noted. though the lexus hybrid sometimes is considered differently. looking back, most of the lexus hybrids were about using battery as extra source of power. ls600hl, gs450h, and rx400h they were all not getting better mpg but they were more powerful than the regular models. so one can think of it as "turbo" in some sense

but i am also seeing a little shift in the direction, it seems like the newer hybrid is focusing a bit more on fuel efficiency than performance. have to see how that's progressing though, for sure when i had the rx450h as loaner (only for weekend), i recall the gas mileage wasn't that impressive compared to regular rx350

i think the ct200h was more like a "start" and price was more important. i still like how the ct drives, except it's just a bit too slow

 

Unfortunately, you are correct. The 6-cylinder + 2 electric motors that are in our current '06 HyHi are duplicates of that years RX450h and they DO provide a TON of power that can match my X5d's power off the starting line. Of course, that was never REALLY needed in those cars and had Toyota/Lexus put a 4 cylinder in the Hybrids, they WOULD have made the fuel economy numbers that they were touting (at the time) AND still had plenty of power.

Of course, we have to wait until the NX300h gets here to see how well that translates in this new, slightly smaller varient of the RX but it should be interesting as the ES300h drivers who alreaady have that proven combination are seeing 38's & 40's so (hopefully) a skilled driver can get 35MPG out of the NX300h on the highway.

 

yes, the es300h is where i really start to see a shift in lexus' direction on the use of hybrid vehicles. i think this is probably a better way for them to run it, the "prius saves gas" image is just everywhere already, plus if lexus wants power, we already see they are pushing on turbo

 

IS/GS300h is even better... too bad no D4S for Hybrid.

 

Wow Henry, so cool you got an NX to drive around

I was so close on getting an NX as my next car, but I wanted to get back in a sedan.

I checked it out at the Westminster meet and the size and space was perfect for us

I drove the 3 IS and LOVE it!

That's all I wanted to hear-thanks for the confirmation
Maybe this will be our next car after the GS lease is up

 

Not sure if you still have access to the NX but could you measure the height from the load floor to the ceiling interior wise? With all the seats down please ... Thanks!

 

unfortunately the car was returned to lexus hq already. but it's definitely less than that of the rx. in my review i also commented how the reduced height makes it harder to store taller boxes and such

 

just want to answer few more questions

i took picture of the 2nd row seat folded. it is not completely flat like the cargo floor, i say maybe at a 15 degree angle? it will show in my review

the space underneath the wireless charger inside the center console is not bad, i say about 6" deep still

i have an infotainment review planned too to cover the latest system. the ipod control is not bad, much better than the gen6 system imho, system performance is fast and selections pretty intuitive. one thing i kept on running into is "ipod error" problem. this happened with gx, nx, and is, different cables, and different phones. so i don't know what is the cause

imho the x3 and glk both have more space (especially the rear door and tailgate design. x3 drives a bit sportier but interior looks cheap. glk is interior leather is better but looks dull. both exterior looks so boring compared to the nx. q5 is definitely larger. rdx is a close match but again interior is lacking

imho the nx is a bit between x3 and x1, and possible between glk and gla (haven't seen the car in person)

the car i tested actually has bsm together with rcta. the only thing it doesn't have is 360 camera, cooling seat, hud, and ml. i don't know about ml, i am pretty sure hud and 360 camera won't happen here. cooling seat maybe available in some regions?

yes, headlights led. foglights led too. the latest generation of led is actually very good now, it's very bright and cut off is very clean, there is absolutely no problem on the road at all. unlike the first generation (ls600hl) where it's actually dimmer than the hid

i think the rear turn signals are regular bulbs (playing from memory), didn't check on the reverse lights though

the gx review should be going up on monday

 

I'd think the Q3 and x1 are more comparable to the NX..the others are RX range..GLK is somewhere in between I think..

 

The Q3 and X1 are much smaller inside than the NX, and the interior quality in the NX is in a different league to both, especially the X1 which has some really cheap plastics.

 

The X1 is significantly smaller than the Q3 so the statement above is mis-leading (at best) at it attempts to (unjustifyably) place the size of the Q3 & the X1 within the same domain. The current RX is VERY similar in size to the Q5. The Q5 is slightly larger than the Q3 so seems logical that the NX should be about that size as there is not much room for it to be bigger than a Q3 without it being as big as the Q5/RX so there is a falacy in the above statement. In fact, the Q5 is very marginally larger than the RX therefore the Q3 might also be marginally larger than the NX (yes, even on the side...lol)

 

I am not sure what exactly are you looking at, but Q5 is bigger than NX by 0.3". They are practically the same size. One thing I noted when sitting in the back of Q5 is how cramped it is there. We will see how good NX is when they compare them side by side.

 

What matters is the wheelbase. The Q5 has a 110.5" wheelbase. The NX has a 104.7" wheelbase.
That's like comparing a mid-sized car to a compact as far as ride goes.

 

I was responding to the previous poster's comment.

Actually I don't think the X1 is significantly smaller than the Q3. Since I have friends that own both, personally I feel that their interior size is quite similar, hence they compete in the same bracket. My comment wasn't misleading at all since the Q3 and X1 compete in exactly the same bracket.

And I'm not sure how you get the Q5 is the same size as the RX. It's definitely a little smaller, as my cousin owns a Q5 and my wife drives a RX450h, and there's a definitely interior space difference. The RX is longer and has more front head/foot/leg room.

Your entire comment actually doesn't really make sense... have you actually sat in all of the above vehicles? Or are you just trying to extrapolate based the car's model numbers?

Lexus is clearly positioning the NX at the Q5/X3. In Australia, the price is dead on for those models. In no way is it competing with the Q3/X1 which are positioned in the segment below and competing with the likes of the GLA. The Q3 has a tiny boot (similar to the Tiguan on which it's based), and both the Q3 and X1 have terrible rear seat space compared with the NX.

If you bother actually looking at the dimensions:

Q5 (Length/Width/Height): 4639/1880/1650mm
NX (Length/Width/Height): 4630/1845/1645mm

Close? And just to illustrate the size compared to the RX:

RX (Length/Width/Height): 4770/1880/1720mm.

Bigger clearly than both the above? And Lexus means to increase the size of the RX for the upcoming model.

 

You can't compare wheelbase along if you're comparing front and rear drive platforms since there are clear packaging issues that make a much bigger different to available space than just wheelbase alone.

And in terms of ride, nowadays suspension, adaptable dampers etc make as important a difference to ride as the wheelbase. The 3 and 5 series for example ride like night and day if u spec them with or without the adaptable dampers.