The Awakened Hybrid Compact Crossover: Lexus NX 300h Review

By Manuel Carrillo III - February 9, 2015

Let’s do some free association. When I say “Compact Crossover” what are the first words that come to your mind? Naysayers like me will think, “boring”, “mom car” … and “boring”.

For Lexus to introduce a compact luxury crossover (the NX 200t) in an already crowded market that can be sleepier than a bed and breakfast in Nantucket, the cards were stacked against it.

To take it even further, Lexus offered a hybrid version of its new market entry: the NX 300h.

If we’re going to talk about the hybrid compact crossover market, I’ll have to bring your attention to Robert De Niro’s character in the 1990 film Awakenings. In that movie, De Niro portrays Leonard Lowe, a man suffering from decades of catatonia resulting from encephalitis lethargica. Before the NX 300h was introduced, the only gasoline-electric hybrid compact luxury crossover that existed was the Audi Q5 Hybrid. If a motor vehicle were able to suffer encephalitis lethargica, the Audi Q5 Hybrid would be it.

In Awakenings, the drug L-Dopa is used to bring Leonard out of catatonia. At that point in the film, we are introduced to the dynamic character Leonard was before his illness.

The Lexus NX 300h is the shot of L-Dopa the hybrid compact crossover market has needed. It is the vehicle that is shifting the perception that hybrids, especially hybrid crossovers, have to be boring. Lexus has done this before with the GS 450h. Among all the cars I tested last year, including the Audi R8 V10 and the Ferrari 458 Italia, the GS 450h was my favorite. That’s a strong stance, I’ll admit, but it’s the truth.

Yes, the Audi and Ferrari could offer me more fun on the racetrack (and more women) than a GS ever could, and getting the stares I got in those exotics would never get old, but the GS was the only car I drove last year that I truly missed after having to give it back … and it was a hybrid. I never thought I’d ever feel an attachment to a hybrid, but somehow Lexus was able to create one with enough personality and dynamics to take it beyond boring efficiency.

And Lexus has done it again with the NX 300h. While I wasn’t on the brink of tears returning it to Lexus National Headquarters in Torrance, CA after the week I spent with it, the NX 300h, nevertheless, is actually an exciting hybrid compact crossover.

Amazing, right? You just read “exciting” and “hybrid compact crossover” in the same sentence. I just looked up “Jackhammer Rental” on Google because that’s the tool I’ll need to remove the look of amazement that is plastered 13 inches thick on my face. Lexus has figured out the impossible by making a hybrid compact crossover exciting. I’ll only be more amazed when someone figures out how to make me compelled about paint drying … or anything that happens during an NFL game.

Design

OK, why is the NX exciting? Let’s begin with the looks. The NX moves automotive design forward with its festival of shapes, angles, creases, curves, nips and tucks. There’s a lot going on, but that’s what you want at a festival.

Its risky four-eyed front fascia may not be for everyone, but I think it lends to the feeling that the NX was a concept vehicle that slipped past the bean counters and miraculously made it to production. Also, the spindle grille seems to be coming of age on the NX. It speaks to sophistication more than it does to a car company just trying to be different for the sake of getting noticed.

Interior

One place where the NX will be noticed for its sophistication is its interior. You get the sense just by looking at it that this vehicle is being marketed to younger people interested in luxury.

If the NX 300h could fly, it would probably be one of the quietest flying cars out there.

The cabin communicates a forward-thinking, tech-minded attitude enveloped in captivating design. Lexus doesn’t need to pull an Acura and buy a two-page ad in Motor Trend Magazine yelling at me and my fellow millennials that this model is geared toward younger people. I think Lexus knows we’re tired of those tactics anyway.

As for how that interior works in the real world, it works. The NuLuxe vinyl upholstery makes you forget about your lust for leather. Who knew synthetic material could be this soft? In another matter of tactility, the Remote Touch Interface takes some time to get used to. It’s not bad, but BMWs and Audis still woo me more with their respective iDrive and MMI interfaces. Here’s a remotely touching tip: in the vehicle’s settings, reduce the touch pad’s haptic feedback level. At full feedback, you get the sense that a mouse is trying to kick its way out from underneath the touch pad. That can be disconcerting to the fingertips. Cut the intensity in half, and the feedback evolves from distracting to helpful.

Your comfortably reclining back-seat passengers will find it helpful to their overall well-being that the NX is spacious. It’s hard to believe Lexus was able to package as much rear legroom as it did into the NX, but Lexus cracked that code, so deal with the greatness of disbelief.

But then you look at the rear storage area: it’s small, and it’s only made smaller by the slope of the rear roofline, thus wiping away the disbelief you had earlier regarding the legroom. The NX’s compromised rear storage appears to be hindered not just by the extra rear-seat room, but also by sporty design. I’m all for that, actually. I see the NX line being picked up by a trendy clientele that has a healthier social life than the typical crossover shopper; therefore, a consumer who values the comfort of his/her friends, and thus appreciates rear seat room and eye-catching design over storage space.

And if you really need storage space, just fold the seats down and call it a day.

Driving

Overall, I think the NX 300h drives well, but I have some advice for folks who are in the market for one. If your dealer will allow it, take it for an extended test drive. At the very least, make sure your test drive is thorough. Hit the highway, cruise the boulevard, putt through neighborhoods.

I say that because my first few miles with the NX 300h were filled with concern. I felt a lot of chassis judder over Botts’ dots while exiting the “Club Lexus headquarters” parking garage, and because I had high expectations for the NX chassis, I was a bit let down.

On the highway there was more road noise than I’m used to from a Lexus, and although I know Lexus worked hard to incorporate steering feel into the driving experience, it just felt like steering vibration to me.

The reason I recommend prospective buyers take an extended test drive is because if one’s first contact with this crossover is too brief, those concerns will be more pronounced than they really are.

For instance, the chassis judder really only happened in the parking garage. Everywhere else, the NX felt composed, especially during lively lane changes. Rapid lateral transitions were where the NX demonstrated car-like maneuverability that conventional SUVs can only dream of. As for that steering vibration issue, it really only occurred at parking-lot paces. The rest of the time, the steering was smooth and communicative like William Shatner whispering sweet nothings into your hands.

Most importantly, make sure you get the NX 300h on the highway, because that’s where it really shines. Yes, there will be road noise, but that’s what the stereo is for … to drown it all out. Also, I am saying the road noise is elevated in comparison to other Lexus models. Compared to other crossovers, the road noise is average, and I think it may be more pronounced in the NX because Lexus did such a good job of isolating the vehicle from external noise. The fact that road noise is the only sound you hear when driving may make it seem as if road noise is elevated.

I’ll say this: if the NX 300h could fly, it would probably be one of the quietest flying cars out there. And how they were able to make the 2.5-liter petrol motor as quiet as it is below 3,000 rpm just seems like witchcraft to me.

0-60 in 9.1 Seconds is not Slow

Back in November of 2013, Club Lexus forum members demanded my public execution when I called the CT 200h “slow”. In that article I said, “It takes more than 10 seconds for the CT 200h to reach 60 miles per hour. That acceleration is almost as depressing as the appreciation rate of a standard interest-bearing savings account.”

Thank goodness for mutual funds, and thank goodness the NX hybrid isn’t slow. While only about a second faster to 60 mph than the CT 200h and the Ford Excursion (an SUV larger than the Mall of America), acceleration feels lively. Thanks to the instant torque on demand from its nickel-metal-hydride battery-powered motors (two electric motors for front-wheel-drive models, and three for all-wheel-drive versions) the NX 300h scoots off the line quite nicely, and has no problem with a steep freeway onramp. Ask the NX 300h for all it’s got, and it will deliver 194 horsepower, which is just fine for a 4,179-lb all-wheel-drive crossover. Front-wheel-drive models tip the scales at 4,056 lbs.

Not good enough for you? Fine. If you want to go fast, buy an RC F.

Liveability

I have a fondness for compact crossovers: they offer a taste of a myriad of automotive genres in one vehicle. In a compact crossover you can get much of the nimble handling that a hot hatchback can offer, the roominess of a wagon and the ruggedness and elevated driving position of an SUV all in the same car.

Compact crossovers aren’t designed to excel at any one specific task, aside from the fact that they can do a little bit of everything decently. In aggregate, that’s a very important task in which compact crossovers shine, and that translates to popularity in the marketplace. The compact crossover is as popular it is right now because it is probably the most convenient type of vehicle on sale today. I mean, why buy multiple cars when you can buy one that can do everything well?

The NX 300h excels at doing everything well. It drives nicely, it’s comfortable, spacious, rugged enough for heavy city duty and light off-road duty, but that competence alone isn’t enough to differentiate it in the marketplace. The cherry on top is that it looks futuristic and is tuned for a sporty feel, and those two things make it the exciting, awakened one in a catatonic segment.