Lexus NX 450h+ long-term test: report 3

Earlier this year, we named the Lexus NX 450h+ the best plug-in hybrid on sale, but now we're seeing if it continues to impress when you live with it every day...

Published19 July 2022

The car Lexus NX 450h+ Premium Pack Run by Will Williams, senior photographer

Why it's here To see if this plug-in hybrid can suit someone who covers a lot of miles, while serving as both family transport and a working vehicle

Needs to Combine the practicality and wow factor that you'd expect from a large, prestige SUV, with the low running costs you wouldn't

Mileage 5930 List price £51,620 Target Price £50,448 Price as tested £57,370 Test economy 65.3mpg Official economy 256.8mpg

28 June 2022 – Economy and ergonomics

My Lexus NX has been taking me all over the place in recent weeks, with big trips to North Wales, the Mallory Pack racing circuit in Leicestershire, and the height of glamour: Biggleswade.

These long trips didn’t give me much chance to recharge the NX’s battery – not least because the charger I’d planned to use at Loughborough University wasn’t working – which explains why the fuel economy has dipped from 75mpg to a little more than 65mpg. Still, that figure remains impressive, and is around the same as I achieved with my old plug-in hybrid Suzuki Across.

One thing I’ve noticed on longer trips, and most recently along the A27 to Goodwood for a photo shoot, is how counter-intuitive the cruise control system on my NX is.

You see, setting the cruise control is done via one of the two touch-sensitive pads on my car’s steering wheel. And while the button to activate the system is marked, the speed you’re selecting shows up on the car’s head-up display, which I can’t see if I’m wearing polarised sunglasses.

Not only that, but to cancel the system, you first have to ‘wake’ it up, resulting in two button presses rather than one. It’s all a bit more complicated than it should be.

I’ve challenged my wife to try to get the cruise control working within 10 minutes of getting into the car, with a pint of delicious craft cider on the line. It feels like a safe bet.