Lexus enters PHEV territory

The test car was a handy enough steer around town and composed and wellmannered sweeping through main highway twists and turns.

Sport and sport plus drive modes are provided in addition to the default ‘‘normal’’ setting. These two modes sharpen the vehicle’s dynamic responses, and ensure that the NX 450h+ remains surefooted and predictable, even when pressed quite hard down winding roads. Competency in such situations is something the test car demonstrated in spades but sparkle was limited due, in part, to a lack of steering feel.

Being a plugin hybrid, the NX 450h+ neatly sidesteps any issues of range anxiety.

Although its realworld range on battery power alone is nearer 65km than the officially rated 87km, this range is still ample to handle the daily commuting needs of most city and town dwellers.

Indeed, with a modicum of discipline around regular home charging, most owners will be able to conduct all of their regular urban motoring in pureelectric mode, and only make use of petrol power for extended runs beyond city limits.

I specifically mention home charging, because while the NX plugin hybrid can use commercial charge stations, its maximum battery charge rate is just 7kW/h, and so it cannot take advantage of rapidcharge speeds. That makes commercial charging a slow and relatively expensive proposition.

On the upside, while a special home wall charger will enable a battery recharge from empty to full in around two and ahalf hours, it will also happily recharge overnight using a regular threepin plug connection. Should you require it for some reason, there is also a rechargewhileyoudrive mode that is most effective in using the petrol engine to rejuice the battery.

Realworld petrol consumption will vary significantly according to the mix of driving undertaken; Drivesouth’s return was 4.9l/100km over a 300km mix split roughly 50:50 between largely allelectric urban motoring, and an extended open road run.

Verdict

The NX 450h+ is an excellent first move by Lexus into the plugin hybrid world, with a pure EV capability that should meet most daily commuting and roundtown needs. The package is all the more appealing coming as part of a new NX that also showcases infotainment and safety innovations, scores highly for refinement, and exhibits allround excellence in interior design.