Hybrid vehicles are a popular choice for many Lexus customers, with the majority of them choosing a hybrid powertrain, if available for their preferred model choice. The hybrid offers flexibility for customers who are looking for a more fuel-efficient vehicle, but are not ready to commit to a battery electric vehicle.
The Lexus NX boasts plug-in hybrid, hybrid, turbo petrol and petrol options so you’re sure to find the NX that will fit with your work life balance. This NX 350h is a hybrid version and delivers 179kW system output through an electric motor, lithium-ion battery package and 2.5-litre petrol engine combination. The claimed combined fuel economy is 5.0L/100km and for my week I used 6.9L/100km. For comparison, in the plug-in hybrid Lexus NX 450h+ I previously drove, I used 5.4L/100km.
This striking White Nova metallic NX 350h AWD is a F Sport model featuring a unique F Sport spindle grille and bumpers, as well as 20-inch alloy wheels with exclusive super-gloss black metallic coating. F Sport models also have adaptive variable suspension, with the expanded damping force technology you can drive sportier and more smoothly than before. I found that this NX did ride nicely with a smooth and quiet driving experience.
Drive mode select provides integrated control of multiple systems, including the engine and CVT, to suit your driving style. Select between Eco for fuel efficient driving, Normal for balanced driving performance and fuel-efficiency, and Sport for sporty driving. The F Sport grades come with a total of five drive modes, including Sport S+, but I defaulted to Sport mode for my week with the NX 350h. A Custom mode is also available that allows you adjust the powertrain, suspension and steering between normal and sporty modes and the A/C between Eco and Normal mode. The hybrid also has the ability to drive in full EV mode when certain conditions are met.
The NX 350h delivers a seamless transition between the internal combustion engine and the all-electric mode. Surprisingly the CVT is not distinguishable at low rpm and it only become obvious that there’s one in the powertrain under hard acceleration. Even then I didn’t hate it, but I did think that the plastic wheel-mounted paddle shifters on the steering wheel were a bit pointless.
Keyless entry is available on all four doors and keyless start means that the key fob can remain in your handbag at all times. The doors are a bit heavy and I felt they really needed a soft close feature as I found on numerous occasions I had to re-close the door because it didn’t latch the first time. My whole family still find the push button to open the doors to be confusing, they infuriate my children and my mum could not get the sequence right, which is push the button and give it a slight shove to open it.
Befitting its sporting nature, the NX F Sport incorporates many unique interior features, including F Sport shift lever and knob, Aluminium ornamentation, basic ambient lighting, sports pedals and F Sport front seats finished in my Lexus is this very distinctive black and white leather-accented upholstery, including perforated sections. The F Sport steering wheel includes exclusive stitching, the F Sport emblem, a snug-fitting thumb rest, dimpled leather accented trim and a larger concave helping to improve steering stability and powered steering column adjustment.
Both front seats have power adjustment for recline and forward/back, with the driver’s seat getting dual seat height/tilt adjustment (single adjustment only for passenger), two-way lumbar support, and three memory positions. You can also manually push the front headrest forward with three positions available. The heating and cooling of the front seats work well and the cooling was relatively quiet when operating. There NX also has the option for auto activation of the heated and cooled seats, but it didn’t always get it right.
Similar to last NX I drove, the infotainment system is slow-ish to boot up in the morning and when you’re in a rush for the school run this can be annoying. Also, if you start the vehicle up without your phone in it, for example to warm it up the cabin in the morning, when you do get in with your phone in your handbag it causes an Android error. To avoid this your phone must be in the vehicle when you start it and then the Android connects and for the week I drove the NX 350h I had no drop outs of the wireless Android Auto. The voice control operation worked well for making a phone call, but took a couple of goes selecting the radio station and setting the destination on the sat nav when I tested it out and it still uses a masculine silhouette to designate it.
Below 14-inch touchscreen infotainment system there are knobs for adjusting the dual-zone climate controls and a press button to adjust the air speed, however I would prefer if this had a physical know also to adjust it. At the front of the centre console there is a wireless charger that you can put your phone on and then push it in to conceal your phone. One 12V socket and two USB-C ports are located under the sliding cover and above it is a cubby for the key fob, another USB-C port and one USB-A port that you use to connect to the infotainment system if required.
You can flip the arm rest up from either side to access the deep felt-lined cubby that would be suitable for small hand bag. In front of the arm rest are two cup holders with grippy sides and a removable base for easy cleaning that are surrounded by a combination of gloss black and matt plastic on the centre console with the gloss black plastic quickly attracting dust. The NX 350h has good size drink bottle storage in rear doors and front passenger door, but not in the driver’s door, which is awkwardly shaped so that my drink bottle didn’t fit in.
The rear seats have ample head and leg room for me, but would like a little more under thigh support. There are two ISOFix/three rear tether child seat restraint points, but in reality only enough space for two cars seats. The centre seat folds down as an arm rest with two cup holders in it that have grippy sides to help prevent spillages. Rear passengers get two central air vents with individual direction control and one central roller on/off switch. Below the vents is one 12V socket and two USB-C ports and I love that the NX has a single carpet mat across the rear floor for easy cleaning.
The NX 350h has a gesture open and close boot or you can open and close from the external button, key fob, or button in the cabin. The boot is a good size with some additional under floor storage for items you don’t need to access often, like the emergency set of clothes for your children. The boot space has one 12V socket, two hooks, two small lights and four substantial tie down points and is covered by a flimsy cargo cover that is designed to be easily folded in half so that you can store it in the boot if you need to carry taller items in the boot. If more space is required the rear seats have a 40:60 split fold mechanism with the release on the seat shoulders. There is no spare tyre or tyre repair kit included because the Lexus NX 350h sold in Australia comes standard with run-flat tyres.
The current Lexus NX range has a five-star ANCAP safety rating (2022) with an Adult Occupant Protection score of 91% and a Child Occupant Protection score of 89%. Dual frontal, side chest-protecting and side head-protecting (curtain) airbags, as well as a driver knee airbag, are standard. A centre airbag which provides added protection to front seat occupants in side impact crashes is also standard on all variants.
Autonomous emergency braking (AEB) (Car-to-Car, Vulnerable Road User and Junction Assist) as well as a lane support system with lane keep assist (LKA), lane departure warning and emergency lane keeping (ELK), a speed assist system (SAS) and blind spot monitoring (BSM) are standard equipment. Safety features can be updated through wireless communication using the Data Communication Module. This Over The Air (OTA) software update technology allows you to keep driving, knowing that your Lexus Safety System+ is the most up to date version, without having to make a trip to your Lexus Dealer. These services are complimentary for the first three years of ownership, then subscription applies thereafter.
ANCAP tests of the AEB (Car-to-Car) system showed GOOD performance with collisions avoided or mitigated in most test scenarios, including AEB Junction Assist where the test vehicle can autonomously brake to avoid crashes when turning across the path of an oncoming vehicle or pedestrian. Overall, effectiveness of the AEB (Car-to-Car) system performance was rated as GOOD. ANCAP tests of LKA functionality showed some GOOD performance, including in some of the more critical ELK test scenarios, and overall performance of the lane support system was classified as GOOD. The overall ANCAP Safety Assist score is 92%. I have noticed a discernable change over the past few months and that is car companies have realised that people hate bonging driver assistance features and they have turned the bonging off from what I can tell? This was certainly the case in the NX 350h as it didn’t bong at me during the week, I was driving it.
The NX 350h also has a standard rear-view camera, a 360-degree view and the option to press a button on the dash that does a 360-degree sweep around the vehicle and these are combined with front and rear parking sensors. For convenience you also get auto lights with auto high beam and auto wipers.
All new Lexus vehicles now come with a 5 Year/Unlimited Kilometre warranty and you also have access to the Lexus Encore program for three years when you purchase a NX Lexus. The service interval for the NX 350h is every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever occurs first, and under Lexus Capped Price Servicing the first five services will cost $595 each.
The Lexus NX 350h F Sport AWD offers a great package and prices start at $85,000 excluding on-road costs and as tested with the optional White Nova metallic paint ($1,750) this NX 350h was $86,750 plus on-road costs. You can Build and Price your Lexus NX online or visit your preferred Lexus dealer for more information.
| Pros | Cons |
| The pleasant powertrain | Slow start up of infotainment system |
| The single mat across the rear floor | The door design |
| The driver assistance didn’t bong at me | Auto climate seat features need more development |
Photographs by Driven Women Magazine.