Holden Acadia vs Lexus NX250
What's the difference?

Holden Acadia

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2020 price

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Lexus NX250

$42,990 - $58,888

2023 price

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Mercedes-Benz GLS-Class

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Summary

2020 Holden Acadia

2023 Lexus NX250

By Laura Berry

By Byron Mathioudakis

Safety Rating

Engine Type

V6, 3.6L

Inline 4, 2.5L

Fuel Type

Unleaded Petrol

Premium Unleaded Petrol

Fuel Efficiency

8.9L/100km (combined)

6.9L/100km (combined)

Seating

Likes

Truck-like looks
Advanced safety tech
Good value

Affordability and equipment
Elegant outside, luxurious inside
Hugely quieter and more refined than before

Dislikes

2000kg braked towing capacity
Engine needs to rev hard to make grunt
Wireless charging not standard on LT

Driver-assist tech could use some Aussie road tuning
Hard to tell apart from previous design
NX 250 engine needs the open road to truly shine

2020 Holden Acadia Summary

If the Acadia had an accent it would be a southern drawl because this big seven-seat SUV is built in Tennessee, USA, and wears a GMC badge when it’s at home.

In Australia of course it wears a Holden one and comes straight from the factory in right-hand drive. So how does it suit Aussie conditions? Does it even know the importance of a sausage on a piece of bread bought outside a hardware store on a Saturday?

All this and more was learnt when the entry grade LT front-wheel drive came to live with my family.

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2023 Lexus NX250 Summary

As far as clichés go, attempting to make “a silk purse from a sow’s ear” couldn’t be more apt than when contemplating the original NX of 2014.

What was essentially the Lexus-fication of the vocal, fidgety and thirsty old Toyota RAV4 may have worked a treat sales-wise, but proved trickier when assessed against the lens of a BMW X3, Audi Q5 and Volvo XC60 rival.

The earliest NX just wasn’t refined enough.

This was especially true following the reborn RAV4 arrival in 2019, proving to be embarrassingly more competent – even compared to most luxury midsized SUV alternatives.

Now, finally, the NX redesign has followed suit, moving on to a variation of the Toyota’s stronger, quieter and more advanced TNGA architecture (dubbed GA-K) as a starting base.

Speaking of which, let’s dive straight into the least-expensive version, the NX 250 Luxury 2WD auto, to find out if the most popular Lexus model in Australia has finally found its mojo.

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Deep dive comparison

2020 Holden Acadia 2023 Lexus NX250

Verdict

The Holden Acadia is a proper seven-seater SUV in that it will fit adults in the third row without turning your friends into enemies. It’s also practical and well fitted out with storage places and utilities such as USB ports.

I was particularly impressed with the advanced safety equipment on-board even at this entry LT level. Yes, it’s a V6 petrol and it’s not the most fuel-efficient SUV, but our time with it showed that with cylinder deactivation and the stop-start system it might not be as thirsty as you’d think.

Verdict

So, is the cheapest Lexus NX the grade you’d skip? Depends on where you live and drive.

If you’re urban based and bound, save up a bit more and go the petrol-electric hybrid; otherwise, out on country roads especially, the spirited and sporty NX 250 is more than up to the task.

Either way, though, the latest NX is finally fit to fight the other premium brands’ medium SUV efforts, head on and held up high. Welcome to big mid league, Lexus.

Ignore or underestimate at your own peril, everybody else.

Holden Acadia vs Lexus NX250 What's the difference?

Summary

Deep dive comparison

Verdict

Verdict

Holden Acadia vs Lexus NX250
What's the difference?