Jawnathin

Since the car is still so new I found there isn't a lot of owner feedback out there, so I wanted to share my experience to help any prospective owners out there. I know I was looking up as much as I could before taking delivery. I will cover a range of topics on what I like and don't like about the car so far and will try my best to answer any specific questions on a topic.

The vehicle is a 2022 NX450h+ F Sport Handling AWD and has every optional equipment package available for this model trim as of January 2022. In other words, it's fully loaded as of today's available options.

Vehicle Specs -

• Cloudburst Gray with Circuit Red Interior
• F Sport Handling AWD
• Triple beam LED headlights
• 6.6kW fast charger
• Panoramic view monitor package
• Digital key and wireless charger package

I will start with the negatives -

• Due to the unclear website, limited coverage/reviews, and pre-production vehicles used during the press event in Arizona it was confusing to know exactly what equipment comes with the car. The car is well equipped but missing features I saw during the press coverage such as the digital rearview mirror, power folding and heated rear seats, Advanced Parking, Mark Levinson audio, and panoramic sunroof. As of January 2022, none of those are available for the 450h+ F Sport. Some of that was known, such as the panoramic sunroof and ML audio but due to the limited coverage/reviews, it wasn't clear to me until I picked up the car that it did not come with the digital rear view mirror or Advanced Parking feature.
• The driver profile feature is a cool idea but reliability needs to be improved. The feature is supposed to use my smartphone to detect I am the driver but it frequently starts up in guest mode and I must manually load my profile. It is easy to switch profiles but it is yet another thing to do before I can set off and drive. There is an option to link a profile to the key fob instead of the smart phone, I might give that a try to see if its more consistent.
• On the topic of driver profiles, they should remove the dependency from having to install the smartphone app and creating a Lexus account to set up a profile on the car. On my brother's Tesla he was able to set me up in less than a minute only using the vehicle. I didn't need to install or register for anything on my phone to use his Tesla. On the Lexus my partner had to install the app on her phone, create an account, then switch to the vehicle to complete the linking. It took us over 5 minutes. I know it isn't something that is done frequently but it is too many steps. I hope they make it easier and not dependent on the phone.
• The Qi wireless charger does not work well with my iPhone 12 Pro Max with leather case. It cannot maintain a connection to charge. I've heard of others experiencing a similar problem. I have tried 4 different cases and none of them would maintain a reliable connection on my 12 Pro Max. The Qi charger works fine when the case is removed from my phone and my partner's iPhone 11. If anyone has been able to find a compatible case for their 12 Pro Max please let me know.
• I have not been able to get the Digital Key on smartphone feature to work. When I checked with Lexus support, they said there was a known issue with my version of iOS (15.2). I have confidence they'll fix this issue but this is a good reminder to not depend on the phone and to still bring the key fob with you. You don't want to be stuck away from home because of some bug preventing it from fully working with your phone.
• Too many subscription services. Fortunately it comes with a three year trials so I haven't had to pay anything yet but locking features behind a subscription on a $60k premium vehicle leaves me with a poor taste. Also there is no need for three different subscriptions. It should either be no subscription required or one reasonably priced subscription for all features. I hope they adjust their pricing structure but if they don't the only one I would use is the RemoteConnect for smartphone connectivity. The SafetyConnect and DriveConnect don't seem worth it.
• With so many sensors and cameras on the car, I would have liked to have seen some of the related features already found in Teslas such as the sentry mode and dash cam. Feels like a missed opportunity to provide really useful features using the equipment already on the car.

Now onto the positives -

• While I complained about the missing features above, as a whole the vehicle is very well equipped with many features.
  • The 360 degree cameras make parking very easy. This is my first vehicle with one. It was especially helpful during the first few days as I was still getting familiar with the proportions of the vehicles and parking it in my garage. I use it all the time.
  • The heads up display is very good and very clear. The interaction with the steering wheel buttons is creative, well thought out, and well integrated. It turns what is normally a distraction into something genuinely useful.
  • Other features like wireless CarPlay, rear door kick sensor, ventilated seats, and heated steering wheel work well and without issue.
• Acceleration in both EV and Hybrid mode is good. The NX is not fast but it does not feel underpowered or a struggle to build speed. Power and acceleration is perfectly acceptable for this class of vehicle.
• The F Sport comes with adjustable dampers and the ride comfort in both standard and Sport modes are good. Compared to a sports car the NX does feel large and heavy but handling is good and the suspension is well controlled with good compliance. It drives better than expected for a 4000+lb SUV.
• The car is very quiet and what you'd expect from a Lexus. When in EV mode there is only little road noise and in Hybrid mode the engine noise is low and unobtrusive. This car is quieter than my previous non-Luxury branded EVs and PHEVs I've owned.
• Interior design, materials, and fit are also very good. Anyone that I have shown the car to has been impressed and had high praise. Everything feels high quality and well designed. All the touch points are very nice and where you expect them to be. There is enough flare to feel special but not too much where it feels overdone/too flashy. There is a subtle elegance to it all.
• The F Sport seats are very good and comfortable with a good number of adjustments. Both the foam and surface material used feels high quality. These are some of the nicest seats I've been in.
• The center infotainment screen is very easy to use. The screen is impressively large and very responsive to touch controls. Definitely a step ahead of anything else I've used and on par with a Tesla. I appreciate all the little adjustment options available within the menus, it makes it easy to configure the car exactly the way I like it.
  • The only exception is the maps which does feel a little laggy and slow to load.
• The climate control is easy to use. The physical ***** for temperature adjustment and static locations for the other HVAC controls are just as easy as normal physical switches and far superior to other vehicles where those settings are buried in menus or requires you to switch screens to control them.
• The "Hey Lexus..." commands work pretty well. I tested a few commands and it worked as expected. It is also pretty cool that it uses proximity microphones to recognizes whether it was the driver or passenger that gave the command and replies back using the speakers on that side of the car. If the passenger requests a command it replies only using the passenger side speakers.
  • One trick I've learned is to combine the "Hey Lexus..." wake word with the request for a more seamless experience. Instead of saying "Hey Lexus" and waiting for the car to respond before stating the request, I have found that combining it into one full sentence such as "Hey Lexus, take me to work" makes it go more smoothly with less waiting.
• The adaptive cruise control with lane keep assist is very good. I had a similar feature in my last car and I did not trust its ability to keep the car centered in the lane, it was an accident waiting to happen. With the Lexus I haven't had any such issues yet and the car feels centered in the lane even with a curve. I also like the integration with the HUD and by having a visual representation of the car I am following displayed, I have higher confidence in the adaptive cruise system as it provides me with positive confirmation that it has successfully detected the car in front of me.
• The rear door and rear hatch windows are factory tinted which saved me a few bucks at my tint shop.
• The included charging cable is very long (25 feet) and I was able to reach the charging port from my outlet with ease.
• The electronic door handles are easy to use with minimal learning curve.
• I have yet to truly test the range but I've been seeing 36-38 EV mile range on the display even when its cold out. I expect this to increase into the 40s during summer months.
• While I wish there was more animation with the turn signals, the overall lighting design for both the front and rear are very nice and upscale. The triple LEDs headlamps with the checkmark/swoosh LED running lamps look very distinctive and high end.
• The headlight beams are very bright and wide. Visibility at night is very good and I like them a lot. The auto high beam feature also works well.
• While I haven't tested it yet, I did see the options within the Lexus app to set speed, mileage, time of day limits and more. Useful restrictions for when you let someone borrow your car or at the valet.

While my experience and the car hasn't been perfect, the pros outweigh the cons and I am big fan of the car. I'm really happy to own one and I love driving it, I find excuses to try to take it out on a drive. This ended up being longer than I expected but I tried to touch on as many topics as I could. If you have any specific questions about anything I've said or didn't say, just ask. Overall I am very enthusiastic about the car and it has exceeded my expectations.

Xanadu350

Very nice review!!
How is the steering feel any feedback? Light and numb or somewhat sporty feeling? What about those 20” tires (run flats I’m guessing) and the adaptive suspension. Do you feel every bump or hole on the road or do you feel the adaptive suspension absorbs it all in the cabin? Do you know if the adaptive suspension is always on regardless if your in sport, comfort or eco?

Congrats, how do you like cloudburst gray?

I have a feeling some of the missing features you mentioned will appear on 2023. Lexus always holds stuff back and releases them in increment years to get people to buy them each year.

adb04

Nice review and thanks for sharing these information.
Lexus's decision to remove some features/options from their top NX trim is very strange. Toyota gives almost everything in their top trim RAV4 Prime XSE with premium package.

If you get chance, please let us know the noise level (you may install app like Decible X or Sound Meter) on freeways.

lsft

Congrats on your 450h+. I'm still waiting for mine to arrive in Canada. I've already ordered the F Sport Handling package in Canada which is called the F Sport 3 package. That package does include the digital rearview mirror and the heated rear seats, but does not have the power folding seats, pano roof, and the advance parking feature. The non-fsport version does have the advance parking feature.

How is the LSS 3.0 features are they helpful? You charging using level 2 charger or just a level 1? And how long? Do you need to order a different cable or it comes with both?

Jawnathin

Good questions. For some context my background is primarily sports cars and less about luxury cars, just to give some perspective on where I am coming from with my answers and review.

The steering weight is good and not too light. Compared to my sports cars (Miata, Boxster) the steering feel is numb but when compared to my previous commuter cars (Honda Clarity, Chevy Volt) it provides better feel. Overall I would characterize the steering weight as good and steering feel as somewhat vague but for this type of vehicle I think it is appropriate.

Yes, the 20" tires are run flats. My personal preference is that I do not want a numb, floaty, 'boaty' car and I prefer having a car that communicates the road conditions and what is going on underneath me. I feel the suspension does a good job absorbing the harshness of bumps while providing good feedback on the condition of the road. In other words, the road feel is present but the ride is never harsh or overwhelming. Someone who is sensitive to that and prefers the floaty/boaty feeling may find the ride busy. To me Lexus did a good job balancing sportiness with comfort and I have zero complaints about the ride. My partner who is not a car enthusiast also remarked that the ride is comfortable and superior to her past vehicles (Honda CRV).

My understanding is the adaptive suspension is always on and actively controlling the dampening of the car. When in Eco, Normal, or Sport modes, the dampers are using a 'Normal/Comfort' profile optimized for ride comfort. In Sport+ mode the dampers are set to the 'Sports' profile which is optimized for improved body control, steering, and stability. I haven't tested the Normal vs Sports profile enough to say how much of a difference there is between the two modes.

I didn't have a choice when it came to color as I was very lucky getting an allocation to begin with. If I was able to build one from scratch my first choice probably would have been Ultrasonic Blue 2.0 shown in the press event. I haven't seen it in person but in the videos it looks stunning and I love deep metallic colors. That said, Cloudburst Gray is also a deep metallic color and I like the dark monochromatic theme with the F Sport package gloss black trim. I do like the gray and it probably would have been my 2nd choice. I also like the Circuit Red interior which I think better matches with gray than a bright blue (red and blue would clash). Overall I am happy with gray exterior and red interior color of my NX.

I agree that some of this would be added to the 2023 so the model is kept fresh, its just a bit annoying that the top of the line model doesn't have the same equipment as some other models within the line up. I can understand the ML audio or power rear seats due to the location and size of the PHEV battery but I see no reason why the digital rear view mirror, Advanced Parking (available on the 450h Luxury) and panoramic sunroof isn't available.

chumpchang

Try waiting till the car fully starts, probably takes 10 seconds before you put the car in drive. It takes the system a few seconds to recognize the profile from the Digital Key. I have a 100% hit rate if I wait and extra couple seconds. I have an iPhone 12 for comparison.


I have this issue too, it's probably due to the phone hitting Thermal limits which is about 95 degrees Fahrenheit IIRC from the owner's manual. I've had better charging results by avoiding the use of Apple CarPlay navigation. Waze is particularly quick at getting your phone temperature up. Streaming music does not have that big of an impact.
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Jawnathin

You're welcome. None of the things I'm missing are deal breakers or significant detract from the car (I can park the car and fold the rear seats myself) but it is oddly annoying that some features aren't available on their top model yet available on other trims.

I will try to test the noise level when I can.

Thanks and congrats on your order and its great that you're able to get the digital mirror and heated rear seats. I hope you take delivery of yours soon.

I haven't done a thorough test of LSS 3.0 but I really enjoyed using the adaptive cruise control. It automatically braked and accelerated based on the location of the car in front of me. It followed the slight curve on the highway quite well, keeping the car centered in the lane. The steering wheel buttons makes it very easy to adjust your desired speed and follow distance. On the HUD, it has a graphic that shows the distance to the vehicle you are following as well as vehicles entering or leaving your lane. I appreciate this visual indicator as it is positive confirmation the car has detected the vehicle in front of me and will adjust accordingly. Automatic high beams are also a part of LSS 3.0 and I find they work as advertised. On a dark road near my house I see them turn on without traffic and automatically turns off when there are other vehicles.

I am using level 1 charging as I do not have a level 2 charger. I have not found this to be a problem with the NX or any of my other PHEVs. I rarely fully deplete the battery since the range is long enough for my commute and anything I typically do around town. In my situation I rarely use more than 50% charge in a day, so during overnight charging it has sufficient time to be full every morning. From zero to full on the level 1 it takes about 12-14 hours but for my situation its closer to 3-5 hours to top off since the battery is still above half. The NX comes with the level 1 charger that you plug into a standard wall outlet. Any level 2 charger would be a separate purchase and requires the correct power receptacle. If I was full EV I would definitely get a level 2 charger but I haven't seen the need to use anything faster than an L1 at home on my previous PHEVs since it doesn't take long to top off.

Jawnathin

Thanks, I will give that a try!


The wireless charging gets interrupted less than a minute after I set it on the charging pad and both the phone and pad still feel cold to the touch. Because it worked with the case removed I think the thickness of the case and/or the camera bump prevents good contact with the charging mat.

chumpchang

Do you have a MagSafe compatible charging case? I'm using an Apple Branded one.

The camera bump is negligible.

lsft

Thanks for the detailed review and I'll patiently waiting for my vehicle. I ordered Cad Orange. My current 2018 is the Ultrasonic Blue and it's a great color. But I already have a CT200h with the same color. So I wanted something different.

​​​​​​My situation might be a bit different as from and to work I will use up most of the battery and charging 12-14 hrs might not be enough time to fully charge up. I'll have to see the real life numbers when it arrives.

Jawnathin

I’ve tried four cases. An Apple silicon case, Apple leather case, and two third party cases. None charge reliability on the charging pad.

The camera bump doesn’t bother me in day to day but it does prevent the phone from laying flat.

Jawnathin

The orange is a head turner!

Yeah, give it a try and see if the overnight charge is enough to fill it up. If you can charge at work that would help as you’d only need half the charge time at home.

I still work remotely but when I return to the office I can use the level 2 chargers. The NX has enough range for my round trip commute so I may shift my primary charging location from home to work and save on electricity costs.

alvinklee

Congrats! Any other issues in terms of fit or rattles or anything?
I still need to take my car in about the side mirrors vibrating.

I really hate how they limited some of the luxury features you were talking about from the F Sport. Luxury does have that digital rearview mirror and also advanced parking. Not sure if advanced parking really works

NJRonbo

Nice review. Thank you for taking the time to write it.

I personally contacted the Lexus Executive Team about the subscription service costs months ago.

I also argued that there should not be a huge subscription price for services on a 60k vehicle.

Of course, the Executive I talked to from corporate sympathized with me -- even to say that his wife complains of the same thing -- but I am certain I was being hand fed bulls*t in order to calm my complaint.

In the end, the representative said that the policy will probably never change.

I will say, fortunately, CarPlay and Android Auto allow a lot of assistance that you won't need Lexus to do for you instead. It should be easy to let go of most of the services after three years.

Xanadu350

My guess is that when 3 yrs finally gets here 2025? Lexus will have changed the structure and pricing.