Compare the2023 GMC AcadiaVS 2023 Lexus NX

The Acadia Denali’s optional pre-crash front seatbelts will tighten automatically in the event the vehicle detects an impending crash, improving protection against injury significantly. The NX doesn’t offer pre-crash pretensioners.

For enhanced safety, the front shoulder belts of the GMC Acadia are height-adjustable, and the middle seat shoulder belts have child comfort guides to move the belt to properly fit children. A better fit can prevent injuries and the increased comfort also encourages children to buckle up. The Lexus NX has only front height-adjustable seat belts.

The Acadia has a standard front seat center airbag, which deploys between the driver and front passenger, protecting them from injuries caused by striking each other in serious side impacts. The NX doesn’t offer front seat center airbags.

Both the Acadia and the NX have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front seatbelt pretensioners, front wheel drive, height adjustable front shoulder belts, plastic fuel tanks, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning, available all wheel drive and around view monitors.

There are almost 7 times as many GMC dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Acadia’s warranty.

J.D. Power and Associates rated the Acadia third among upper midsize suvs in their 2022 Initial Quality Study. The NX isn’t in the top three in its category.

The Acadia has more powerful engines than the NX:

An engine control system that can shut down some of the engine’s cylinders helps improve the Acadia’s fuel efficiency. The NX doesn’t offer a system that can shut down part of the engine.

Both the Acadia and the NX have a standard automatic start/stop engine feature to stop unnecessary fuel waste and pollution at stoplights and heavy traffic. All Acadia’s have a standard disable switch for the system, so a driver can keep the engine from shutting off when the vehicle stops temporarily. The NX 350h/450h+ doesn’t offer a way to disable start/stop.

To lower fuel costs and make buying fuel easier, the GMC Acadia uses regular unleaded gasoline (premium recommended with the 2.0 turbo 4-cylinder engine for maximum performance). The NX 350 requires premium, which can cost on average about 82.8 cents more per gallon.

The Acadia FWD’s standard fuel tank has 4.9 gallons more fuel capacity than the NX (19.4 vs. 14.5 gallons), for longer range between fill-ups. The Acadia AWD’s standard fuel tank has 7.2 gallons more fuel capacity than the NX (21.7 vs. 14.5 gallons).

The Acadia has a standard cap-less fueling system. The fuel filler is automatically opened when the fuel nozzle is inserted and automatically closed when it’s removed. This eliminates the need to unscrew and replace the cap and it reduces fuel evaporation, which causes pollution. The NX doesn’t offer a cap-less fueling system.

A nine-speed automatic is standard on the GMC Acadia, for better acceleration and lower engine speed on the highway. Only an eight-speed automatic is available for the NX.

The Acadia stops shorter than the NX:

For better traction, the Acadia AT4’s tires are larger than the largest tires available on the NX (255/65R17 vs. 235/60R18).

The GMC Acadia’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Lexus NX only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

The Acadia has a standard easy tire fill system. When inflating the tires, the vehicle’s integrated tire pressure sensors keep track of the pressure as the tires fill and tell the driver when the tires are inflated to the proper pressure. The NX doesn’t offer vehicle monitored tire inflation.

The Acadia has a standard space-saver spare tire so you can replace a flat tire and drive to have the flat repaired or replaced. A spare tire isn’t available on the NX; it requires you to depend on its run-flat tires, which limits mileage and speed before they are repaired. If a run-flat is damaged beyond repair by a road hazard your vehicle will have to be towed.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Acadia’s wheelbase is 6.6 inches longer than on the NX (112.5 inches vs. 105.9 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Acadia is 1.3 inches wider in the front and .5 inches wider in the rear than on the NX.

The Acadia Denali AWD handles at .85 G’s, while the NX 350 AWD pulls only .81 G’s of cornering force in a Car and Driver skidpad test.

The Acadia SLT AWD executes Motor Trend’s “Figure Eight” maneuver 1.5 seconds quicker than the NX 450h AWD (26.9 seconds @ .67 average G’s vs. 28.4 seconds @ .57 average G’s).

The front grille of the Acadia FWD 4 cyl. uses electronically controlled shutters to close off airflow and reduce drag when less engine cooling is needed. This helps improve highway fuel economy. The NX doesn’t offer active grille shutters.

The Acadia uses computer-generated active noise cancellation to help remove annoying noise and vibration from the passenger compartment, especially at low frequencies. The NX doesn’t offer active noise cancellation.

The Acadia offers optional seating for 7 passengers; the NX can only carry 5.

The Acadia has 1.7 inches more front headroom, 3.1 inches more front shoulder room, 1.1 inches more rear headroom, 3.6 inches more rear legroom, .8 inches more rear hip room and 4.7 inches more rear shoulder room than the NX.

The Acadia’s cargo area provides more volume than the NX.

The Acadia’s cargo area is larger than the NX’s in almost every dimension:

The Acadia’s standard towing capacity is much higher than the NX’s (1000 vs. 0 pounds). Maximum trailer towing in the Lexus NX is only 2000 pounds. The Acadia offers up to a 4000 lbs. towing capacity.

The power windows standard on both the Acadia and the NX have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Acadia is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The NX prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

In case you lock your keys in your vehicle, or don’t have them with you, you can let yourself in using the Acadia’s available exterior PIN entry system. The NX doesn’t offer an exterior PIN entry system.

The Acadia’s speed-sensitive wipers speed up when the vehicle does, so that the driver doesn’t have to continually adjust the speed of the wipers. The NX’s standard manually variable intermittent wipers have to be constantly adjusted.

The Acadia offers an optional 115-volt a/c outlet on the center console, allowing you to recharge a laptop or run small household appliances without special adapters that can break or get misplaced. The NX doesn’t offer a house-current electrical outlet.

Insurance will cost less for the Acadia owner. The Complete Car Cost Guide estimates that insurance for the Acadia will cost $310 less than the NX over a five-year period.

IntelliChoice estimates that five-year ownership costs (depreciation, financing, insurance, fuel, fees, repairs and maintenance) for the GMC Acadia will be $194 to $2142 less than for the Lexus NX.

The GMC Acadia outsold the Lexus NX by 8% during 2022.