I am planning to upgrade my current car (Tesla Model 3 - Long Range). While I do enjoy driving the Tesla, but there are few things which bother me sometimes in my Model 3. Some of them are - road noises on freeways, feeling of every path hole, range anxiety etc. There is no doubt Tesla has best tech/infotainment system, acceleration and those are my absolute favorite things like many other owners. In past few months, I have been thinking whether it will be a good idea to upgrade M3 to compact SUV, since current market for used cars is great. When making this decision, I am debating if another EV (Model Y, I have already an existing order) to go with or a plug-in hybrid (NX 450h+, Audi Q5 etc.) would make more sense. Based on my research, Lexus's 450h+ looks nice and price is in the same range (in fact less considering 7500 tax credit) as Model Y.

Per my understanding, following are the major Model Y advantages over Lexus:

• Great Autopilot feature on freeways which I use very frequently in my Model 3
• Fantastic infotainment system, new features with software updates
• Sentry mode, low maintenance, comparatively cheaper fuel cost
• Unbelievable acceleration

Per my research, following are Lexus advantages over Model Y:

• True luxury comfort, great build quality, fit and finish
• Wireless Android Auto/Carplay, head-up display
• Less expensive than Model Y (after tax credit)
• Gas option will be helpful on long road trips with non-Tesla family groups (mentioning this because I did few road trips in Model 3 with other non-Tesla groups and felt always restricted to super charging network route).
• Cheaper car insurance (compared among AAA, GIECO and my current Costco Connect insurance)
• Enough EV range (36 Miles) for city driving/short trips/office commute

Selected Models:

• Tesla Model Y Long Range with FSD: $72k + tax
• Lexus NX 450h+ 2022 with Luxury Package: $62k + tax (without tax credit)

Based on my experience with Model 3, and after reading about Lexus, 450H+ seems to be more practical for me, but, thought to share my views here and get some opinions before making the final decision.
Let me know what do you think. Thanks for reading my post!

 

We upgraded our Tesla model 3 long range to a model Y long range two years ago for additional space, easier cargo loading, and hopefully better ride comfort. Unfortunately the ride was no better than the model 3 feeling every small bump in the road and road noise was substantially the same as the model 3. I love many things about that car and got the acceleration boost but ride comfort is not one of them, Unfortunately my wife's back issues meant we seldom rode in it together so it's primarily for me and since I'm retired it doesn't get lots of miles. For our "comfort" car we had a 2015 Outback which was not bad but we wanted something better. The 2022 NX350h became our selected choice to replace the Outback and it's much better than the model Y or Outback in ride comfort and noise suppression, although we've only had it for a few days now. We would have preferred the 450h+ which is not available in our area but I would suspect ride quality would be similar to the 350h.

 

IMO you are missing the biggest difference. Tesla is 27 out of 28th in reliability by Consumer Reports while Lexus is #1. J D Power has them 30th out of 33 in reliability while Lexus again is #1. Reliability is right up their with looks, quality and price for me with fast acceleration at the bottom of the list.

 

Congrats on NX 2022 350h. I went to my nearby Lexus dealer yesterday and saw one 350h green color. I actually liked the interior better than Model 3 (probably I got bored with M3's too minimalistic interior).