he might be over selling it a bit... lol

 

Looks promising, but is this going to out handle a Macan?

 

i doubt they are benchmarking Macan, as it is a lot more expensive... he is probably thinking X3 and Q5. At least we saw them in those testing spy shots long time ago.

I just checked Macan pricing... with same equipment as top end NX, it is $86k.... wow.

 

if this was Lexus US/EU PR, sure... but as we know, these Japanese engineers are not usually big into boasts. Last time I heard something like that was GS/IS and it was delivered.

 

Yup, videos like this are part information and part marketing. Mainly marketing to get the word out and create interest..

 

Shorter wheelbase is better for sport driving, worse for comfort. Vehicle with shorter wheelbase are more agile obviously - this is why RC has shorter wheelbase and why reviews mention old IS feels nimbler than new one.

Worse is that they get easier unsettled with bumps, which is why they probably have that new AVS with 30 different settings and show us bump handling in the video.

 

For some additional perspective, wheelbase on some of the competition:

110.6 X3
110.5 Q5
108.5 GLK
105.7 RDX
104.8 Evoque

 

^ I also doubt they benchmarked the Macan, my point being it may may be the best (NX) handling SUV especially when price is considered, but outright I'm sure the Macan is actually a better handler. I'd love to be proven wrong though

 

i am also not so sure that he is talking about handling only... to me seems that he was saying that current SUVs were too one handed - either sport or comfort, which is certainly true for Q5 for instance...

And still, I guess they should put asterix when they talk, so people dont think they are comparing their cars with ones that are $35k more expensive.

 

"In its segment" is a good qualifier when discussing this stuff.

 

i was just reading Autobild comparo:
http://www.autobild.de/artikel/porsc...h-5085533.html

And Macan is the best BUT (performance wise, they rated it under Q5 overall when price was included) they say difference to Q5 is not big, and is due to unique for class air suspension... price difference in test was $20k. Powertrain/breaking was almost the same, as they use same engine and weight almost the same... so basically, $20k for a bit better suspension and Porsche logo.

 

Macan was not around while building the NX so I doubt it will be the best handling SUV for the 2015 MY, but I can see it being better than a Q5, X3, and Evoque since NX mules were often caught testing alongside these vehicle. But if like the IS, overall, my bet is the NX will be a best all-around performer (comfort and handling considered).

 

If it handles better than the Q5, that'll be fine, considering the Macan is based off the Q5 chassis, and it'll no doubt be far more expensive, especially when you factor in Porsche's rather pricey option list.

 

in any case, words are cheap... who cares about words.

However, I would also not like it if it is too harsh... Q5 is pretty harsh. I would hope they striked the balance like with IS and GS.

 

Considering the RX is not in the same class as the NX and hence not the NX's direct competitor, there's no contradiction in the NX Chief Engineer's claims.

He said that they tested the NX's competitor before tuning the NX's suspension. The X3 is one of the competitors to the NX as they target the same segment.

RX is not in the same class as the NX and also is from the previous Lexus era.

The newer Lexus' following Akio Toyoda's company mandate for better/class-leading handling and driving involvement date from the 2012 4th gen GS onwards (including the 2013 3rd gen IS). Thus far the products under the new direction of Lexus have live up to the claims : GS and IS are class leading or at the very least superior to their direct BMW counterparts in handling and surefootedness, the 5 series and 3 series. If the NX follows the same pattern, the X3 may well be eating NX fumes on the winding road/slalom.