Life With The 2025 Lexus NX450h+ | Does The First Impression Last?
The Lexus NX450H+ is Lexus’s midsize SUV with its smaller sibling being the UX and its larger older brother being the RX. The NX is one of Lexus’s most important models based on the same platform as the Toyota RAV 4. It is indeed a very important car and in today’s review, we’ll be covering everything from the driving experience to the exterior and the interior and everything in between and the three main reasons why people buy Alexexas. So, welcome back to the channel. This is driven by Johnny, kindly lent to me by Lexus Bula for the weekend. It gives me a real chance to get to know this car and not just take it on a quick test drive. Also, make sure to check them out if you’re in the vicinity or your local Lexus dealership. Under the hood, the NX 450h packs a punch. It’s got a four-cylinder 2.5 L um petrol engine combined with two electric motors to produce an output of 309 brake horsepower which converts to around 6.3 seconds naugh to 100. All NX450H plus models come standard with all-wheel drive and an ECVT gearbox. Unlike the NX 350H, this isn’t a mild hybrid. This is a full-on plug-in hybrid, which means you can get up to 70 or 75 km on one charge. that’s claimed by Lexus. In real world, especially in the winter, that converts to more like 60 um or 65. Some things you might want to know about the charging is you do not have DC fast charging, which may be interesting to some of you, and it does take quite a while to charge up. So, it’s not a very fast charging. At some petrol stations, you’ll be able to charge it in about 2 and 1/2 hours, and at home from a home charger or socket, it will be about seven or eight hours. So, it’s one of those things where you want to plug it in in the night, you know, top up the electric engine, go to work. You can go practically on just EV energy, which is really good and fuel efficient. Plug it in at work, top up the electricity or the um electric battery once again. And all of that is amazing because it means that you can get very very good fuel efficiency. The amount of times I’ve used it, uh, mostly the EV ratio is about 60%. Fuel consumption is around six liters per 100 km, the average is 5.3. But if you’re a bit eager with the throttle, however, or you’ve got a heavy right foot, it might go up to six or 6 and a half. But I still think for an SUV of this size, 6 L per 100 km is absolutely amazing. So that’s just another thing that Lexus is so so good at. The GAK platform lowers the center of gravity of this car by 20 mm. It gives it more of a stable, rigid feel and it’s more connected to the road. And combine that with it had been tested at Lexus’s Shimoma testing ground by professional racing drivers to tune the braking and the steering. This is a car that feels stable, confident, and just really, really well built. The new NX is bigger, taller, wider in every direction than its predecessor. Also, with this front grill, the spindle grill, very classic. It does not just look more imposing as it is in a more upright position, it actually improves cooling, which just proves the functional beauty um of this car. You’ve got some fake intakes down there and some very, very cool like shark eye um kind of pretty classic Lexus headlights, I’d say. Coming around to the side, you’ll find some nice slightly wider fenders than on the previous model and some 20-in alloy rims with disc brakes you’re going to want, obviously. And the side profile of this car, as you can see, it’s a pretty large SUV with the panoramic sunroof just inching out there on the top. And you do have some aggressive lines down the side like this one kind of going there. And it just gives it some tension. Um, and a really nice look. I do like the look of it. Also some more tension here with this sharp um edge in the window design frame bit. And coming around to the back, you’ll find classic Lexus L-shaped rear tail lights and a light bar that goes throughout the whole of the back end. And Lexus now also spells um out Lexus on the back of the car instead of just leaving the L, which makes it just a bit more of a classic simple look for the badge. And obviously the NX 450H logo there as well. It’s sharper, more premium, and more mature than ever before. And with the electrically opening tailgate, with the press of a button, you will be greeted by a very nicely sized boot, which I think is 536 L with the um seats up and 1,436 with the seats down, which means you can comfortably fit a weekly shopping, three golf bags, 3,000 half liter water bottles, and um anything you want. But the difference between this and the NX 350H is the fact that this has a big battery um in the back. But Lexus has been smart as always. They stress the attention to detail and the boot space is virtually the same in this car as in the NX 350. You get this slightly like harder rubbery um bottom for the for the boot for you know if you want to put dogs in so they don’t scratch it. And the parcel shelf obviously as well. And then you get some kind of below boot storage. You get a bit more for um you know, you could take those out, maybe put some other stuff in, or you can just keep your charger there. And you do have a spare wheel also and the spare wheel uh fixing kit. And you can close the door with that button. The Lexus’s boot size is slightly smaller compared to one of its competitors, the BMW X3, which has 570 L of space, but I think those kind of 20 40 L of um boot room doesn’t really matter that much. You do get some nets down in the side of the car as well. And you’ve got no loading lip and this kind of aluminum/metal plastic uh thing so you don’t scratch the bottom of your car. Another huge bonus for everybody I think in the world is that all of the windows go completely down even in the back. And also you get some very nice soft closing windows which I shall demonstrate now. As you see it goes up and it slows down towards the top of its range. Even under the skin Lexus went nerdy. The engine undercover has this golf ball like texture which creates vortices in the air and improves high-speed stability. It’s the kind of thing you never see. You might not even notice while driving it, but it just proves that Lexus sweat the details. This Lexus in specific is available with 11 different colors. And this is the sunburst gray color, which I’m not too sure on the name of how suns and bursts have anything to do with gray. It should be something like the BMW sunburst orange. But anyways, sunburst gray for all of you that like this color. I think it’s really cool. It’s so elegant. It’s just it’s Lexus. step inside using this very special door handle which has a button on the inside and not actual door handles. And this is reason number one people buy a Lexus. The first reason is the interior. This is the first Lexus to feature the Tazuna concept which basically the idea is simple. Hands on the wheel, eyes on the road. Every control is placed very ergonomically so that you don’t have to move your hands, eyes or head practically anywhere to see the information you need. The best example for these are the touch tracer D-pads on the steering wheel here which if you just kind of put your finger on it and it will appear on the head-up display and you don’t even have to look down onto um the dashboard. Lexus even studied shoulder to fingertip distance in like every country in the world to get to an average to perfect ergonomics and driver seating position. So, I mean, that’s obsession level dedication if I’ve ever seen it. Meanwhile, passengers experience the Omotani experience. Basically, we’re talking 64 color ambient lighting, seats that feel straight out of an Emirates premium um airport lounge. Heated and ventilated, by the way, and heated in the back. And basically, the car is so quiet, it’s almost like a library. You even get the Lexus Link app to preheat or pre-cool your car, see when it needs to be charged. So, all of this on the interior is where Lexus really, really pulls ahead of its rivals. Let’s see what it’s like in the back. All I can do is give Lexus a huge round of applause. I mean, these seats are so so incredibly comfortable. And you get an armrest in the middle with um cup hold reach for the passengers in the back. You’ve got three settings for the heated seats for the rear passengers and also the air conditioning or heating with pockets on the back of both of the um seats in the front. I am sitting pretty far back in the front and this seat basically when you get out and turn the car off it will kind of slide back. The steering wheel will go up so that it makes it easy to get in and out of the car. That’s why it’s so far back. Head room is fine. I’ve got a little bit more room above my head. I’m 6′ one. I’ve got maybe five centimeters above me. Knee room would be good if this seat would be in a normal position. And you get obviously automatic and electric windows and this very funky Lexus door handle which you just press with your thumb to open. I really like it. It’s something you get used to incredibly fast and when you do it just makes things a whole lot easier. And also in the back you have the Mark Levenson sound system which I think is an upgrade you should go for because it is absolutely brilliant. And the panoramic sunroof even extends to the back here. Although it won’t open obviously all the way but you do get some fresh air from there and it just gets some light into the cabin to make it feel like a calmer, more zen place. What makes this car familyfriendly I hear you ask? ISOIX points easily accessible on both of the rear seats and door bins that will perfectly fit a water bottle and a pack of sweets for long trips with the kids. In the back, practicality and tech in the front is also brilliant. You’ve got this very nice key which is obviously it’s got a keyless start stop system and a little hole for your key there with two USBs there. um a wireless charging pad on that kind of middle center console bit and some more storage down here with a cigarette lighter and um two more USBC charging ports. two cup holders, mandatory gear selector. You can put it in park, reverse, neutral, drive, and sport mode, which helps you use, well, it doesn’t help you use, you can use the fappy paddle gearbox, which kind of simulates gears, but as I said, it’s an ECBT transmission, which means it’s just running on one long gear. It’s optimized and tuned more for comfort and um efficiency rather than feel and passion. The steering wheel is very nice and plushy leather as we’ve um already kind of gotten used to from Lexus. And pairing to the infotainment display, which is 3.6 times faster than the previous generation, you’ll get wireless Apple CarPlay, wired Android Auto. As you can see, this is quite a fast system. You can go on to Lexus’s own map, have a look around. And you know, you can use whichever you like along with all of the um settings, ambient lighting, and you’ve got the air conditioning and climate control on the screen here. But what I am very, very grateful for is you still have volume knob, which means you can just turn it up and down. You do not have to fuff about on the screen clicking it. Um obviously, three settings for the heated seats, three settings for the ventilated seats, and dual climate control systems. So you can just swap and you know your wife likes 40 degrees, you like 20. That can happen in this car. And a little detail I like is if you look at these um twisty knobs, it kind of hangs onto the screen. So the actual um dial that shows the temperature is already on the screen, but it’s kind of, you know, outside of the screen. So it’s a really cool feature. And a glove box, which is actually very decently sized. And I mean, wherever you put your hands, you will feel soft touch materials inside of the glove box. Side down here, this is soft leather. Up here, the sun visors also soft material. You get all the controls for the panoramic sunroof. You can have it fully closed with even this um fabricy bit closed or, you know, one of the variations of it being opened or closed or just slightly opened. And you get a very nice uh instrument cluster which will show you how much fuel you’ve got left, how much electric charge you have left, and all the useful things you want to see. Obviously, this Lexus is full of safety features as we have very well gotten used to. You do have some piano black here, which is yes, very fingerprinty. I know everybody hates it. Is it isn’t the nicest, but it’s it’s fine. It’s not that bad. and the drive mode selector which you can choose eco sport or normal in sport mode stiffens up the steering more reactive gas pedal and uh the braking also slightly changes speaking of which the braking is quite interesting it’s got like a very gradual linear braking feel there’s no breaking point or biting point where it starts really working you have to just ease into it so that’s something um you might find interesting and the horn sounds Japanese like this. The Lexus also has Nano X air purification, which basically means it filters all the bacteria and blows you very nice, clean air, which is filtered by the system inside of the bonnet, sucking it into your car, and it moisturizes apparently your face and your hair. So, not many cars you can say they double as a skincare routine, but this one you can. You’ve got some seating presets, one, two, and three. So, you, your wife, and your mom, and then you can just press one, and it will align the seating position with what you had in the settings. Driving on the motorway is super effortless. We are on winter tires, so the noise might be slightly more than it would usually be, but it’s a very controllable car. The steering feels very, very light, and it feels planted. You can definitely feel I didn’t feel this um with the Lexus LBX. You do feel like it’s I’m not saying it’s it’s kind of sporty, but you can feel the time and effort that was put into it by the Japanese racing drivers at the Shimoyama testing facility. Um so that’s definitely a bonus and something that can be interesting. And uh it does handle perfectly well and it’s very quiet if you’re cruising at um a normal speed. You do have all of the functions that you’d expect a Lexus to have. Adaptive cruise control, lane assist. Um, you know, it’s got all of the pedestrian detection and collision detection and it’s got everything. And if you put your foot down a bit, you do hear the CVT slightly making that noise, but it’s not too bad. Even with the sunroof open, the noise isn’t isn’t anything, you know, horrible. And if you do close the sunroof, which I’ll demonstrate now, the noise disappears from outside. No wind noise, slight tire noise because of the um winter tires on right now. But it’s a very comforting place to be and I think it’s one of those cars where you can just drive it all day and still get out with a smile and say, “I could do that again. I’d love to do that tomorrow.” It’s a relaxing drive and it just wafts through the city centers. It has plenty of low down torque because of the two electric engines to get you going at junctions, red lights, stop signs. So, it’s really an effortless driving experience and so so so easy to drive. It’s got similar comfort and ride um quality as the NX 350H. So, on that front, there’s not much difference between the two. When you’re paying extra for the 450H, the drive is not what you’re paying for. It’s the added electric engine mainly. Um, but it does have that more of a sense of urgency when you’re you put your foot down. The ECVT is tuned for effortless comfort, less driving feel and passion. It’s more about the smoothness of the gearbox. But when you do put it in sport or sport plus, well, not sport plus, but sport mode. Then you do get a surprising amount of punch out of this gearbox. It absorbs bumps very well. It’s a very nice car to be in. I just like I just like the feeling of effortless power and functional beauty which you can see on the car. It it everything on it has a purpose. Every single crease and line has a reason it’s there and that’s what makes Lexuses special and different from every other car brand. So add in those little Lexus touches, cushy yet supportive seats, minimal noise, good bump absorption, and it just it becomes a car that makes long drives feel short. You get all that comfort without ever feeling really disconnected from the car thanks to the racing drivers who helped tune it. It’s so smooth and reassuring that sometimes it does feel like it’s reading your mind. If we put it into sport mode on a slightly sportier road, the steering feels heavy. The gearbox is a bit louder and um it’s a it’s quite a fun experience actually. You you do feel the sporty edge of this car. It’s by no means a sporty SUV, but you can kind of lug it around here and there. There’s some nice corners and you get some decent acceleration and the fact that they absorb bumps really well. It will be good in the UK as well on some B-roads. Ergonomics is spoton. Visibility is excellent throughout the front, back and the sides. It just provides an endlessly relaxing experience when driving. Real life practicality in this car is brilliant. It’s just a very nice car to live with and very easy. My morning commute to work on Sunday, which I did, was so much more relaxing than in my other car. And all the people who have sat in this have thought it’s absolutely brilliant. Even in the back, there’s plenty of room. And it’s just such a nice light cabin. If you want, you can have sunlight hitting your face, or you can close it if you don’t want to be shone on by the god of the skies. In traffic jams, you can use the auto hold function, which you can find down there, which basically just means that you don’t have to always press the brake pedal when you’re stopping. You just stop, press it, and it will hold it there for you. And once you want to get going with the flow of traffic, you just give a touch of the throttle and it will start inching along. While driving, you can also really feel the Tazuna concept. It basically feels like the car’s working with you as as an extension of your body, but not in the way like a Porsche Cayman is, for example. It’s not that type of extension of your body. It’s it’s more like an extension of your mind because it’s just at peace with you and you just take a glance under the head-up display. I can see I have to turn left or right in 200 meters. I can see the speed, the speed I can go, the lane keeping assist, whether it’s on or off. If I take a slight glance to the right, I can see the massive screen. And it’s just it I can’t stress it enough. I think people don’t when you look at a car, you’ll see, so why is this better than a Kia Sportage? same size. Kia might even have a better boot, bigger boot. You know, people who don’t care about engines and stuff, they’ll be like, “Oh, it’s the same four, three cylinder engine, whatever.” But people don’t stress enough how important driver ergonomics is. It’s incredibly um life-changing in a car if if it makes it so easy to live with. So, I think that’s something that’s majorly underrated um in new cars and not many manufacturers pay attention to it being actually ergonomic to be in. So, I think that if if I had to convince you in one way to buy the Lexus, that would be it. Everything you touch in this car feels premium quality. The steering wheel, the materials here, you’ve got this armrest which opens actually from both sides, which is quite cool if you ask me. And it’s a really well put together car. You can feel the effort, time, and money put into um assembling it. And I don’t think many people do it as good as Lexus do. You can have your own opinion. This is mine. I don’t think there’s many other SUVs um I’d rather have than a Lexus because they’re just so good. They’re so incorporation with you and your mind and your driving style. The second reason people tend to buy a Lexus is the reliability. In the what car survey in the UK, it achieved a 99.4% reliability rate for the seventh time in a row, which proves my point. I don’t have much to add to that. The third reason people buy a Lexus is not the actual car. It’s the after sales service. Lexus dealerships are consistently ranked among the best in the UK and the world everywhere because of their customer service and the way they treat uh you and your car. For example, when I was going to pick this car up, I went into the reception, they got all the paperwork ready for me, got me some water, chocolate, biscuits, pre-called the car, and they were just lovely. So, that is something I’ve never really seen anywhere else. Um, and it stands out among the rest. So, that’s that’s our second and third reason you’d want to buy a Lexus. One more thing that I think isn’t stressed enough, but just as to the overall comfort of the car is, as I said, these touch tracer D-pads, which I’ve heard on most Mercedes is if you hold the steering wheel like this, it will interfere and it will start being pressed and people don’t like it. But here in this one, I’ve realized you can pretty much hold it however you want and it won’t interfere. You can’t I very rarely touch the buttons um or the touch pad thing um by accident. And that’s also something that will just keep you happy, not annoyed. Lexus know they make really good cars. So, they offer a 10-year warranty or 185,000 km warranty, which is more than I’ve pretty much ever heard of anywhere. So, that’s something to consider as well if you buy it new. Lexuses tend to hold their value very well in the used car market, which is also something you want to know if you’re looking at long-term ownership. And just a quick design feature that I really like is the paddle shifters. Although you don’t really use them, I really like the shape and that they’re not the classic shape that everyone else does. They’ve kind of got a more rectangulary um look and they do feel very good and clicky and metal. It’s a bit more it’s a bit more unique. Something that I think Lexus do very very well is the transition between electric and petrol engine. The only way you can really notice it is if you’re the one driving because you feel the vibrations in the soles of your feet. But I think as as a passenger, unless you’re, you know, unless the driver’s flooring it or giving it a bigger amount of gas, you really can’t feel the electric engine kicking in and it still feels like you’re just wafting about in electric mode. Safety has always been a Lexus strong point and the NX sets the benchmark. Getting five stars in all of the NCAP um safety ratings. Obviously with Lexus safety system plus standard on all cars sold in Europe that means you get better pre-colision assist, emergency steering assist, adaptive cruise control and safe exit assist which basically means as you can see on the graphic on your screen that if you are parked and a cyclist is coming for example your doors these Lexus smart doors are linked to the blind spot assist and if they sense a cyclist coming, it will not let you open the door. Physically, you cannot open it, which in theory does mean that cyclists can treat keep you trapped in your car, but it should save a life one day. Um, and with all these new innovative technologies, this new Lexus is 36% more safe than the previous one and avoids a lot more collisions and small accidents. So, how much is all this? In Hungary, the prices start at €74,000 for the NX450H Plus, and with package specs and additional options, it can crawl all the way up to €9,000. The good news is, however, that it is priced very competitively against other cars of similar caliber, like the BMW X3 plug-in hybrid or the Mercedes GLC plug-in hybrid. So, it’s basically Lexus reliability. You even get a decent amount of power in this car and just the ownership experience is what gives Lexus this price tag. It’s something I think it’s reasonably priced. I definitely do. It’s not overpriced and it’s definitely not underpriced. Some more reasons why this car is pretty price efficient is you’ll have lower running costs if you charge it more frequently, like you’ve got a charger at home. possible cheaper road tax, cheaper like company tax if you use it as a company car or business tax. I’m not too sure what it’s called. I really think this is a fantastic car and it’s been a pleasure to drive this over the weekend. Thank you very much to Lexus Buddha. Once again, make sure to check them out. Um, give their Instagram page a follow. Maybe check them out on Facebook as well. Another amazing thing in this car, you’re coming in to the parking garage. You’re like, “Oh no, I’ve got a massive car. whatever am I going to do? And then you obviously obey the rules, go in the way you’re supposed to go in, and I will demonstrate how extremely easy it is to maneuver and park with this car. As let’s say you’ve got a spot, excuse me, there. Stick it in. And if you put it in reverse, you’ll find every single assist in the world you need. You can turn the wheel like that. I’m making this difficult for myself now. But let’s see if you make it difficult. There we go. Straighten it out like that. You’ve got millions and millions of signs helping you. You can go forward using the graphics on the on screen display and park as difficultly as you want and make it inch perfect. I love these blocks. I think this is amazing. I think BMWs do that. It’s great. Put it in park and watch this. You turn it off and the seat goes back. Makes it easy to get out of this car. So, that’s the Lexus NX450H+. It’s not a sporty SUV, but it nails what matters. Comfort, efficiency, and safety. If you’re a family man or woman, that is the three things you’re going to want the most. It’s more mature, more premium, and more grown up than ever before. I think it’s perfect for somebody who has maybe a charging port at home. They can charge their car at work. Maybe if you don’t have one, go for the NX 350H. It’s roughly the same thing, but a mild hybrid. Against its competitors, namely the BMW X330e. This has a slightly longer EV range, but a less sporty drive than the BM. And against the Mercedes GLC 300E that has a longer EV range, but it’s less reliable or has a slightly bigger tendency to be unreliable. So, it’s basically what you need. You have to decide what’s best for you. Um, but I think this should be very, very high up on your list if you’re looking for a premium SUV. Along with the dealership experience and customer service, Lexus is one of the best choices you can go for. So, let me know what you think in the comments down below. Would you take this over its German rivals? Would you take another Lexus, for example, the NX 350H? Let me know what you think of the looks, the drive, if you’ve driven one, what you thought of it, and make sure to smash that subscribe button. It helps me out massively. I’m trying to achieve 500 subscribers in my first year of doing YouTube. It’s free for you. It helps me out massively. So, if you enjoyed it, make sure to subscribe. Thank you so much for watching and I’ll see you next
In this video, I take an in-depth look at the 2025 Lexus NX450h+, Lexus’ latest plug-in hybrid luxury SUV, covering everything from the driving experience and hybrid efficiency to interior technology and practical daily usability.
What I cover in this review:
– Plug-in hybrid driving impressions, acceleration, and comfort
– Interior luxury, infotainment, and tech features
– Exterior design and presence on the road
– Practicality for daily driving and long trips
– How the NX450h+ compares to other hybrid SUVs in its class
⚠️ Corrections from the video:
– The Lexus warranty is not 10 years as I mentioned. The base warranty is 3 years, hybrid components are covered for 5 years, and you can purchase a Hybrid Guarantee for up to 10 years.
– Note that annual check-ups are required to keep the warranty valid.
– The NX450h+ features wireless Android Auto, allowing seamless smartphone integration without cables — something I didn’t emphasise enough in the video.
If YOU’RE a car enthusiast who loves hybrid SUVs, luxury cars, or detailed automotive reviews, hit subscribe and turn on notifications for more videos like this.
Let me know in the comments: Would you pick the NX450h+ over other hybrid SUVs in 2025?
⌚️Timestamps:
00:00 – Intro
00:45 – Engine
02:55 – Exterior Design / Walkaround
07:08 – The FIRST reason
14:10 – Driving experience
20:35 – The SECOND reason
20:50 – The THIRD reason
25:24 – Parking
26:39 – Outro
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