Test: Lexus NX 450h+ is expensive, but plug-in systems and advanced technology give this SUV more points | Automatic test

Lexus NX 450h+ (309 hp/227 kW), from €72,485

Wait a minute: the biker is coming! As long as the sensors of the Lexus NX 450h+ detect traffic behind, the car temporarily prevents you from exiting. The button on the door just doesn’t respond. Has the danger passed? Then you can leave the cabin.

This is one of the countless examples of systems that this Lexus makes life a little safer. Will you drive? Press the camera button and NX lets you look around the car, making sure there are no pets or children around. Smart and wise.

The addition in the name indicates that this is a hybrid version of the plugin, which offers something extra compared to the ‘normal’ hybrid. In addition to two electric motors and a gasoline power source, there is a large battery pack (18.1 kilowatt hours) and a charging port, so you can drive more electric cars. Lexus claims an all-electric driving range of 63 km. That’s further than many competitors, in practice you only get it very quietly.

That turns out to be good advice however, because at full throttle the engine in the normally quiet Lexus rumbles uncomfortably. It’s temporary at speed, but the grunt doesn’t match the refined feel the car otherwise offers. Quiet driving also provides a good test experience: depending on how often you charge, an average of 4 liters per 100 km (1 in 25) is easily achieved.

Lexus has brought the NX to a higher level: high technology systems (safety), finish and travel comfort are above average. This applies to a lesser extent to the space, driving behavior and affordability of this Lexus. Compared to the Audi Q5 or Mercedes-Benz GLC, it’s cheap (and you get a ten-year warranty!), but the Toyota RAV4 is bigger, cheaper and at least as good.

Together
+ Smart security systems.
+ Low consumption is possible.
+ Pleasure.
+ Ten-year warranty.

Min
– Space back.
– High purchase price.
– A roar of power.
– Added value compared to Toyota.

Conclusion
This Lexus is a solid car, but its main rival may be from our home. The perfect combination of the Toyota RAV4 Parent plug-in is a larger, more spacious option with a lower price and a level of comfort to match. The added value of the NX mainly lies in the finish, the use of materials and the excellent safety systems, but these also offer significant advantages in price.

Lexus offers the new NX in three variants: in addition to the 450h+, there is also a choice of two versions of the 350h, where the h stands for hybrid. The difference between the two versions is in the number of driven wheels: the cheaper version (from 60,390 euros) has only front-wheel drive, while the 4WD (from 65,890 euros) has four-wheel drive. Both versions use the same 2.5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine as the 450 (which is therefore sold from 72,000 euros).

The lack of + in their selection indicates that other NX are not connected. Lexus calls these “plug-in hybrids,” but that’s a term that promises too much. In these lighter motorizations, the electric motor helps to store energy in the battery pack (smaller), but you can drive the car with less electricity on that energy than in the 450h +. All versions are also approved for towing an enclosed trailer of up to 1500 kg.

Thanks to the powerful electric motor, the 450h+ offers significantly more power: instead of 244 horses (179 kilowatts), you can reach 309 hp (227 kW). Surprisingly, the more expensive version has less torque (227 Newton meters instead of 239), but in + it is available at low revs.

So, the engines theoretically have to work harder to propel you along properly, and while the NX has plenty of power, it doesn’t always feel that way. As long as you’re driving on electric power, this is undoubtedly an above-average quiet car – also thanks to excellent sound insulation – but as soon as the petrol engine kicks in, the peace is unpleasantly disturbed.

During acceleration, the standard CVT automatic transmission (continuously variable transmission) selects the most efficient rpm, which the powertrain holds until it reaches the desired speed. At the same time, NX keeps a big throat, and the sound is completely different from the silence that reigns in the rest of the car. Moaning is temporary, but then you wish the Lexus was all electric.

In the interior – with smart materials used and good build quality – it’s surprising that Lexus has equipped the NX with various smart systems that help the driver understand everything. For example, you will find multifunction buttons on the steering wheel, which can perform different functions depending on the menu you are in. Because this can be confusing, the car shows on the screen arranged in the windshield (head-up display) which function is associated with which button. As soon as you touch the button with your finger, it appears on the screen.

In addition, the operation of the car is clear and well thought out: the screen on the dashboard is a touch screen, so that the classic Lexus operation (with a controller similar to a computer mouse) has cleared the field. That’s a good choice, because the screen and the icons on it are big enough to find your way around flawlessly. It all also looks neat, although the Lexus system is very similar to that of parent company Toyota in terms of design and digital graphics. It would have been better if Lexus had given it a more luxurious ‘look and feel’. That equates to the extra price you pay for a Lexus.

The Lexus NX is not a cheap car: its price is close to what you pay for a mid-size SUV from other luxury car brands. The starting price of the Audi Q5 50 TFSI-e is 69,952 euros, which is therefore comparable to the NX 450h+. The tested F-Sport version of the NX costs at least 81,990 and that is almost comparable to the 81,619 euros that you have to pay at Audi for the Q5 in the sportier S Edition. However, Lexus is rich in details. For example, with the F-Sport you don’t have to pay for front and rear seat heating, electrically adjustable front seats are included and you have an electrically operated tailgate, for example.

As for safety systems, Lexus makes a good deal: there is, among other things, an active lane assistant, but also adaptive cruise control, blind spot recognition, an emergency braking system, eight airbags and driver recognition. traffic signs.

The main problem with the Lexus NX is that parent company Toyota also makes very good cars. The Toyota RAV4, for example, may look less slick and have a slightly nicer interior and harder materials, but in fact the car does almost everything the same as its more expensive cousin. After all, the NX is not a very different car, it is not significantly quieter, more powerful or more comfortable and it even gives you a bit of the same feeling as a Toyota on the road.

This is due to the appearance and design of the interior and exterior – which carry the Toyota genes – but also the quality of the technology. And such a RAV4, which is also available as a plug-in hybrid, is already so good that Lexus does not significantly exceed it. The ‘real Lexus feel’ is in the smallest details, such as the subtle way to open the doors with a button instead of a lever that you pull out. Even the factory warranty (up to 10 years or at least 200,000 km, provided you have it serviced at an authorized Lexus dealer) is comparable. So while the Lexus NX is a very good car with a lot of features, it’s not so good or so good that it can justify its added value – and price – over its cheaper relative without a fight.

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