First 2 Weeks Review
05-21-15, 09:11 AM
#1
Lexus Test Driver
Thread Starter
First 2 Weeks Review
DISCLAIMER: This is my opinion on my first 2 weeks with this car. I understand there is another thread for this, but I do not wish to take their thread off topic.
So, I have had my NX now for just short of 2 weeks and here are my feelings thus far:
Pros:
1. Driver Seat - Very comfortable during my 45 min drive to work. Maybe I'll need a longer ride to get a feel for it that the rest of you mention, but I'm yet to be uncomfortable at 5'11", 220lbs.
2. Gas Mileage - While I'm still in the break-in, I drive 90% backroads and 10% city and I'm seeing 27+ mpg, which is very impressive, though I envision it dropping once I'm not driving it like a grandmother.
3. Drivability - For being a 2.0L turbo, I am impressed. I have a 500hp car at home, so I wasn't looking for "speed", but given the 235hp of this car at its weight, when in sport, the car can move. I have seen a lot of talk of late about turbo lag and how "terrible it is". All I can ask is, how long have you been around turbos? If you haven't been around them long, then I would take a minute and look into turbos over the last 15 years. The lag has decreased SUBSTANCIALLY. Lag used to put a car flat on its nose. I remember when a family friend was running a turbo race car in NHRA Competition Eliminator, and for years he couldn't get the car to leave the line solidly because it just took too much time to spool up. Now, turbos can spool up relatively quickly. Heck, look at STis from the early 2000s. Ask those drivers what lag was... lol Given the small size of this turbo on a 4 banger, having the boost come in at about 2100 RPM is pretty reasonable and I think it works great to give it that last bit of power that it was lacking. NOW, on the other hand, I believe a bigger turbo could certainly do well in this car. Right now, its showing a safety max of about 13psi of boost. Thus, until I can get this on a dyno and look at the computer, I can't tell if this is Toyota's tuning limit, or that's the max of the small turbo. I'm wondering if a bigger turbo would work better, or if you could just tune the car to allow a little more boost. Will take some time to find this out when the ECU is cracked.
4. Suspension - Overall I find the ride fine. I wish we had Sport+ in the US, but the single rate suspension is certainly comfortable and don't take bumps too hard (because I hit a lot of bumps on my way to work).
5. Headlights - The triple LEDs are incredible. I love my dual-xenons on my Camaro with 6000Ks in, so while the color is pretty much the same (as LEDs are pretty close to 5500k in color), but the cutoffs on the NX are something to admire. IMO, I think these are only beaten by Acura.
Cons:
1. Cheap Japanese Paint - Japanese cars are known for having terrible paint. Now, we can all thank the EPA for ruining the standard, and then the Japanese cheapening it even further. This paint could flake off given a strong enough wind. Going to have to keep up with this paint. I got the hood bra'd with xpel and within 1 day, I had a rock thrown that hit the bra and actually dislodged the paint under the bra. That's pathetic paint quality....
2. Rattle somewhere in the car - I have a rattle somewhere that I've been spending the better part of a week chasing down...
3. Passenger Seat cover - I had my wife ride in my passenger seat for 1 hour and the seat already started to crease. Now, my wife is thin woman, so there is no reason this should have happened. Her '15 IS, we ride in it all the time, and the seats show NO wear whatsoever.
4. Tranny's chronic need to downshift while braking - This drives me absolutely nuts. I understand the engine is attempting to downshift to assist with braking, but its unnecessary. I've found myself feeling it downshift, and I'll slap the paddle and cuss at the car for a second.
5. Gauges - Specifically the boost screen. For this screen, why does everything have to be in intervals of x10? Don't tell me .75 and 1.5. Put 7.5 and 15. Furthermore, on the oil pressure, why in the heck do I care about oil pressure up to 120psi? The normal operating pressure is approximately 30psi or lower. Most engine problems arise from a LACK of oil pressure, so it would help to have a higher resolution of the bottom of the scale. Just seems like a waste and not giving you the true information you want.
6. Furthermore on Gauges - Why is there no digital speed readout? You give me a pointless G-meter...but no digital speed readout?
7. The front of the car pushes its weight around a lot. If a vendor could create a tower brace, I would gladly purchase one. Vendors...I'm calling you out here...I'm willing to be a test mule for you
I'm sure I'll think of something else down the road, but this is a good start.
So, I have had my NX now for just short of 2 weeks and here are my feelings thus far:
Pros:
1. Driver Seat - Very comfortable during my 45 min drive to work. Maybe I'll need a longer ride to get a feel for it that the rest of you mention, but I'm yet to be uncomfortable at 5'11", 220lbs.
2. Gas Mileage - While I'm still in the break-in, I drive 90% backroads and 10% city and I'm seeing 27+ mpg, which is very impressive, though I envision it dropping once I'm not driving it like a grandmother.
3. Drivability - For being a 2.0L turbo, I am impressed. I have a 500hp car at home, so I wasn't looking for "speed", but given the 235hp of this car at its weight, when in sport, the car can move. I have seen a lot of talk of late about turbo lag and how "terrible it is". All I can ask is, how long have you been around turbos? If you haven't been around them long, then I would take a minute and look into turbos over the last 15 years. The lag has decreased SUBSTANCIALLY. Lag used to put a car flat on its nose. I remember when a family friend was running a turbo race car in NHRA Competition Eliminator, and for years he couldn't get the car to leave the line solidly because it just took too much time to spool up. Now, turbos can spool up relatively quickly. Heck, look at STis from the early 2000s. Ask those drivers what lag was... lol Given the small size of this turbo on a 4 banger, having the boost come in at about 2100 RPM is pretty reasonable and I think it works great to give it that last bit of power that it was lacking. NOW, on the other hand, I believe a bigger turbo could certainly do well in this car. Right now, its showing a safety max of about 13psi of boost. Thus, until I can get this on a dyno and look at the computer, I can't tell if this is Toyota's tuning limit, or that's the max of the small turbo. I'm wondering if a bigger turbo would work better, or if you could just tune the car to allow a little more boost. Will take some time to find this out when the ECU is cracked.
4. Suspension - Overall I find the ride fine. I wish we had Sport+ in the US, but the single rate suspension is certainly comfortable and don't take bumps too hard (because I hit a lot of bumps on my way to work).
5. Headlights - The triple LEDs are incredible. I love my dual-xenons on my Camaro with 6000Ks in, so while the color is pretty much the same (as LEDs are pretty close to 5500k in color), but the cutoffs on the NX are something to admire. IMO, I think these are only beaten by Acura.
Cons:
1. Cheap Japanese Paint - Japanese cars are known for having terrible paint. Now, we can all thank the EPA for ruining the standard, and then the Japanese cheapening it even further. This paint could flake off given a strong enough wind. Going to have to keep up with this paint. I got the hood bra'd with xpel and within 1 day, I had a rock thrown that hit the bra and actually dislodged the paint under the bra. That's pathetic paint quality....
2. Rattle somewhere in the car - I have a rattle somewhere that I've been spending the better part of a week chasing down...
3. Passenger Seat cover - I had my wife ride in my passenger seat for 1 hour and the seat already started to crease. Now, my wife is thin woman, so there is no reason this should have happened. Her '15 IS, we ride in it all the time, and the seats show NO wear whatsoever.
4. Tranny's chronic need to downshift while braking - This drives me absolutely nuts. I understand the engine is attempting to downshift to assist with braking, but its unnecessary. I've found myself feeling it downshift, and I'll slap the paddle and cuss at the car for a second.
5. Gauges - Specifically the boost screen. For this screen, why does everything have to be in intervals of x10? Don't tell me .75 and 1.5. Put 7.5 and 15. Furthermore, on the oil pressure, why in the heck do I care about oil pressure up to 120psi? The normal operating pressure is approximately 30psi or lower. Most engine problems arise from a LACK of oil pressure, so it would help to have a higher resolution of the bottom of the scale. Just seems like a waste and not giving you the true information you want.
6. Furthermore on Gauges - Why is there no digital speed readout? You give me a pointless G-meter...but no digital speed readout?
7. The front of the car pushes its weight around a lot. If a vendor could create a tower brace, I would gladly purchase one. Vendors...I'm calling you out here...I'm willing to be a test mule for you
I'm sure I'll think of something else down the road, but this is a good start.
Last edited by Swacer; 05-21-15 at 09:15 AM.
05-21-15, 10:04 AM
#2
Swacer, I agree with you about the turbo lag. There isn't much there and the reason I can agree with you is because last summer I rented a kia rio with turbo. It was the first time driving a turbo car and that little bugger had some major lag. the car was caught flat most of the time and for a long time before the turbo kicks in. the car had a dr jekyll, mr. hyde personality.
anyone who says the NX is laggy, I recommend you drive a kia rio and you will come away with a new found love and respect for the 200T engine.
anyone who says the NX is laggy, I recommend you drive a kia rio and you will come away with a new found love and respect for the 200T engine.
05-21-15, 10:51 AM
#3
Lexus Champion
Some turbo lag will always be there, especially with the small 4 cylinder engines. I agree though that BIG improvements have been made over the years.
One thing that doesn't help with our CUV's is weight. Most of them weigh 4,000 lbs. and up so there is a lot of weight to get moving. Once up to speed the mid-range torque is nice.
One thing that doesn't help with our CUV's is weight. Most of them weigh 4,000 lbs. and up so there is a lot of weight to get moving. Once up to speed the mid-range torque is nice.
05-21-15, 11:38 AM
#4
Lexus Test Driver
Twin scroll turbo have very little lag as they are able to "scavenge" exhaust pressure from one set of cylinders while the other set is drawing intake air into the piston chamber. This results in increased efficiency as well.
http://www.superstreetonline.com/how...system-design/
http://www.superstreetonline.com/how...system-design/
05-21-15, 02:37 PM
#5
Lexus Test Driver
DISCLAIMER: This is my opinion on my first 2 weeks with this car. I understand there is another thread for this, but I do not wish to take their thread off topic.
So, I have had my NX now for just short of 2 weeks and here are my feelings thus far:
Pros:
1. Driver Seat - Very comfortable during my 45 min drive to work. Maybe I'll need a longer ride to get a feel for it that the rest of you mention, but I'm yet to be uncomfortable at 5'11", 220lbs.
2. Gas Mileage - While I'm still in the break-in, I drive 90% backroads and 10% city and I'm seeing 27+ mpg, which is very impressive, though I envision it dropping once I'm not driving it like a grandmother.
3. Drivability - For being a 2.0L turbo, I am impressed. I have a 500hp car at home, so I wasn't looking for "speed", but given the 235hp of this car at its weight, when in sport, the car can move. I have seen a lot of talk of late about turbo lag and how "terrible it is". All I can ask is, how long have you been around turbos? If you haven't been around them long, then I would take a minute and look into turbos over the last 15 years. The lag has decreased SUBSTANCIALLY. Lag used to put a car flat on its nose. I remember when a family friend was running a turbo race car in NHRA Competition Eliminator, and for years he couldn't get the car to leave the line solidly because it just took too much time to spool up. Now, turbos can spool up relatively quickly. Heck, look at STis from the early 2000s. Ask those drivers what lag was... lol Given the small size of this turbo on a 4 banger, having the boost come in at about 2100 RPM is pretty reasonable and I think it works great to give it that last bit of power that it was lacking. NOW, on the other hand, I believe a bigger turbo could certainly do well in this car. Right now, its showing a safety max of about 13psi of boost. Thus, until I can get this on a dyno and look at the computer, I can't tell if this is Toyota's tuning limit, or that's the max of the small turbo. I'm wondering if a bigger turbo would work better, or if you could just tune the car to allow a little more boost. Will take some time to find this out when the ECU is cracked.
4. Suspension - Overall I find the ride fine. I wish we had Sport+ in the US, but the single rate suspension is certainly comfortable and don't take bumps too hard (because I hit a lot of bumps on my way to work).
5. Headlights - The triple LEDs are incredible. I love my dual-xenons on my Camaro with 6000Ks in, so while the color is pretty much the same (as LEDs are pretty close to 5500k in color), but the cutoffs on the NX are something to admire. IMO, I think these are only beaten by Acura.
Cons:
1. Cheap Japanese Paint - Japanese cars are known for having terrible paint. Now, we can all thank the EPA for ruining the standard, and then the Japanese cheapening it even further. This paint could flake off given a strong enough wind. Going to have to keep up with this paint. I got the hood bra'd with xpel and within 1 day, I had a rock thrown that hit the bra and actually dislodged the paint under the bra. That's pathetic paint quality....
2. Rattle somewhere in the car - I have a rattle somewhere that I've been spending the better part of a week chasing down...
3. Passenger Seat cover - I had my wife ride in my passenger seat for 1 hour and the seat already started to crease. Now, my wife is thin woman, so there is no reason this should have happened. Her '15 IS, we ride in it all the time, and the seats show NO wear whatsoever.
4. Tranny's chronic need to downshift while braking - This drives me absolutely nuts. I understand the engine is attempting to downshift to assist with braking, but its unnecessary. I've found myself feeling it downshift, and I'll slap the paddle and cuss at the car for a second.
5. Gauges - Specifically the boost screen. For this screen, why does everything have to be in intervals of x10? Don't tell me .75 and 1.5. Put 7.5 and 15. Furthermore, on the oil pressure, why in the heck do I care about oil pressure up to 120psi? The normal operating pressure is approximately 30psi or lower. Most engine problems arise from a LACK of oil pressure, so it would help to have a higher resolution of the bottom of the scale. Just seems like a waste and not giving you the true information you want.
6. Furthermore on Gauges - Why is there no digital speed readout? You give me a pointless G-meter...but no digital speed readout?
7. The front of the car pushes its weight around a lot. If a vendor could create a tower brace, I would gladly purchase one. Vendors...I'm calling you out here...I'm willing to be a test mule for you
I'm sure I'll think of something else down the road, but this is a good start.
So, I have had my NX now for just short of 2 weeks and here are my feelings thus far:
Pros:
1. Driver Seat - Very comfortable during my 45 min drive to work. Maybe I'll need a longer ride to get a feel for it that the rest of you mention, but I'm yet to be uncomfortable at 5'11", 220lbs.
2. Gas Mileage - While I'm still in the break-in, I drive 90% backroads and 10% city and I'm seeing 27+ mpg, which is very impressive, though I envision it dropping once I'm not driving it like a grandmother.
3. Drivability - For being a 2.0L turbo, I am impressed. I have a 500hp car at home, so I wasn't looking for "speed", but given the 235hp of this car at its weight, when in sport, the car can move. I have seen a lot of talk of late about turbo lag and how "terrible it is". All I can ask is, how long have you been around turbos? If you haven't been around them long, then I would take a minute and look into turbos over the last 15 years. The lag has decreased SUBSTANCIALLY. Lag used to put a car flat on its nose. I remember when a family friend was running a turbo race car in NHRA Competition Eliminator, and for years he couldn't get the car to leave the line solidly because it just took too much time to spool up. Now, turbos can spool up relatively quickly. Heck, look at STis from the early 2000s. Ask those drivers what lag was... lol Given the small size of this turbo on a 4 banger, having the boost come in at about 2100 RPM is pretty reasonable and I think it works great to give it that last bit of power that it was lacking. NOW, on the other hand, I believe a bigger turbo could certainly do well in this car. Right now, its showing a safety max of about 13psi of boost. Thus, until I can get this on a dyno and look at the computer, I can't tell if this is Toyota's tuning limit, or that's the max of the small turbo. I'm wondering if a bigger turbo would work better, or if you could just tune the car to allow a little more boost. Will take some time to find this out when the ECU is cracked.
4. Suspension - Overall I find the ride fine. I wish we had Sport+ in the US, but the single rate suspension is certainly comfortable and don't take bumps too hard (because I hit a lot of bumps on my way to work).
5. Headlights - The triple LEDs are incredible. I love my dual-xenons on my Camaro with 6000Ks in, so while the color is pretty much the same (as LEDs are pretty close to 5500k in color), but the cutoffs on the NX are something to admire. IMO, I think these are only beaten by Acura.
Cons:
1. Cheap Japanese Paint - Japanese cars are known for having terrible paint. Now, we can all thank the EPA for ruining the standard, and then the Japanese cheapening it even further. This paint could flake off given a strong enough wind. Going to have to keep up with this paint. I got the hood bra'd with xpel and within 1 day, I had a rock thrown that hit the bra and actually dislodged the paint under the bra. That's pathetic paint quality....
2. Rattle somewhere in the car - I have a rattle somewhere that I've been spending the better part of a week chasing down...
3. Passenger Seat cover - I had my wife ride in my passenger seat for 1 hour and the seat already started to crease. Now, my wife is thin woman, so there is no reason this should have happened. Her '15 IS, we ride in it all the time, and the seats show NO wear whatsoever.
4. Tranny's chronic need to downshift while braking - This drives me absolutely nuts. I understand the engine is attempting to downshift to assist with braking, but its unnecessary. I've found myself feeling it downshift, and I'll slap the paddle and cuss at the car for a second.
5. Gauges - Specifically the boost screen. For this screen, why does everything have to be in intervals of x10? Don't tell me .75 and 1.5. Put 7.5 and 15. Furthermore, on the oil pressure, why in the heck do I care about oil pressure up to 120psi? The normal operating pressure is approximately 30psi or lower. Most engine problems arise from a LACK of oil pressure, so it would help to have a higher resolution of the bottom of the scale. Just seems like a waste and not giving you the true information you want.
6. Furthermore on Gauges - Why is there no digital speed readout? You give me a pointless G-meter...but no digital speed readout?
7. The front of the car pushes its weight around a lot. If a vendor could create a tower brace, I would gladly purchase one. Vendors...I'm calling you out here...I'm willing to be a test mule for you
I'm sure I'll think of something else down the road, but this is a good start.
Do you mean its soft and chips easily? Just to point out that cheap and soft dont mean the same thing.
In fact Lexus paint is some of the highest quality paint in the business and to top it off its wet sanded by hand to get the deep shine and remove the orange peel.
If soft paint and cheap paint were simultaneous, Ferrari's must have damn cheap paint on them!
For reference, Lexus paint usually needs M205 on a polishing pad to remove swirls, a Ferrari F430 owned by a good friend of mine which I helped to work on only needed M205 on a finishing pad - thats how soft the paint was. Nothing wrong with the quality of the paint at all, its just more delicate but a lot easier to polish.
Last edited by rayaans; 05-21-15 at 02:44 PM.
05-21-15, 05:44 PM
#6
The pursuit of F
+1 rayaans on distinguishing cheap from delicate paint.
Swacer, check the center armrest for squeaks. Move it down and and validate.
"Lag" is relative to what one is accustomed to. If I mash the pedal on the NX and IS at the same time, the IS will jump immediately while the NX will crawl for a second then lunge forward. However, compared to the MR2 Turbo and Eagle Talon TSI (both similar 2L Turbo 4s with 200 hp), the NX's turbo produces power with a smaller delay.
Swacer, check the center armrest for squeaks. Move it down and and validate.
"Lag" is relative to what one is accustomed to. If I mash the pedal on the NX and IS at the same time, the IS will jump immediately while the NX will crawl for a second then lunge forward. However, compared to the MR2 Turbo and Eagle Talon TSI (both similar 2L Turbo 4s with 200 hp), the NX's turbo produces power with a smaller delay.
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