NeXus RV driving impressions
Coming live from Elkhart, Indiana... Drove some NeXus units today, and thought I'd share my impressions. First I'll say I love the low-pressure sales environment. They let us poke and prod and drive units all without any sleazy sales tactics. Helpful and informative with no BS. Yay.
First thing, I love their new dark cabinetry, especially offset by light upholstry. Really a good looking interior. Fit, finish and build quality was generally very good. Though the cabinet finish did have some imprecision to it, leaving the occasional gaps and swirls. Still, I'd rate it above the Coachmen and Four Winds Class C units I've been in, but below any new DP I've seen.
I think their FBP is super sharp, compared to other Class C paint jobs I've seen, even the Seneca. The Mrs., who really cares not at all about paint, she even noticed.
The biggest surprise was how cramped the E450 is. I had no idea. Now I've found the related threads, it seem this is a well-discussed topic. In short, not enough legroom for me or the Mrs. Too hard to get from house to cab. Not enough reach from seat to steering wheel, so I could never get my wrist to rest on the wheel in optimal driving position (the curse of the 77-inch wingspan I guess). Oh and it is soooooo loud while accelerating. If you want 300hp you have to be up at 4000rpm, and at that point there's no hope of holding a conversation even in the cab (I know, I tried). Turns out I was spoiled by the Chevy 4500 in my rental Coachmen, which had none of these issues. Bottom line, E450 units look to be out of the running for us. Didn't expect that.
On the other hand, the Diesel 32SC was fantastic. The cab overhang was not visible from the cab, something that has always bugged me about Class C's. The engine felt calm and smooth even at its HP max, 2600rpm. The steering felt somewhat less stable at 60 mph versus the E450, and it bounced around a little like the truck that it is, but it still felt like less work to drive than either aforementioned units. Conversations with the kids in the back were possible at any level of acceleration. For us, the layout was palatial, coming from our experience with a 2 foot shorter slide-free unit. Still, everything was 100% usable with the slides in (important for us) except for some drawers in the bedroom. Overall we were very happy with the 32SC.
First thing, I love their new dark cabinetry, especially offset by light upholstry. Really a good looking interior. Fit, finish and build quality was generally very good. Though the cabinet finish did have some imprecision to it, leaving the occasional gaps and swirls. Still, I'd rate it above the Coachmen and Four Winds Class C units I've been in, but below any new DP I've seen.
I think their FBP is super sharp, compared to other Class C paint jobs I've seen, even the Seneca. The Mrs., who really cares not at all about paint, she even noticed.
The biggest surprise was how cramped the E450 is. I had no idea. Now I've found the related threads, it seem this is a well-discussed topic. In short, not enough legroom for me or the Mrs. Too hard to get from house to cab. Not enough reach from seat to steering wheel, so I could never get my wrist to rest on the wheel in optimal driving position (the curse of the 77-inch wingspan I guess). Oh and it is soooooo loud while accelerating. If you want 300hp you have to be up at 4000rpm, and at that point there's no hope of holding a conversation even in the cab (I know, I tried). Turns out I was spoiled by the Chevy 4500 in my rental Coachmen, which had none of these issues. Bottom line, E450 units look to be out of the running for us. Didn't expect that.
On the other hand, the Diesel 32SC was fantastic. The cab overhang was not visible from the cab, something that has always bugged me about Class C's. The engine felt calm and smooth even at its HP max, 2600rpm. The steering felt somewhat less stable at 60 mph versus the E450, and it bounced around a little like the truck that it is, but it still felt like less work to drive than either aforementioned units. Conversations with the kids in the back were possible at any level of acceleration. For us, the layout was palatial, coming from our experience with a 2 foot shorter slide-free unit. Still, everything was 100% usable with the slides in (important for us) except for some drawers in the bedroom. Overall we were very happy with the 32SC.
