2023 Lexus NX review: NX350 F Sport | Is the BMW X3 and Mercedes-Benz GLC rival ready for families?

I'm here with the new Lexus NX 350f Sport and it competes with other luxury medium SUVs like the Mercedes GLC and BMW X3 I've been driving it for the last week with my family of three stay watching to see how it performed it looks good but how much does it cost well the NX 350f sport will cost you around 78 000 before on-road costs which makes it significantly cheaper than its Merc and BMW counterparts this has some great standard features but we do have an options enhancement pack too which adds a panoramic sunroof digital rear view mirror heated steering wheel and an upgraded sound system you could save yourself some cash if you weren't too fast over having those because it does cost an extra 4 615 but I did enjoy using those features this week the full specs are in my written review at carsguide.com.ou if you need more details foreign I was a bit worried that the inside would feel small but I have loads of head leg and Elbow Room the front feels very well proportioned but I still feel like I'm getting tucked in by the car which gives it a sporty Vibe something that adds to that are these beautiful two-tone leather seats they're a bit firmer than I prefer but I love the Heat and ventilation function and the lumbar support but I was a little bit disappointed that it doesn't have an extendable under thigh support at this price tag the storage up front is pretty good for a car of this size but I do feel like there should have been a little something extra on the passenger side like a shelf or a little Nook to put their phone and bits and Bobs I do like that underneath the wireless charging pad there's a little hidden compartment for smaller items the tech has been a little bit flustering at times now it's easy to use once you get used to it but it's not super intuitive initially where you expect that be a button it's a touch screen or vice versa also the 14 inch touchscreen multimedia system looks fantastic and I love that it has Wireless Apple carplay and Android auto but the built-in satellite navigation was very handy this week too the digital instrument panel looks really nice but isn't super customizable and the information that you would usually be able to see that is actually in the head up display which again took a little while to get used to I have enough room back here for me and my 168 centimeter or five foot six height however I would still consider these to be a two-seater for everyday use and three-seater for occasional use because the seat is quite narrow and over the weekend I had my six foot two brother and his girlfriend and my six-year-old back here it was very squishy well for the adults at least the amenities aren't as comprehensive back here as what you would hope for in a luxury model but I do like the directional air vents the two USB ports and 12 volt Port plus the map pockets on the backs of the seat it's also great having the easy to clean trim and the dark headliner especially in my family I do have to mention the door handles though I got used to them very quickly but my six-year-old did not and was not impressed with them it was a running joke over the weekend with my family for whoever sat in the back kind of got stuck in the back because it's a pump action e-latch I think it's called and I don't know it's just a little bit Dicky and awkward to use I do prefer a hardier and easier to Style there are isofix child seat mounts on the outboard seats plus three top tethers but you won't be fitting through child seats side by side two will fit best and there's just enough space for front occupants when a zero to four rearward facing child seat is installed for my driving position but if you're taller might be a little bit too squished the boot offers a great capacity at 520 liters and I like the level load space because it makes it easier to slide gear in and out there's a Handy Storage cubby underneath the floor for smaller items and while I liked having the power tailgate this week it was a bit fiddly to operate from the key fob and from the button on the right hand side of the driver's side but it was handy having the kick function for the power tailgate as well this has a 2.4 liter four-cylinder turbo petrol powertrain with a maximum output of 205 kilowatts and 430 newton meters of torque that's a pretty powerful engine from midsize SUV this one is an all-wheel drive but there are front-wheel drive versions and a plug-in hybrid version if you're after a Greener option the 8-speed auto transmission is deliciously smooth and combined with the powerful engine this has been a very pleasant SUV to drive I've really enjoyed driving this this week I like that even when you put your foot down you don't feel like you're dipping into the power reserves so on our Easter Roadie it was really easy to overtake all the slow-moving Caravans I love my driving position in this because I have great visibility out of the windows and I feel really confident with where it starts and ends meaning if you have to maneuver it quickly it's easy to do despite not being super tall there is some role in this in Corners so I did have to change up my driving style and I definitely didn't accelerate the same way out of a corner as I usually do because you do get a bit of wobble in the back something that I didn't love was the auto high beam function because it didn't turn off despite having heavy oncoming traffic so I ended up turning it off completely because I was flashing people the ride Comfort is fantastic in this and even backseat passengers complemented the ride so the suspension is pretty darn forgiving because of its size this is a breezed park and because the 360 degree view camera is so clear it's very easy to navigate a tight City car park if you can't see out the back because you've got a full load of gear you can switch over to the digital feed in the rear view monitor which helps a bunch the official combined fuel cycle is 8.1 liters per hundred kilometers my real world figure was 9.7 liters so it is a bit thirsty considering how much open road driving I did this week it also only has a 55 liter fuel tank so you do feel like you're hitting that Bowser a little bit more often as far as safety features are concerned this has most of the items that I like to see on a family car and a cool highlight is the safe exit assist if the car detects oncoming traffic or an obstacle while you're trying to open your door it will alert you via the dash but Lexus goes one step further if you still try and open your door even though the obstacle is still detected the car will lock you in there could be something to be said about this Terminator and Megan come to mind but it's a cool feature nonetheless another great feature is the very clear 360 degree view camera which makes your car invisible which improves visibility and minuses distraction the NX has been awarded a five-star and cap safety rating from testing done in 2022 so it's nice and fresh there are eight airbags including a newer front center airbag but if you need more safety details check out my full review at carsguide.com if you want more details it's got the features but what are the ongoing costs like well this comes with a five-year unlimited kilometer warranty term which is standard for the class however the annex only comes with a three-year cap price servicing plan which is below average for The Wider Market services are also just okay at 495 dollars per service but servicing intervals are reasonable at every 12 months or 15 000 kilometers whichever occurs first the Lexus NX 350f sport is fun and sporty it is on the smaller side for a medium SUV with a narrow back seat so it will suit smaller families best just like mine I really loved how big the boot space was and it was a perfect size for my gear and errands this week I also loved the driving performance however there were some techie items and the cap price servicing program that irked me so this gets a seven and a half out of ten from me my kid loved how cool it looked inside and how easy it was to get into the car but he did struggle with those door handles this week so this gets a 7 out of 10 from him if you're after more details check out my full review at carsguide.com.eu I'll see you next week [Music] foreign

Channel: CarsGuide

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Length: 9min 27sec (567 seconds)

Published: Sat Apr 22 2023