What speeds can NX350H travel in EV?

[Deb]

Our current NX300H can only get up to about 42mph in EV only.

Just wondering what the NX350H will be like? Can it go at higher speeds in EV only?

Thanks 😊 

[imgo]

According to this document 

13504003_all-new-nx-price-list.pdf

The 350h EV speed is 77 mph max.

[wharfhouse]

When I had a courtesy NX 350h I was able to drive over a mix of roads including motorways - it would certainly be in EV at higher speeds than my IS 300h - I saw 60mph+ with the EV light on - however, that's still only really possible under zero or extremely light load - once you need to press the accelerator slightly at higher speeds the ICE will kick in. So nice that more energy is recouped during regen but don't expect to be driving around at motorway speeds in EV for any distance.

[Commander 1]

It wont drive anywhere on EV only . The electric motors provide some sort of extra power back up. I see a poster mention over 60 mph on EV only . thats impossible its designed to cut out on a flat road (without even slight incline) at 50 kmph. (60 mph is 100 kmph) 

This is the 2nd NX hybrid I ve had. The extra cost  of the EV installation motors and Battery is as far as I can determine (now at 8000 kms)  a complete waste of money, and MUCH worse  causes colossal damage to the planet , digging out the materials to build a Battery with limited life , max 6 years Im told.  Its also impossible to recycle 90% of the materials which have to be dumped further polluting the planet.

The previous 20s2' model .Petrol consumption was more than a non EV model . So wheres the logic in that ? 

With this latest 2024 NX350h I was hoping for amazingly reduced fuel consumption , but its only marginally better - best is  6.1 litres per 100 kms on long 700 kms , highway only trips at 120 kmph or less. My next car will not be a Lexus but possibly a Jaguar that sensibly makes a diesel only. Ive tested it and its very economical. Better acceleration then this NX and is at worst,  under heavy acceleration   10db noisier. Irrelevant .

[NemesisUK]

55 minutes ago, Commander 1 said:

sensibly makes a diesel only

Sorry but there is nothing sensible about a diesel in modern motoring, unless one is a commercial driver doing mega miles.

[Ken R]

Obviously the plug in 450h can run in EV only mode and up to 70mph+ although the Battery will deplete rather rapidly. When I had my NX450h I could get around 50 miles of mixed driving (city/motorway) in pure EV mode. (Summer months). HV mode returned c50mpg. Now have an RX450h plug in and getting the same 50 miles in EV mode and recently achieved c55mpg in HV only which is quite amazing for a vehicle of this size and weight.

[Harrier Man]

I take your point David about the extra cost of adding a Battery and the environmental impact of mining the raw materials. However, a good Battery should last a lot longer than 6 years, albeit with a reduced efficiency.  I recently read of a tesla that had covered more than 450,000 miles.

I don't think a mild hybrid is designed to travel far on electric. It's big advantage is overcoming the vehicle's initial mass from standstill, where an ICE is working hardest and polluting the most. The reduced emissions are the main reason for hybrids; there is a mpg benefit because the electric motor is more efficient than the ICE at overcoming this initial inertia but you're not going to see a huge difference. Of course, manufacturers choose a balance between all the variables, usually based on the intended market and use for the vehicle.

[Commander 1]

Harrierman. thanks for the heads up on an advantage of EV vehicle mas. I can appreciate that point. But a diesel is much more efficient . less pollutant than the ICE, almost as quiet. No Battery recycle pollutant issues either. Cost per km is much less than anything with a Battery.
As to 6 years . who knows. But one thing certain is that as all Ion batteries are NEVER as efficient  at storing energy from the day theyre first used.

I have 4900 kms on my NX and today the EV is unusable for the first 5 kms , and then only for a few minutes. The Lane guidance is also broken. Lexus suggest the problems are linked . either way I will lose the car for a few days whilst they try to fix it. Not a good start !

[wharfhouse]

15 hours ago, Commander 1 said:

Harrierman. thanks for the heads up on an advantage of EV vehicle mas. I can appreciate that point. But a diesel is much more efficient . less pollutant than the ICE, almost as quiet. No battery recycle pollutant issues either. Cost per km is much less than anything with a battery.
As to 6 years . who knows. But one thing certain is that as all Ion batteries are NEVER as efficient  at storing energy from the day theyre first used.

I have 4900 kms on my NX and today the EV is unusable for the first 5 kms , and then only for a few minutes. The Lane guidance is also broken. Lexus suggest the problems are linked . either way I will lose the car for a few days whilst they try to fix it. Not a good start !

I think you have to look at horses for courses. A good diesel will always be more efficient on fuel than petrol or petrol/hybrid if you are doing high motorway mileages. However, if a significant proportion of your driving is at lower speeds (<50 mph) or around town, the a hybrid will be more efficient than a diesel overall with the added benefit of no worries about dpf regen etc. that often kills diesels that don't do high mileage at speed. 

Regards EV speeds, I was the person above who said that the NX 350h would see over 60mph on EV and I certainly stand by that having had a couple on loan. However, that's not pressing the EV button but letting the car do what it wants, mainly when not accelerating and at constant speed / coasting it will definitely enter EV mode for periods of time then. My IS 300h (which is the previous generation tech) will enter EV up to around 50mph (but is not designed to run in EV above that - new generations tech is). The EV mode will generally not kick in during the first few miles of a journey from a cold start as the ICE needs to reach a reasonable operating temperature to be efficient and/or heat he cabin or assist with an initial high load on the AC if it's very hot - that's how it's designed.

Regards the hybrid batteries in the NX 350h, these are relatively small (and can't be compared to BEV) and will last hundreds of thousands of miles without noticeable degradation as Lexus don't utilise the full capacity - only less than 80% (unlike a BEV) - my car is currently at 150K miles with no issues whatsoever and the fuel consumption etc. is the same as when new. Lexus also warranty the hybrid Battery for 15 years and unlimited mileage (so long as the hybrid health check is done to schedule) which I think says everything.

It's frustrating if there is an issue with your lane guidance, but any car can have an issue, regardless of powertrain. Yours is I assume under warranty so annoying as it is, get it seen to by Lexus and hopefully whatever problem is there will be resolved. If you ask they will normally give you a courtesy car if it's under warranty. Generally most Lexus hybrid owners cover many thousands (or hundreds of thousands) of miles without any significant issues. From family and friends experiences of Jaguar, they can't say the same...

Not sure what country you are from (as you post as non-UK) but if in the EU it's only going to get harder to enter cities with a diesel car. However, if that is not a concern and your main driving is lots of motorway driving, then yes, if it suits you better get a diesel now while you still can. It's a free world until our respective governments take that choice away from us...!

[ColinBarber]

13 minutes ago, wharfhouse said:

Regards EV speeds, I was the person above who said that the NX 350h would see over 60mph on EV and I certainly stand by that having had a couple on loan. However, that's not pressing the EV button but letting the car do what it wants, mainly when not accelerating and at constant speed / coasting it will definitely enter EV mode for periods of time then

Yes, there is a big difference between EV drive mode and the vehicle just being in EV mode.

[Andy B]

20 hours ago, wharfhouse said:

Regards EV speeds, I was the person above who said that the NX 350h would see over 60mph on EV and I certainly stand by that having had a couple on loan. However, that's not pressing the EV button but letting the car do what it wants, mainly when not accelerating and at constant speed / coasting it will definitely enter EV mode for periods of time then.

Having owned my NX350h for 2 and a half years I definitely concur.

I quite often observe the car in EV mode (i.e. automatically initiated by the car itself) when driving at speeds of around 60 mph. Granted it doesn't stay that way for longer than a few minutes, plus the hybrid Battery needs to be at maximum capacity, but it does happen.

[stepppy]

5 minutes ago, Andy B said:

Having owned my NX350h for 2 and a half years I definitely concur.

I quite often observe the car in EV mode (i.e. automatically initiated by the car itself) when driving at speeds of around 60 mph. Granted it doesn't stay that way for longer than a few minutes, plus the hybrid battery needs to be at maximum capacity, but it does happen.

Having owned a Gen 4 Prius for over 7 years before my NX, that behaved in the same way.  You also have to remember that although the green dashboard EV light may be illuminated, it does not necessarily mean that it is actually being driven by the electric motors, it just indicates that the ICE is not running.  It may be being powered by the electric motors, or it may just be coasting/light trailing throttle etc.

I find the NX holds on to more of it EV Battery level than my Prius did which would often go down do two bars in traffic, where as the NX so far has never been lower than half way.  That may be due to extra regeneration from the rear electric motor which the Prius does not have.

One of the first questions people ask me about Hybrids is how far it can go on electric.  I have to explain a Hybrid is a very different beast to a full EV and is not primarily designed to run on EV, it can but only for limited periods of time, even then they still don't get it 🤨.  Then the spot the EV button inside and say well what's that for then? and I say it enables me to get the car out of the garage to wash it without starting up the engine 😊