2017 Lexus NX 300h: Real-World Fuel Economy

CARS.COM — Just 10 days before I was supposed to make the trip from my home on Chicago’s far north side to my parents’ house in southwestern Michigan for Thanksgiving weekend, my car finally decided it was time to give up on that whole “working” thing. Fortunately, I was able to take the 2017 Lexus NX 300h Cars.com has in its test fleet for my trip.

Related: 2017 Lexus NX: What’s Changed

And so, with my trusty canine co-pilot Gus, we set out on the approximately 140-mile drive to see what kind of gas mileage the NX hybrid could get. For the trip, I followed the basic rules of the mileage tests we conduct during our multi-car comparisons:

• Windows must stay up (Check. It’s cold outside.)
• Climate control is not set to automatic (Check)
• No cruise control (Begrudging check)

For the trip to Michigan, I used the most efficient selectable drive mode, Eco. Leaving Chicago at 3 p.m. on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving was certainly … less than ideal. Traffic was abysmal, but stop-and-go traffic is where the NX hybrid shines as it switches seamlessly between gasoline and all-electric power. On the highway, merging and passing maneuvers felt like a strain on the drivetrain. This isn’t helped by the lack of a tachometer display in Eco mode; I constantly felt like I was redlining the poor little SUV.

By the time we made it to my parents’ house four hours later, Gus was exhausted from his nap and my right leg hated the no-cruise control rule. For the 143.6-mile trip, the NX averaged 29.4 miles per gallon, slightly lower than its 30-mpg EPA highway rating.

Since Gus was staying at my parents’ house for a little vacation, I needed to make the weight consistent for the drive back to Chicago after the holiday. His 80 pounds were replaced by an equivalent 80 pounds of weight gained by me and leftovers my mother insisted I take because I can’t possibly be eating right on my own.

I kept the NX in Normal mode for the drive back. There’s also a Sport mode available for reasons I don’t understand. Both traffic and the weather were better, and my average speed was 9 mph faster on the return leg. Despite the better experience on the drive home, I expected the mileage to be noticeably worse. Surprisingly, this was not the case, as the NX averaged 30.8 mpg. Given that each fill-up was at different gas pumps by necessity, it’s possible that the variance could explain the difference, but even the NX’s trip computer thought the return trip was more fuel-efficient: It displayed 29.9 mpg as opposed to the 29.3 it calculated on my initial trip.

On top of everything else I am thankful for this past year, having a job that lets me consider driving home for the holidays as “work” is very high on my list.

Editor’s note: This story was updated on Dec. 9, 2016, to reflect that the trip destination was southwestern Michigan.