New Lexus NX450+ vs New VW Tiguan- Choice?
New Lexus NX450+ vs New VW Tiguan- Choice?
Author
Discussion

Mack11

Original Poster:

157 posts

84 months

Wednesday 4th December 2024
quotequote all
I am trying to decide between these two cars, both are PHEV and the Lexus is a little bit more expensive.

The Tiguan is the top R-line and the Lexus is premium with the pan roof.
I am not blown away with either of the looks, think the older Tiguan looks better, the Tiguan has a longer electric range and bigger boot, but having never owned a Lexus or Toyota, I have no experience.
Also as a 3yr lease, the reliability is less of a concern.

I am going to try and get a test drive, but always feel guilty going to a showroom and having no interest in buying from them!

What would you choose, is the Lexus NX range a step up in quality?

lornemalvo

4,090 posts

92 months

Wednesday 4th December 2024
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I would get insurance quotes for both. I'm not sure if the NX is vulnerable to the same canbus thefts as the RX, but an elevated insurance quote would probably be an indication that they are.

FamousPheasant

765 posts

140 months

Wednesday 4th December 2024
quotequote all
I've had a leased NX for 2 months now. I've been very impressed with it thus far. Even in this cold weather I'm comfortably getting 40 miles of electric range. One thing to note about the lexus, is it keeps 30% of the charge in reserve to maintain the performance. It's a very relaxing car to drive and pretty fast in both EV and hybrid mode. Overall the implementation of the electric drivetrain seems better than those I have experienced with Mercedes and BMW - although, I admit, I've not tried the VAG offering.

Also worth noting that the boot of the Tiguan PHEV is not any bigger than NX. The standard tiguan, yes but the PHEV eats into the boot.

Rav 4 and Suzuki Across are the same as the NX under the skin and could be worth a look.

Mack11

Original Poster:

157 posts

84 months

Wednesday 4th December 2024
quotequote all
Thanks for the replies, the Tiguan rear seat slides forward and although you are right in litres, the Tiguan seems practically bigger. The Tiguan has 70 miles listed for electric on the new model.

The steering wheel thing is weird, but you would expect that to be fixed quickly.

ZX10R NIN

30,060 posts

149 months

Wednesday 4th December 2024
quotequote all
The NX is the pick long term it's the one I'd go for it just feels a step above the Tiguan imo but both are decent cars.

Snow and Rocks

3,110 posts

51 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
FamousPheasant said:
I've had a leased NX for 2 months now. I've been very impressed with it thus far. Even in this cold weather I'm comfortably getting 40 miles of electric range. One thing to note about the lexus, is it keeps 30% of the charge in reserve to maintain the performance. It's a very relaxing car to drive and pretty fast in both EV and hybrid mode. Overall the implementation of the electric drivetrain seems better than those I have experienced with Mercedes and BMW - although, I admit, I've not tried the VAG offering.

Also worth noting that the boot of the Tiguan PHEV is not any bigger than NX. The standard tiguan, yes but the PHEV eats into the boot.

Rav 4 and Suzuki Across are the same as the NX under the skin and could be worth a look.
Having owned a Suzuki Across for a few months now with the same chassis and drivetrain I agree with all this. It's not sporty at all but is incredibly relaxing and is almost unnecessarily quick at pretty much any speed. Best all round car I've owned with some surprising used bargains if you're not bothered about it being a Lexus. Much, much better car overall than our Model Y if that means anything.

If you're planning on owning it long term it's also worth looking into just how cleverly engineered the Toyota hybrid system is - it's not only smooth and very efficient, it removes almost all of the wear/maintenance points of most ICEs which, when combined with Toyota/Lexus build quality makes for incredibly hassle free and ultimately cheap long term ownership.

Not sure how VW have implemented it but some of the other PHEVs (Volvo and BMW) I looked at were ridiculously gutless as EVs whereas the Toyota still has 240bhp from the electric motors alone. I was also wary of their short warranties given the inherent complexity of their designs with turbochargers, DSG boxes etc plus hybrid stuff. Aging German cars are bad enough even without all that!

Juan B

636 posts

28 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
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Tiguan. Because its looks cooler. More like a 4x4 whereas the lexus is a little mum-ish.

SP_

3,008 posts

129 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
One thing putting me off a new NX atm for my mum is the lack of shortcut to disable the intelligent speed assist bongs (EU mandated), It's 7 steps every time you want to turn it off (every time you start the car)
Seems a crazy thing to discount a car for, but X3s etc have a 1 button shortcut on the steering wheel

Harry H

3,688 posts

180 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
SP_ said:
One thing putting me off a new NX atm for my mum is the lack of shortcut to disable the intelligent speed assist bongs (EU mandated), It's 7 steps every time you want to turn it off (every time you start the car)
Seems a crazy thing to discount a car for, but X3s etc have a 1 button shortcut on the steering wheel
Was just about to post something like this.

One of the major considerations of buying any new car these days is to how easy it is to switch all the nanny state st off.

Was a passenger in a mates new VW SUV recently (not sure which one) and the level of intervention from the car just moving about is unbelievable. Bong, bong, bong all the bloody time. Lane keep assist is also bloody dangerous. Switch it off and a flashing message on the dash keeps telling you "lane keep assist deactivated" as if you're going to instantly die. I could not own a car like that no matter how good the rest of it is.

Mack11

Original Poster:

157 posts

84 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
I may skip the test drive and just say to the dealer
“Can you start the engine, I am just here to count the bongs” smile

PostHeads123

1,180 posts

159 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
Mack11 said:
I am trying to decide between these two cars, both are PHEV and the Lexus is a little bit more expensive.

The Tiguan is the top R-line and the Lexus is premium with the pan roof.
I am not blown away with either of the looks, think the older Tiguan looks better, the Tiguan has a longer electric range and bigger boot, but having never owned a Lexus or Toyota, I have no experience.
Also as a 3yr lease, the reliability is less of a concern.

I am going to try and get a test drive, but always feel guilty going to a showroom and having no interest in buying from them!

What would you choose, is the Lexus NX range a step up in quality?
Check the insurance on the Lexus and dont depend on comparison sites go direct to the insurer, I had issues insuring the 450 Ive got on lease and it was very expensive. Also some other poster pointed out the tyres on these are £300 a corner as run flats only 1 brand so if your doing the miles factor it in.

Edited by PostHeads123 on Thursday 5th December 15:05

PostHeads123

1,180 posts

159 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
lornemalvo said:
I would get insurance quotes for both. I'm not sure if the NX is vulnerable to the same canbus thefts as the RX, but an elevated insurance quote would probably be an indication that they are.
On the 2024 model its supposed to sorted, some protection plate in place and they encrypted canbus or something, lots of 'Lexus Security' stickers visable in the windows lol - insurance still a pain though

Snow and Rocks

3,110 posts

51 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
As an aside if you're not interested in a brand new car or the Lexus badge and flash interior then I bought my Across outright for £20k from a Suzuki main dealer a few months back. Under warranty until 2029/100k and is pretty much spotless.

It's the same car underneath and still pretty much fully loaded just with a Suzuki badge. It has lane assist and lots of nannying safety stuff but it can all be easily turned off and stays off even when you restart the car. Active cruise is pretty good though!

About the only thing that isn't great is the graphics of the touchscreen - it all still works intuitively though and there are proper substantial feeling physical controls for everything you're likely to need to use while driving.

Insurance seemed reasonable and tyres were £140 a corner for Michelin Cross Climates recently. It has a proper spare too. As far as I was aware the Rav4 PHEV and Across weren't affected by the canbus theft issue so I'm surprised the NX450+ is given it's so closely related.

Edited by Snow and Rocks on Thursday 5th December 14:51

FamousPheasant

765 posts

140 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
SP_ said:
One thing putting me off a new NX atm for my mum is the lack of shortcut to disable the intelligent speed assist bongs (EU mandated), It's 7 steps every time you want to turn it off (every time you start the car)
Seems a crazy thing to discount a car for, but X3s etc have a 1 button shortcut on the steering wheel
I have a NX. It's only two button presses on the touch screen.

Annoying, but not that bad.

SP_

3,008 posts

129 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
FamousPheasant said:
SP_ said:
One thing putting me off a new NX atm for my mum is the lack of shortcut to disable the intelligent speed assist bongs (EU mandated), It's 7 steps every time you want to turn it off (every time you start the car)
Seems a crazy thing to discount a car for, but X3s etc have a 1 button shortcut on the steering wheel
I have a NX. It's only two button presses on the touch screen.

Annoying, but not that bad.
Is it really?

Last I heard it was this...

"
Hi, with my RX (Gen 5) to disable the speed warning for each trip involves the following:

1. Tap Vehicle icon

2. Tap Driving Assist

3. Swipe screen left then press Customise

4. Tap Notification

5. Tap Excess Speed Notification

6. Choose Off, Visual or Audible and Visual (the default) - I choose Visual only

7. Tap OK

….then drive 😂

In answer to your second question, no Sport mode doesn’t automatically disable the beeps in my car, but you can drive in Sports mode on pure EV.

Hope this helps"

FamousPheasant

765 posts

140 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
SP_ said:
FamousPheasant said:
SP_ said:
One thing putting me off a new NX atm for my mum is the lack of shortcut to disable the intelligent speed assist bongs (EU mandated), It's 7 steps every time you want to turn it off (every time you start the car)
Seems a crazy thing to discount a car for, but X3s etc have a 1 button shortcut on the steering wheel
I have a NX. It's only two button presses on the touch screen.

Annoying, but not that bad.
Is it really?

Last I heard it was this...

"
Hi, with my RX (Gen 5) to disable the speed warning for each trip involves the following:

1. Tap Vehicle icon

2. Tap Driving Assist

3. Swipe screen left then press Customise

4. Tap Notification

5. Tap Excess Speed Notification

6. Choose Off, Visual or Audible and Visual (the default) - I choose Visual only

7. Tap OK

….then drive ??

In answer to your second question, no Sport mode doesn’t automatically disable the beeps in my car, but you can drive in Sports mode on pure EV.

Hope this helps"
Live scenes:




SP_

3,008 posts

129 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
FamousPheasant said:
SP_ said:
FamousPheasant said:
SP_ said:
One thing putting me off a new NX atm for my mum is the lack of shortcut to disable the intelligent speed assist bongs (EU mandated), It's 7 steps every time you want to turn it off (every time you start the car)
Seems a crazy thing to discount a car for, but X3s etc have a 1 button shortcut on the steering wheel
I have a NX. It's only two button presses on the touch screen.

Annoying, but not that bad.
Is it really?

Last I heard it was this...

"
Hi, with my RX (Gen 5) to disable the speed warning for each trip involves the following:

1. Tap Vehicle icon

2. Tap Driving Assist

3. Swipe screen left then press Customise

4. Tap Notification

5. Tap Excess Speed Notification

6. Choose Off, Visual or Audible and Visual (the default) - I choose Visual only

7. Tap OK

….then drive ??

In answer to your second question, no Sport mode doesn’t automatically disable the beeps in my car, but you can drive in Sports mode on pure EV.

Hope this helps"
Live scenes:



Interesting - I'm guessing that turns the speed limit display off in the HUD and all though, rather than just audible & visual overspeed noises and flashing?

PostHeads123

1,180 posts

159 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
To turn the bongings off you mention I have to go into notifications 4/5 clicks its not on the short cuts one though the lane one is. When I first drove mine it was bong central, bongs when you are over the limit, bongs when limit changes.

FamousPheasant

765 posts

140 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
SP_ said:
Interesting - I'm guessing that turns the speed limit display off in the HUD and all though, rather than just audible & visual overspeed noises and flashing?
No, it does turn off the audible bongs too.

FamousPheasant

765 posts

140 months

Thursday 5th December 2024
quotequote all
FamousPheasant said:
SP_ said:
Interesting - I'm guessing that turns the speed limit display off in the HUD and all though, rather than just audible & visual overspeed noises and flashing?
No, it does turn off the audible bongs too.
Just to add my car has the standard "smaller" 10in system rather than the 14in system.