Gary H

I’m really struggling to see Lexus’ justification in the pricing on this. Obviously, I’m missing something major about it but for a starting price of £90k for a van with windows and leather seats seems...steep. That’s probably the politest way I can put it. I will be genuinely surprised if they can shift anything more than double digits in any given year before it’s quietly dropped from the UK market. It’s something I can imagine being used by exclusive London hotels as taxis for the rich and famous. I couldn’t see why anyone would want one as a personal car. Not from new, at least. Not when I would choose practically any other Lexus model over it.

I hadn’t heard that one before, either! I can’t say I’ve been in many older Japanese cars with leather in order to comment on that front, but very interesting to hear... I’d say the strongest smelling leather I’ve had in a car was on a 2008 Audi A3 Sportback I had - which come with fine nappa leather. I bought it new and had it for just over three years. That was truly pungent from collection day and remained that case for the best part of a year. You just had to open any of the doors and not even get into the car for it to waft up the nostrils! As a ‘new car smell connoisseur’, I found this very impressive! It remained quite strong after that time too. It was well into the third and final year before it got to the point the car smelt more like ‘fresh air’ with hints of leather, but still remained very much ‘leathery’ in warm weather.

I'm sorry to jump back into this thread because indeed, I wasn’t intending on coming back to it since my own collection day. I didn't really want to comment on it again, but given what I've seen on here over the last week or so - I have to say something. I just want to say how genuinely annoyed I am for both @Scotlex (which I've commented on his own separate thread already) and @Deb for their incorrect orders. To receive a different model year than the one you ordered due to excessive waiting is one thing (and does mildly irritate me as I’m really not keen on the colour-coded glovebox lid business...), but to receive a clearly incorrect car with a clear difference in ordered spec is, well, something else. Honestly, I'm sitting here and genuinely fuming for you both. It really isn't good. At all. I can only assume it's one of two things. Either the salesperson in each case has made a fundamental mistake at the time of ordering (which I think is least likely, but still a possibility), or there's clearly big issues which still need addressing at the factory. To me, Lexus really has tarnished itself in terms of reputation here in the UK. From my latest sales experience, I certainly wouldn’t be recommending them. The sad thing is that it doesn’t look as if that the company, on the whole, really cares. Lead times, on the NX at least, are ridiculous. There are examples of, not necessarily ‘queue jumping’ (that would be unfair to the customer) but preferential treatment given to certain orders. It's certainly something I'll never forget during my own 16 month saga of almost total 'radio silence'. There's missing parts - such as second keys and locking wheel nuts. Now we’re seeing cars arriving at the dealer which are 'similar' in spec to what’s been ordered by the customer, but not correct... This isn't just unacceptable for a brand like Lexus, but for any brand. They may not realise it yet, but when these cars are due to be exchanged/replaced - they won’t find as many customers considering sticking with Lexus the next time around. I’m glad they’ve let you have that incorrect one in the meantime whilst they sort out the correct car, @Deb. Indeed, it’s not ideal but I do think that was the right thing to do under the circumstances. Fair play to them for that. I don’t think they could have really improved upon that without another/correct car to give you. They’ll probably sell it as an ex-demo for pretty much the same price.

Welcome to the forum @ijhammo! From my understanding (and if fellow members know better - please feel free to correct me), MY24 cars have different locking nuts than previous model years. Why they're different...? Who knows... I collected my NX on 1st September and was basically told getting these locking wheel nuts (and my second key) could take...and I quote..."anything up to a year", with the shrug of the shoulders. I did deal with a particularly bad dealer though. I'm trying to find suitable alternatives, away from dealing with Lexus, that I can purchase but so far I haven't had any luck. I would genuinely eat my own hat if my dealer ever got back in touch with me if they ever eventually turned up.

New car smell - it really is one of the finest smells in the world. It’s something I’ve said for about as long as I can remember. Even as a relatively small child I remember being fascinated by it. One of my earliest childhood memories that I distinctly remember was going to Cromer on holiday in my father’s company Toyota Carina II liftback in white, with blue velour. It was an ‘E’ plate and one of the last of the boxier, original ‘T150’ models. Anyway, it would have been a young car at the time. Around 18 months old, two years at most. I distinctly remember pushing my nose into the seat fabric to smell a ‘stronger newness’ still in the seats! 😄 I’ve never forgotten that... Anyway going back twenty years, I remember ‘Magic Tree’ did do what they called a ‘New Car Scent’ fragrance. I remember the tree being blue. I’m pretty sure it’s still available but I’ve no idea if it still smells the same or not. My only advice is to avoid this. I did put a few up in my first car (a Ford Ka). I wasn’t keen on it when I opened the packets. It smelt sweet but I couldn’t quite tell what it was. I thought maybe it would be better left in the open air for a while, so I left them hanging up in there for a few hours and when I went back to the car to give it it’s first proper...’whiff’...should I say, what did I smell? New car scent? Like new glues, carpets, plastics and fabrics? No... I smelt bubble bath. Yes, Magic Tree’s ‘new car scent’ smelt pretty much like bubble bath to me. Nothing whatsoever like what I thought it would. Most definitely a false advertisement on their behalf! I ended up taking those trees out after about three days because the longer I spent in the car, the more nauseating/sickly the smell would become. 🤢 The next one I tried in there was a ‘real leather’ one. I honestly can’t remember what brand it was - I just remembered it was brown, rectangular and cost a few quid more than a Magic Tree. Now - this one was very nice indeed...and I had a then three year old Ford Ka that did genuinely smell like a car with leather seats! Not car leather...but the sort of leather from the likes of a DFS sofa. I did like that one! I was sad when it faded as I never found that particular one again. Thanks for the tip on Dr Leather Wipes, @Rabbers. I have seen them around but never used them. I’ll keep them in mind. The less orthodox alcohol tip in particular has made me chuckle! I’ve never heard of that one before! Obviously with my 73 plate car that’s only three weeks old today, it still smells lovely and new in there and I do intend on keeping it that way for as long as possible - as I have done so with any new car I’ve owned in the past. I do have some very simple, but perhaps over the top rules which have caused much laughter with work colleagues in the past. They are: - Don’t have doors or windows open for longer than necessary. Especially the latter. Use air conditioning. - No overuse of deodorants or aftershaves on a person entering the car. - No eating or drinking in the car. I will accept coffee in the car after around the 18 month mark. - Following on from the above, there will be absolutely no ‘takeaway runs’ done in said car. Obviously all of this only delays the inevitable of newness naturally fading away from the interior, but even after three and a half years with the UX that my NX replaced, you could still detect hints of original newness in it after that length of time. Especially in warmer weather.

Once entering a space and once leaving for me, Bill. I have to say, I wasn’t impressed with either. The car seems to grab the brakes too much, so lots of typical ‘grabby/graunchy’ sounds. Also, I wasn’t keen on it twizzling the wheel whilst stationary - which just causes additional wear to the tyres. I’m assuming it’s the same with all NX’s with this feature, but mine also put an indicator on even when backing out of a space. On exiting a space it seemed to work reasonably well - although slow. When entering a space it seemed to be even slower. Whilst it lined itself up in the bay perfectly fine, it left quite a bit of a gap from the car in front. It said it’s completed it’s self-parking and done it’s ‘camera spinny thing’ on the screen. However, the entire boot section of the car was still sticking out! I had to put the car back into drive and move it forward the final three feet or so. I’m happy enough that I’ve tried it - but to me it’s just a gimmick I can happily live without. I prefer parking myself.

From the end of my final distance trip in my UX and now I’m less than a fortnight away (all being well...) from taking the first proper distance trip in the NX... Ohh, I’m jealous @Lmafudd! I haven’t been down to the westcountry since 2019...and it’s somewhere I always used to go practically every year in September without fail. Covid put paid to that in 2020, the year I got my UX and sadly I’ve not had the chance so far to go back. As such, the UX is only the second(?) car I’ve ever owned that didn’t make it down to the South West in my hands. Generally speaking, luck tends to be on my side when I’ve used the M5 over the years. It’s usually around the area of Sedgemoor where things can get predictably sluggish! Especially northbound on the approach to Avonmouth. From where I am, I only hit the M5 once I get to Bristol. My usual ‘tried and tested’ route to that point is the A41, A49 and A466 to the old Severn Bridge - then of course joining the M5 from the M4 at Almonsbury. Anyway - the subject of lumbar support before I waffle on too much about my routes! It’s interesting you bring that up because I generally didn’t have a problem with it in my UX (my 2020 F-Sport had it). However, on the odd occasion when my father drove the car, he did complain about lower back ache after a while. He took the lumbar off as he couldn’t get it low enough on his back for it to be of any use. So in the end, as @Beezer has mentioned - he did actually use a small cushion!

My 350h has remote climate control: I haven't personally tried locking or unlocking the car with the app though, so I can't comment on that front. I know the dealer quickly tried it to see if it worked when I collected it (it did - but was very sluggish) but that's the only time it's been used.

Hi @Gazetta. Welcome to the forum! I’ll be taking my own NX350h on a 240-odd mile trip in a few weeks - it's first distance trip, with the return leg the following day. I have a one-night stay in a hotel which unfortunately due to parking constraints, means it has to be left the best part of a half a mile away (it can’t be helped). I will be taking an old crook lock with me which I’ve had for 20-odd years. Getting on for half that time, it’s been sat in my garage unused. I doubt many modern thieves will be carrying around hacksaws these days... My biggest concerns is the lack of locking wheel bolts on the alloys... 😕

Thanks for the link @MarcG. I have been going through both those Northside Lexus videos over the last couple of weeks - I managed to find them myself, but I certainly can recommend them to anyone collecting an NX. I currently have them saved in my ‘Watch Later’ list!

I'm very sorry to hear about that, @Scotlex. After my own sixteen month wait and the poor experience over that time, I would have been furious. In that situation I'd have asked for my deposit back and walked away. I wouldn't have personally asked for a loan car, accepted 'freebies' e.t.c. I wouldn't have given them that benefit. Obviously, if I had a good experience up until that point or had been dealing with that particular dealer for many years with no real issues - I would have listened to what they had to offer first. With cars I've ordered from scratch, I've always had that fear something, somewhere would be wrong. Fortunately those fears have so far been unfounded and with regards to this latest order for my NX, it's quite literally the only thing during the whole ordering/waiting process that's actually gone right. With that said, technically, my own NX isn't quite right from what I ordered - but that's simply down to the ridiculous wait I had. When I ordered mine, they were selling MY22 cars (perhaps early MY23?). By the time they finally decided to build my car, they were very comfortably into MY24 - meaning mine has the tan/beige glovebox lid which, if I have to be honest, even a fortnight on I'm still not entirely sure about. I think I preferred the earlier cars which were just black and matched the dashboard. @NemesisUK - It wouldn't actually surprise me if some dealers were hoping some specifics their long-waiting customers had ordered were forgotten about - just to get them out of the door and off the waiting list. For instance, about a month before I collected mine I had to check my own paperwork as I genuinely couldn't remember if I went for the sunroof or the panoramic roof.

I have this on my Takumi. I've used it twice and I have to admit, I’m not comfortable with it at all. It’s not something I intend on using.

Thanks for the update @HMT. Much appreciated. If they’re only supplying cars delivered/collected from January, that would mean I probably won’t be seeing mine until roughly June 2024. Ouch. Hopefully things will speed up in the meantime. Having no owners manual, I have to admit, is something which does ‘sting’. My dealer couldn’t even be proactive enough to have my car in the Handover room on collection day - so there’s zero chance of them getting hold of an owners manual for me.

Very much relatable, @Me 2023. I’m only two weeks into owning my NX so obviously I’m not expecting the missing bits (locking wheel bolts and second key) to show up for mine any time soon. Given my experience with the dealer and their practically zero customer service during the waiting process, I honestly don’t hold up much hope of ever receiving them. I’m currently on the search for suitable locking bolts that’ll fit - without having to involve Lexus. I’m heading down to Suffolk in a few weeks’ time for an overnight stay. I know where I have to park is getting on for half a mile away from the hotel. I can’t help that. It wouldn’t surprise me if walked back to the car the following morning to find it on bricks. A lack of an owners manual does seem rather stingy given the value of NX’s. Normally on collecting a new car I’ll sit in it with the manual out to learn the features I want to know about. Obviously that opportunity has been taken from me (and of course most others) this time around - so I’m literally pressing random things on the screen trying to find things out. As I said in another post the other day, I have no intentions on sitting in the car with the laptop on my lap. I appreciate it’s available on a PDF, but it’s not the same.

Personally speaking, I preferred the black/unpainted arch trims over the painted ones but indeed, each to their own. I think the painted ones detract a little from the design and makes it look a little more 'slab sided' in my view. The only worry I had when I had my UX was the black plastic fading but I have to say after three and a half years of ownership, they still looked pretty much as good as new. Obviously how they'll look after a decade has yet to be seen but they do appear do be of high quality plastic that, so far at least, seems good at resistance to fading.

Very much relatable. I wasn't particularly happy throughout my waiting process (as well documented in the '2023 Delivery Date' thread) and I wasn't particularly impressed with the collection either. Fortunately down to fellow owners on our forum, I was made aware of the lack of a second key, no locking wheel bolts or user manuals. I could prepare myself for that disappointment. If it wasn't for kind members here telling others about this, I would have been none the wiser until physically sitting in the dealer on collection day. I'd have been even less impressed...well furious after that extended wait, actually. As customer service goes, I think that's incredibly poor. Like yours, mine also currently lacks all of these - and I have no idea when the key or locking wheel bolts will turn up. Cutting a long story short, I was simply told it could be "up to a year" - and that was said with the shrug of shoulders. I actually doubt either will ever arrive as I have no faith in my dealer at all. I also had an Audi Q5 (late 2016-2020). One of the last of the original models and I just posted about it on another thread actually! I'm going to directly compare my NX to it as time goes by - but it's still very early days for me to say anything fairly. All I can say is the Q5 was a fabulous car. It's one that I do wish I'd have kept hold of for a little while longer. I'm happy with the NX and I would say in terms of 'waftability' it beats the Q5. I know that only twelve days into ownership...! @HMT Please do indeed keep us updated! I've not bothered to chase yet.

I can't say I've noticed any harshness on the ride of mine... 🤔 There's a few rough ruts in the roads not too far from me which can be difficult to avoid which I know it 'thumps' over (where you know an extra inch or two of rubber on the sidewall would help) but it's acceptable. Overall, it gives a smoother ride than my old UX - and that was a comfortable place to be given the size of the car. I find the NX generally 'glides' over most surfaces of the roads I've used it on so far. It's been very good indeed. I've yet to take it on any trip more than about 50 miles in one-go, but you can tell it's the sort of car which should waft across, up and down the country with ease. With any luck, it's first distance run (of about 240 miles - one way return trip the following day) will be taking place in just under three weeks. Just for the record, my Takumi also has the Bridgestones. @bomberman - I owned a 2016 66 plate Audi Q5 S-Line (one of the very last of the original models - so the same basic shape as the one you had) from new until 2020. It was the 'Black Edition', so had the bigger 21" alloys. Still arguably the best car I've ever owned. I absolutely adored that thing. That was surprisingly comfortable given the size of the alloys but did notably 'thump' over more bumps than the NX does. Both have a near-identical 'gliding/wafting' feeling about them which I do really like. I'm only twelve days into owning the NX at the moment so of course it's still very early days, but I'm confident in saying, for me at least, the NX is a more comfortable car. I notice you mentioned yours has the Yokohoma tyres - whilst I have the Bridgestones. From my experience of tyres, Bridgestones are generally soft when it comes to compound - which might possibly explain at least some of the rough ride you're experiencing.

Yes, I've seen that article myself and my blood did start to simmer again, I will admit. When I collected my NX on 1st September I was basically told the second key "would follow" but I got a shrug of the shoulders when I asked roughly when that would likely be. Maybe not in these exact words, but it was along the lines of "up to a year...?". That also includes the issue with no locking wheel bolts. The dealer wouldn't be held to any date, period of time or anything. The scantest of information - which is basically the best I had out of them during my 16 month wait...and that's only after several complaints. Very poor indeed. Without a spare/second key, I'm literally holding onto my one and only key with dear life.

This would genuinely be a nightmare if this ever happened to me. Touch wood it never will as I don’t think I could manage it on my own. The oddest thing that’s happened so far was a few days ago. For a few seconds, my Lexus Link+ app, after having to log back into that, connected to my old UX which I removed back on 1st September when I collected my NX! 🤔 I was just beginning to curse at my phone and wonder what had happened, when the screen suddenly changed back to my NX with all the correct information.

Thank you for all your comments so far, folks. I do appreciate them. I didn’t really want to comment further on this thread until I had the car for a week and taken some time to reflect - so apologies for the delay in responding back. I could have said a lot more in my opening post and I admit what I did post was the ‘toned down’ version. I did actually remove quite a bit from it before hitting the post button because after I read it back to myself, it did turn into a bonafide moan. More so than just about anything I ever posted over on the ‘2023 Delivery Date’ thread! I literally drove it back from the dealer on collection day and that was it. The collection experience... Yeah... Let’s just say it would have been better if I was just given the key by the receptionist and sent on my way. I never did go back to it until the following day until I put my own things in it as I was at 'bubbling point' by the time I got back home. As things stand, I’m up to 268 miles. With just one exception, I’ve basically just used it to go back and forth to work as if it were a courtesy car. At this point, it really is just "an car" to me. It’s not that I don't like it. Far from it. It's a very good car. It's just the whole poor experience right from ordering up to and including collection really has put a dark cloud over the whole thing for me. It serves as a reminder of Lexus incompetence (something I’d never thought I’d say) and no customer service with new vehicle sales. Not to mention no manual means I’m frustrating myself trying to find out how things work by pressing random buttons and seeing what happens. I don’t think those who ‘only’ had to wait up to a year to get their identical cars (and/or given more priority) quite realise just how chronic some fellow customers have had it with the NX ordering process. Even now, with missing bits such as second keys and locking wheel nuts (with no idea how or when they’ll turn up) - it just adds insult to injury. I appreciate that may sound harsh to some and I respect that. I can only be honest with how I feel. I’m really struggling to justify the ‘premium waiting time’ with my NX over other NX’s. Is the Terrane Khaki paintwork any different than others? Is the Hazel interior or any other fixtures/fittings any better? Is the engine/transmission any better? So, what exactly makes this particular car worth those extra months? As the saying goes, time is a great healer and my mood may change going forward. I really, really hope it does. Lets just wait and see. In the meantime, if anyone has any suggestions over where I can purchase some locking wheel nuts without involving Lexus (so I might actually get somewhere), please feel free to let me know. Then there’s just the issue of getting the second key which I don’t know how I’m going to get around. At that point, I can then decide whether to keep the car or cut all these troubles and move to another manufacturer.

My UX did have two stubborn 'bits' which evaded removal even by attempts of using a pin/needle. One in the front passenger and one in the rear passenger. Not really noticeable if I didn’t point them out, but when you knew they were there and knew were to look - it become annoying! As someone who generally doesn’t 'do' eating in cars and has always been caring, I've no idea how it happened. I'd love to know if the dealer ever found them and if so, found a way to remove them if they decided to re-sell it on. Fortunately my NX remains 'bit free' so far when it comes to it’s perforations. Then again, It's only a week old! 😄

I never got a service book with the UX I had - so when it went in for service, I also asked for a printed copy for my own records, which I kept on file. Not ideal, but it worked. At the moment I'm just trying to figure things out for myself. I did briefly look at the PDF from the Lexus website to see if there was a list of "Hey, Lexus" voice commands but I grew so frustrated after finding nothing after about 15 minutes that I closed it down and never went back to it. I hope you don't mind me asking, but do you have an e-mail address for the Sales Director by any chance? I’ve given up with the Customer Services one after my third e-mail. Being one of the ‘non-priority customers/orders’, all they done during my order process was bounce me straight back to the non-helpful, unresponsive dealer - hence my e-mail to Customer Services in the first place. The last time I done so, it ended up with me receiving a rather bolshie phone call from the salesperson (which I'll now reveal as to one of the 'more going on behind the scenes' problems I had during my wait, which I didn't announce in the '2023 Delivery Date' thread).

Another 303 Areospace user here... It’s genuinely one of the best interior plastic dressings I’ve come across and can be used very sparingly indeed. It has barely any shine to it (if at all) if applied correctly and of course, non-greasy. My NX is too 'new' for it yet but I generally used it on the interior door panels of my UX when it got upwards of about 18 months old. They came up a treat and arguably looked better than new. It certainly isn’t the cheapest product of it's nature on the market, but worth every penny in my opinion. For the cracks and cervices, I have a set of very soft detail brushes. You can also use small artist-type brushes you can pick up from the likes of Hobbycraft.

I had this very gripe when I had my UX. The standard factory setting was way too sensitive for my liking. I could literally go under a road bridge or go past a few trees and the lights would come on. It was almost discotheque-like on some roads. Even on it’s lowest '-2' setting, it was still a little too sensitive for me. I don’t really know how to reduce the sensitivity in my NX yet. I think I’ve found where the function is but it just says 'brighter/darker. What one turns the sensitivity down?! I really do wish there was just a simple 'off' setting for the lights. I really do loathe that it’s either auto, sidelights or dipped headlights and it’s one of my biggest bugbears with most modern cars.

That's absolutely lovely indeed and has the same alloys my F-Sport had. On the outside at least, that's exactly how I wanted mine to be. Unfortunately, I scoffed at the estimated lead time for Terrane Khaki in an F-Sport, which at the time was something like 14 weeks. In the end, I settled on my second choice of colour - F-Sport White, which I agreed to take the showroom model my second-nearest dealer had in the showroom. It had the red leather I wanted (from the Premium Pack), plus the Tech & Safety Pack I was looking at. It was basically everything I wanted - but in white instead! The Terrane Khaki colour this time around, on my subsequent NX order, was the non-negotiable part! 😄 I wasn't prepared to miss out on it again! I wasn't too fussed over certain elements of spec - I just wanted Terrane Khaki! Again, I really do hope my UX goes to a nice second owner because, like all my cars, it was very well cared for. It's just a shame the boot space wasn't better (deeper) because I still love the overall design of it and I know all that touchpad business mine had has since gone. I'd have ordered another. Probably a Takumi...in Terrane Khaki of course! 😄