Plug-in Hybrids Like the NX 450h+ are Terrific, But Going Green Ain’t Cheap
Lexus plug-in hybrids operate as an EV for short trips while retaining gas-powered hybrid convenience for long trips. But are they really worth the premium pricing?
Standard hybrid vehicles use a small battery pack (0.91 kWh in the 2023+ Prius) to power electric motors that supplement a gasoline engine, improving fuel economy and adding power while reducing tailpipe emissions. Battery-electric vehicles (BEVs) run exclusively off a large battery pack (71.4 kWh on the RZ 450e), emitting no emissions while driving. And plug-in hybrids split the difference by adding a medium-sized battery pack (18.1 kWh on the NX & RX 450h+) that allows the electric motors to operate the vehicle like a BEV for shorter distances (up to 37 miles for the NX 450h+). Once that battery is discharged, a plug-in hybrid operates as a standard hybrid.
In other words, plug-in hybrids can reduce daily tailpipe emissions to zero while curbing the range anxiety that comes with owning and operating a BEV. Plus, they pollute less while driving than gasoline-only vehicles.
But after spending a week with the Lexus NX 450h+ F-Sport Handling — and getting to drive the forthcoming RX 450h+ and TX 550h+ — I’ve come away simultaneously impressed with the overall experience and questioning the return on investment. To put it another way, are Lexus plug-in hybrids worth the premium price over a similarly equipped turbo or hybrid model?
What do YOU think about Lexus plug-in hybrids?
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Lexus Plug-in Hybrid Driving Signature
From a driving experience, Lexus plug-in hybrids are wonderfully smooth. They lack the neck-snapping power of a pure BEV, of course. But Lexus engineers tuned the NX 450h+ and others for every scenario. There’s enough power for cruising around town and even highway driving north of 70mph in “EV-only” mode. Or if you smash the pedal, it automatically kicks on the naturally aspirated 2.5L 4-cylinder motor for bursts of acceleration. And, once the battery’s drained, it drives just like the standard hybrid NX 350h. There’s also a charging mode that will run the vehicle on the gas motor only to prioritize charging the battery.
The RX 450h+ is a little bigger and heavier than the NX, so a touch less efficient, but overall it’s a similar driving experience. The TX 550h+ might be the smoothest of all, as it retains the legendary 3.5L V6 gas motor and couples it with the plug-in hybrid system.
Regardless, each Lexus plug-in hybrid — without the buzzing of the turbochargers now used in most applications — feels surprisingly refined and smooth in all modes, even when the gas motor is kicking on. The experience is seamless and smart and, once you get the hang of it, all the different possible modes make a lot of sense.
Charging is also relatively easy even with a standard 120V plug, taking only nine hours. Compare that to a BEV where 240V plugs (if not more expensive outlets and cables) are a must to avoid multi-day charging times. That said, if you do upgrade, you can recharge the NX 450h+ in under 3 hours.
Premium Pricing, Improved Power
Lexus slots its three plug-in hybrid SUVs as the top trim for each model. Here’s how, on the NX, pricing breaks down for the 2024 model year, from the base MSRP to fully optioned —
- NX 250 – $40,605 to $47, 480 (4-cylinder; Premium available)
- NX 350 – $44,365 to $57,670 (turbo 4-cylinder; Luxury or F-Sport available)
- NX 350h – $44,615 to $58,560 (hybrid; Luxury or Premium available)
- NX 450h+ – $59,905 to $64,325 (plug-in hybrid; Luxury or F-Sport standard)
At first glance, it costs almost $20,000 more to buy the plug-in hybrid versus the base 4-cylinder model, and over $15,000 more than the base hybrid. But it’s worth pointing out that the NX 450h+ plug-in hybrid is only available as well-optioned Luxury (leather seating, lots of standard features) or F-Sport Handling (sport-tuned suspensions, aggressive looks, bolstered seats, etc.) models.
Meaning, compare an NX 450h+ and an NX 350h with similar options, and the price variance drops to roughly $6,000.
For that $6,000, a few things happen. Naturally, there’s a larger battery. And the vehicle boasts that electric-only range of 37 miles. So, theoretically, if one needed to drive fewer than 37 miles each day, one could operate the NX 450h+ as a BEV all the time, charging at home each night. The other benefit is added power and performance compared to the other NX models —
- NX 250 – 203 hp, 8.2 seconds to 60 mph
- NX 350 – 275 hp, 6.6 seconds to 60 mph
- NX 350h – 240 hp, 7.2 seconds to 60 mph
- NX 450h+ – 304 hp, 6.0 seconds to 60 mph
For context, the RX 450h+ is the second-quickest and second-most powerful RX model, while the TX 550h+ is the most powerful and (just barely) the quickest. Which makes the plug-in hybrid not only luxurious and/or sporty, but also a little more fun. However, the added power, not to mention the weight of the larger battery pack, comes at the cost of hybrid-driving efficiency.
- NX 250 – 26 mpg city, 33 mpg highway, 28 mpg combined
- NX 350 – 21 mpg city, 28 mpg highway, 24 mpg combined
- NX 350h – 41 mpg city, 37 mpg highway, 39 mpg combined
- NX 450h+ – 37 miles EV-only range, then 38 mpg city, 33 mpg highway, 36 mpg combined
In other words, while you might be able to have a little more fun, if you’re driving the NX 450h+ around in hybrid-only mode, you’re throwing away roughly 3 mpg compared to the NX 350h.
NX 450h+: Going Green Ain’t Always Cheap
Note: the rough math in this section is for illustrative purposes, and does not account for charging inefficiencies.
During my time with the NX 450h+, I noticed something interesting — its 37 miles of EV-only range is pretty close to its 38 mpg in-city and 36 mpg combined ratings (and matches the NX 350h’s highway fuel efficiency). Also, per Lexus, recharging the NX 450h+ “from a completely depleted state of charge to a full state of charge adds 18.1kWh. This is the amount that should appear on the bill from a commercial charger on the residential electricity bill.”
UPDATE/REVISED — As I was hoping might happen, after first publishing this article, a couple of NX 450h+ owners commented on their charging experience in the forum thread linked above. Contrary to the information provided by Lexus, these owners told me that a full “recharge” on the plug-in hybrid battery (the portion of the battery required to run in EV-only mode) is closer to 14 kWh than 18.1, so I’ve revised the figures in this article with the notion that…
Very broadly speaking, 14 kWh of energy usage roughly correlates to using one gallon of premium gasoline. This means we can (again, very roughly) compare the costs of operation and ask, is it cheaper to drive the NX 450h+ around as an EV, or as a hybrid?
The answer… depends on where you live.
Since charging at home is typically cheaper than public charging, we’re going to focus on home electricity rates. According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the average cost of electricity in Washington State is currently $0.112/kWh, making the cost to recharge the NX 450h+ $1.57. Today, according to AAA, the average cost of the required premium fuel in Washington state is $4.70 per gallon. Meaning, driving the NX 450h+ as a BEV would save you roughly $3.13 every 37 miles.
The national average cost of electricity is $0.16/kWh. Meaning, it would cost the average U.S. consumer about $2.24 to charge the NX each time. Conversely, the average price of premium fuel is $3.89. A savings of $1.65 for each time you run the NX in EV-only mode for 37 miles versus running it as a hybrid only.
But What If Your Electricity Is More Expensive?
In Los Angeles, California, where I live, I’m currently paying between $0.36/kWh, during the cheapest time of day, and $0.52/kWh, during the most expensive. Meaning, to run the NX 450h+ 37 miles in EV-only mode, it would cost me between $5.04 and $7.28 whereas the cost of premium fuel at my local Mobil station is $4.49 per gallon.
In other words, even though Los Angeles is probably one of the most pro-electric cities in the world, it costs local NX 450h+ owners MORE to drive around on electricity only than gasoline. (Although this isn’t always true — summer gasoline prices were higher, and pricing in this city varies wildly.) Can you imagine spending $6,000 to $20,000 extra on an SUV… to end up spending $1-$4 more for “fuel” every 37 miles?
Naturally, costs and savings aren’t the only reasons one might buy a plug-in hybrid. As noted above, they are typically sportier to drive. And, if hundreds of thousands of daily commuters in Los Angeles weren’t emitting tailpipe emissions, the air quality in our city would improve dramatically, benefiting the lives of every resident.
But, experiencing these numbers was pretty shocking to me, personally.
I’m going to leave the politics out of this post, but transitioning to an all-electric or even plug-in hybrid future seems like a massive hurdle when you have to pay extra for the vehicle and then it’s more expensive to operate. For me, I don’t know if I can afford to drive an electric car in Southern California without also investing in solar panels at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars.
That being said, I did spend yesterday driving around in a Foxbody-era 1980s Ford which, at a computer-estimated 11.5 mpg, costs $14.45 to travel 37 miles. So in that context, the NX 450h+ is certainly much more efficient, when running on electricity or gasoline, than any class of vehicle that’s a gas guzzler.
Final Thoughts: Are Lexus Plug-in Hybrids Worth It?
Nations around the globe are currently reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions to hopefully stave off the worst ramifications of climate change. As such, while Lexus and Toyota smartly, in my opinion, continue to expand its hybrid offerings, many would argue that humanity needs a prompt transition to battery-electric vehicles (BEVs). Why? BEVs, despite requiring energy to operate and manufacture, produce roughly 1/3 of the lifetime emissions of a similar gas-only vehicle. The catch? BEVs are typically more expensive. And the public charging infrastructure here in the U.S. is generally frustrating and far from reliable.
Which brings us back to plug-in hybrids like the Lexus NX 450h+.
As a technology, plug-in hybrids offer a solution to reduce daily tailpipe emissions while stifling range anxiety. And yet, this technology isn’t priced in a way, in Lexus vehicles at least, that is accessible and affordable to general buyers. To reduce one’s daily environmental impact, or to save daily operating costs in places where electricity is cheap, one must first buy or lease a flagship-grade SUV.
In that sense, plug-in hybrids feel less like a solution to a problem and more like a marketing ploy for certain types of buyers.
Still, all three Lexus plug-in hybrid crossover SUVs appear to be well-made and designed, and the driving experience is excellent if you can afford them. Speaking with a few NX 450h+ owners on this very forum, they seem to love the driving experience and the ability to go thousands of miles before having to go to a gas station. (Most only tank up for longer road trips.) Just know that, over the lifetime ownership experience, the amount one saves in daily operating costs may not ever cover the added expense of this powertrain’s sticker price.
Images: Michael S. Palmer
