Our intrepid tester heads out for a week in the Lexus NX 350h hybrid crossover.

The NX 350h hybrid feels smooth and unruffled

Monday

Lexus has been a flag-bearer for hybrid power for a long time, yet it’s only recently added a plug-in model with its NX 450h+ PHEV. This isn’t that car, because this is the NX 350h, which is a hybrid in the traditional Lexus/Toyota mould of self-charging and capable of only very short bursts of EV-only travel. In F Sport trim, this one looks the business, sitting on 20-inch wheels and painted in Azure Blue. It has a full ticket price of £57,760.

Tuesday

First drive in the NX and it feels, well, very Lexus. Smooth, unruffled and very simple. The stubby gear selector pivots at its base rather than sliding back and forth, but there’s a positive sense it has engaged the required direction of travel. I’m less fussed about the manual override or steering wheel paddles as the NX seems happier when left to its own devices for selecting gears.

The 14-inch infotainment touchscreen is impressive and intuitive

Wednesday

More time behind the NX’s wheel offers a chance to become familiar with the vast 14-inch infotainment touchscreen in this model. Not only is its size impressive, but even better is that Lexus has sorted out this element of its cars. Gone is the fiddly touchpad on the transmission tunnel and we now have a quick-responding screen with large icon and simple menus. I even like the look of it as it suits the NX’s slightly left-field approach.

Thursday

Out on to some back roads and the NX in F Sport guise handles well by class standards. This trim brings adaptive suspension, so you can alter it to suit the conditions more acutely. While Sport and Sport+ modes offer a little more weight in the steering, I quickly revert back to Normal as there’s nothing to be gained in handling terms but a little lost in ride comfort, and the NX is already slightly unsettled on pitter-patter surfaces.

The gear selector works well

Friday

Swapping back roads for dual carriageway for this drive, and the NX feels much more at home. The suspension is more settled and the car very planted at 70mph, as you’d hope and expect of a car of this type and ambitions. Wind and road noise are admirably distant from the NX’s cabin, and the 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine only makes itself known during hard acceleration, when the CVT gearbox forces it to rev harder and longer than sometimes feels warranted.

Saturday

Practicality in the NX is good and I like the big boot with its handy underfloor storage compartment. There’s also plenty of space in the back seats, so lanky children will fit without complaint. The only thing I don’t like is the way the door release handles in the front are positioned. It’s a small point, but it just feels awkward to use every time I exit the car.

The NX could easily achieve its claimed upper combined economy of 47.9mpg

Sunday

Mixed driving generates a figure of 42.7mpg on the Lexus’ dials – and this has includes some spirited motoring. There’s no doubt the NX could easily achieve its claimed upper combined economy of 47.9mpg, but many fleet drivers will be looking to its 450h plug-in sister over this traditional hybrid. The former offers significantly lower emissions and company car tax, as well as up to 313.8mpg combined economy.