Why my next car will be an automatic – A week with a Lexus NX 300h

For me cars have always been purely practical, I have always bought them second hand with money I actually have in the bank, not on leasehold or credit.. The other week we were lent a Lexus NX and I now I am tempted to be more frivolous!

I’m not going to give you a full technical rundown of the car because that isn’t my expertise nor my forte. I am going to tell you what I think of it and why, as a family, we really enjoyed borrowing it.

1. The smooth ride – the NX has a hybrid engine (to us laypeople that means that it is part run by electricity and part by petrol). When you’re cruising around the car charges up and you can see it all happen on the computer display!
2. The mod cons – it’s a push button car, you don’t have to turn the key in the ignition just place the key anywhere in the car, press the button, put it into drive and go! It also has built in sat nav (a gift, we haven’t used ours since the kids destroyed the lighter charger with a 1 pence piece).
3. The sounds – With it’s bluetooth stereo you can play music or have conversations through your phone and it has DAB or standard radio (with an aerial that actually works).
4. The child friendly interior – The leather seating throughout means the kids won’t be staining the seats, or the backs of the chairs or the doors.
5. The space – the boot is a great size to pack for a family holiday, the car itself is roomy and the seats are all adjustable (nb, the boot is also big enough to put the kids in if they get on your nerves).
6. The lack of gears – My Mum is forever asking me why I drive a manual when automatic cars are so easy. I’ve been telling her that driving a manual is the proper way to drive and automatics are for old people (where I got that from I don’t know). Now I finally understand what she means – driving an automatic is SO simple! One foot does all, there’s no stalling at traffic lights and it has cruise control – it’s easy peasy.  Even if my next car isn’t a Lexus, my next car will definitely be an automatic.
7. The height on the road / the showing off on the school run – I often smile at parents on the school run in their Chelsea Taxis (more so in London than Devon I might add), looking down at the world from their elevated position, trying to park in spaces that they will never get into, and I think to myself: Why do you need a car that size? The Lexus NX is by no means the size of a Chelsea Taxi, but it definitely has a height advantage when compared to our VW Passat (I put that down to the extra large wheels).

Without further ado here’s my picture diary so you can see what we got up to!

Day 1: We collected our Lexus NX from Snows Lexus.

Day 2: I had an interview booked at Tubers in Exeter for Exeter Life Magazine and the family picked me up after in the NX for a mini road trip.

We headed to beautiful Brixham, drove around the harbour and had lunch at Rockfish, you can read all about our day trip here.

Day 3: We drove to Ilfracombe to see Damien Hirst’s Verity, and had a walk and a skate. As I said earlier, the NX has a very spacious boot (here’s a gratuitous bootie shot to prove it).

At Ilfracombe Harbour, I liked the car so much I didn’t want to get out! (despite the full leather interior and wipe clean seats, I made the kids eat their ice cream in the cold so that there were no spillages).

We named our NX, Lexy (nil points for originality) this is she, pretending she’s a boat on Ilfracombe harbour.

And here she is with Verity herself, the epitome of girl power.

Then we drove across the border to Tarr Steps, here’s Lexy enjoying the view…

Day 4: We went viewing houses in the country, this time my girl didn’t want to get out of the car!

Day 5: We went to World of Country Life in Exmouth…

Day 6: Hubby and I had a child free day in Topsham where we ate all the fry ups and relaxed after a long half term.

And on Day 7: We were REALLY sad to give Lexy back!

Just look at those faces…

We had a lovely week in our borrowed car and if you want to see more, I made this little video:

Disclaimer: No one was injured during the making of this blog, I was loaned a Lexus NX for a week in exchange for some coverage, we thoroughly enjoyed the car and this review is 100% honest!