L3xus350

Absolutely, I will apologize if I rehash anything that has been mentioned before but I figure I will give my overall impression coming from an IS to the NX . I went and test drove a 2015, a 2017 NX 200t (both front wheel drive), as well as a 2017 RX at two separate dealerships today. The first dealership lets you just take the car by yourself so no pressure to buy, the second was at my local Lexus dealer where the salesman rode with me (but he was low pressure and we talked about everything but cars). First impression after getting in were the seats in both NX models were much softer to the touch and had more cushion than my 2013 IS. The seating position was also fantastic, I was able to have it set so that it was very comfortable and no stress on my lower back. A nice touch on the models I drove is the memory seating and the steering wheel retracts when you shut the car off so getting in and out is very easy. Both models had navigation and the touchpad is terrible, but I can get used to it. Once all the radio stations are programmed in I would use the steering wheel for controls. I downloaded a sound meter app on my phone and rode with it in my IS to the dealership and noticed around 65dB of noise around 50 mph and closer to 70 dB at interstate speeds. The NX registered around 60 dB at 50 mph and 65 dB at interstate speeds. So not a whole lot, but definitely some improvement. There is definitely some wind noise at interstate speeds but my IS whistles a little and with the radio on it will be fine.

The ride is noticeably better in the NX, there was a stretch of pavement that had been grooved waiting to be repaved and I was able to ride in it and while not pleasant it was still much better than the beating I would receive in my IS. Also do not take this as IS bashing, because I really love my IS but it is a sports car and that is how it is meant to ride. Riding down the interstate and non grooved city streets were an absolute dream, bumps were absorbed and it drove quite well with tight (but not too tight) steering. The acceleration is good after just a bit of lag, but I expected this would be the case. While I will miss the power band my IS has I will not be driving this like my IS and do not see this as a big deal (but this was also why I drove the RX to get a good comparison and I will comment on that in a minute).

The backseat is extremely roomy and both model had manual recline on them which is a huge plus to your passengers. The trunk obviously suffers a bit for that, but I found another thread showing you can easily get some golf bags in the rear (and of course it is much bigger than what I have on my IS now). I did not care for the fact you cannot pull the rear lift gate down manually (to close faster when it is raining, etc.) but I have always had to manually close them on previous SUV models so just something to get used to.

As for the RX, the model I drove the leather felt very similar to my IS (with more seat cushion obviously) so that kind of surprised me because I felt both NX models were just slightly softer to the touch. The ride was definitely more "floaty" compared to the NX and of course the acceleration was quicker to respond. However I honestly did not feel it was worth the extra money. Of course the RX is bigger so you get a bigger trunk and passengers get a bit more room, but for my situation an NX will offer everything I need especially considering my IS has done ok for 3+ years.

So my conclusion? Am I going to get an NX? Yes. I wish it had just a little more responsiveness when it comes to acceleration and I wish the radio/navigation had a better interface, but overall I was very pleased with what the NX offers. Now it is a matter of working on getting the best deal on my trade and getting the lowest price worked out. The two L/Certified models I have found are located over 2 hours away from me so I am working on trying to get everything finalized ahead of time (other than the exact amount for my trade since they would have to see it in person to give the final number). My local Lexus dealer said he would reach out to each of them to see if they would be willing to make a swap so they could sell it to me and save a drive. I said I would be ok with that but that I was willing to make the drive so I will see who offers the best deal.

So I went back and pulled up the vehicles I test drove and they had Nuluxe seats (they did not offer that on my IS when I bought mine) so that explains the difference.

redraptor

Nice review^^^...i too am thinking of switching from the IS350 to the NX300 when my lease ends in a few months. Doing all the research i can now to come to a final decision.

L3xus350

Thanks, glad to help.