usually getting as my range after the majority of a tankful has been used up. It tends to start off around 450-460 at present, but last summer I was getting trip + range to equal 480-490+, but it's dropped since then due to winter use. I'm on 34.8mpg overall.

Back on topic, interesting to read some more thoughts on the 5th gen model.

On the tank size, wouldn't 40 miles or so of full electric use cancel out most of the 10-litre difference? I presume they limited the capacity to offset the weight of the bigger battery?

 

Well the 40 miles range on electric probably it will be more like 20-25 at highway speeds. And imagine you re driving long distances you can t just stop and wait to fully charge your Battery so you can make the most of your plug-in car. Where with 10 liters of petrol you can drive 70-80 miles so again I think the plug-in is good for short distance driving but not as great for long ones.

I understand they are trying to save weight but also they are wasting a lot of weight on gizmos that nobody needs.

And now most of the people seem to be driving a big SUV just for the school run or groceries so i don t think the fuel tank would be a problem for most of the customers. 

On a positive note the new RX is probably the most beautiful SUV on the market (exterior wise) and hopefully i m not very subjective. The 500h it is or at least it feels very fast, the way it corners is suberb compared with my RX4 and the suspension handles the potholes extremely well even with 21” wheels. It s more insulated and refined than any other previous RX. 
 

It s mostly the interior that I didn’t like but maybe that s just me. The steering wheel buttons and the way you see them on the HUD it s just…not on my taste. And the electric operated doors, how is that making anyone’s life better?  
 

I just fell like everything that was bad in the RX4 it was improved in the new model and everything that was good in the RX4 was taken away. 

Had a go in the 500h and…hated the seats, were squeezing my back too much. Definitely not a fan of the touchscreens in cars, i much prefer the dash of the RX4 (maybe because i own one). The controls on the steering wheel are rather annoying to use. 

For someone who wants an RX5 probably the 450h+ is a wiser choice if you drive a lot in the city and you have a socket at home to charge it. I personally wouldn’t get that either because the fuel tank is 55 liters only and considering that the RX4 has 65l but never managed to fill in more than 56l even on red i would think that the 450h+ won t take more than 46-47 liters and all together makes me think that it will have a small range for my long trips. 
 

So the 350h might be the smartest choice for a lot of people considering the price and the bigger fuel tank (65l) 

Btw does anyone manage to get in their RX3 or 4 more than 440 miles range? I always had between 400 and 440 miles which is a bit annoying for a big cruiser (especially if you drive long distances in Europe) 

On 2/11/2023 at 8:49 PM, ColinBarber said:

The F Sport (including 500h) has active sound control. You can turn it off, but only through the menu system rather than with a dedicated physical control as with the IS300h.

Makes sense and have to say that you would probably find way more from the forum rathe than dealerships, if you ask them more of a technical question they won t be able to respond. 

Right so I just had a go in the 500h. Here’s my thoughts. 

The good : It s very fast or at least this is how it felt to me. The brakes are great. It s good on corners and feels pretty solid when driving through the potholes, even with the 21” wheels. 

The bad or better said, what I didn’t like : The sport seats squeeze your back in a manner that I wouldn’t want to sit there for too long. I wonder why they didn’t put an adjustment for that like I had in my old GS450h Premier. There was an awful fake noise coming through the speakers when i was accelerating (even in the normal mode). I had the same thing in my wife’s old IS300h but at least in that I could turn it off. The dealer said the sound is not fake and it s coming from the turbos which I highly doubt, even if it does, it still sounds unpleasant to my ears. I personally don t like the new design of the dash where the screen is so close to the driver, makes the space so small in comparison to the older model. The seats feel smaller overall. I sat in the 350h where it was much better as my back wasn’t squeezed but still not happy for our long journeys in Europe (i m 6’1 and 78kg btw) 

 I finally understood what the v6 smoothness is about and got to appreciate my 2016 RX more. The new RX has completely changed its character. It s a much younger car, more dynamic and potent. But i m not sure that the old RX owners will like it that much. 

And there s the fuel economy, the dealer said he s getting 25mpg (it s his company car atm) but he might have a heavy foot so i guess it depends from driver to driver. 
 

The fact that you could buy a 2022 Takumi with a few thousand miles on the clock for £50k-55k makes it a no brainer for me or if you re not fussy about the year/ mileage just get a 2016 Premier model, they are amazing and sell for a fraction of its price. 

This review makes the 500h sounds like it s the more…interesting option 

6 hours ago, PeterI said:

I've been pricing things up on this front and the new interest rate (8.9 vs 1.9 on my 2020) that lexus finance are offering means an effective doubling of monthly payments on a PCP deal, I have a test drive booked at the dealer for the end of Feb but the cost is looking a bit high to replace a car I'm happy with (and the worst of the depreciation is already done)

On the other hand the copper does look great....

You have a great deal at 1.9% and you should stick to it for a while. 8.9% it s just not comparable. 
 

I think many of us are excited to test drive the new RX and if it drives as good as it looks it will be hard to say no 🙂 

On the other hand I ve been test driving the Porsche Cayenne e-hybrid recently and I left speechless. Build quality on the inside is impressive. But what really impressed me was the way a 2.3 tones big SUV can handle. It s almost like a sports car but also very comfortable with the air suspension in comfort mode. 0-60 in about 4.8 seconds, so unnecessary but so fun if you are a petrol head enthusiast. Starting price is about 9k more than the RX450+ and after you add a few optionals it easily goes to 15-20k more. I compared it with the RX450+ because the Cayenne is plug-in with about 30 miles range but I understand  the new facelift coming this year will have 50 miles range. So all in one, my 2016 RX might come up for sale soon. If anyone is interested let me know. 

20 hours ago, rayaans said:

I think theyve missed a trick not offering the f sport design pack on the 450h+ as that would be the best of both worlds

I ve always preferred the interior of the Premier and the exterior of the F Sport as I think the Premier/ Luxury grill looks a bit dated. Everything changed when the 2020 Takumi facelift came, the grill is very similar to the F Sport and I think the wheels look stunning (even better than the one on the F Sport) 

In regards to the 2023 RX I think the exterior it s pretty much identical on all models, just different wheels. I tried the seats in the F Sport and they might be a but tight for a big lad

3 minutes ago, jpjsavage said:

Probably! Bit reluctant to drive the 500 as I'll want to change my order and the BIK goes right back up to some astronomical %. 

The extra excitement you ll get from the 500h don t think will compare with the luxury of driving the 450h+ 40 miles or close on pure electric. I gave it a good thought when i was thinking to place an order for the new RX. Don t think the 500h is going to offer a much better driving experience in comparison to the 450h+ to be worth to give up on the plug-in feature. If they had a 500h+ (plug-in) probably it would’ve been a no brainer. 

You should go and test drive any of them asap 😃

On 1/29/2023 at 5:20 PM, RadicalCoupe-Fuji said:

The front grille is not good imo, only looks ok in dark colours. Looks like a wall that the plaster has crumbled off & has exposed the metalwork underneath. 

Once you see in flesh i m pretty sure you ll get over the grill and love the car as a whole, I think it s probably the best looking SUV out there (exterior wise) and i tend to be pretty objective.