Millennial Mom’s Review: 2023 Lexus NX 350h is the Pugsley Addams of the family

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If you, like me, binged Wednesday on Netflix, then you’re probably just as excited that the show that catapulted Jenna Ortega to fame is confirmed for a second season! No spoiler alerts here, but if you’re looking for something to binge, this has all the notalgia you could hope for, including Christina Ricci — who once played Wednesday Addams in 1991’s The Addams Family — in a new role. As much as I adore Wednesday, I want to talk about Pugsley, her younger brother (played by Isaac Ordonez). Generally, Pugsley is up to no good, but usually manages to fly under the radar without getting into trouble. Instead, he lives in the shadow of his older sibling.

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The 2023 Lexus NX is no stranger to living in the shadow of its bigger RX sibling. The Lexus RX 350 is the brand’s best-seller. However, the NX is overlooked, barely given the chance to shine. But does it deserve a spotlight?

Lexus has an odd way of grouping its models and trims, and the NX is no different, with some 15 different options starting with the $47,950 NX 250. This tester is Stuck in the Middle (IYKYK); it’s the NX 350h in the Ultra Luxury trim that adds impressive features such as the panoramic view monitor (massively better than Toyota’s blurry cameras), a 14-inch HD touchscreen, wireless phone charger, and so much more. The 2023 NX 350h has a starting price of $50,450, but the Ultra Luxury (as-tested) costs an extra $10,800. If you’re looking for something more, the NX 450h+ is a plug-in hybrid with an EV range of up to 58 kilometres, though it can cost over $75k with the F Sport 3 package.

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As for this hybrid tester, it gets a 2.5L I4, as well as the Lexus Hybrid Drive unit that makes a combined 239 horsepower. It’s rated at having a combined fuel consumption of 6.0 L/100 km (5.7 city, 6.4 highway) but observed numbers hovered around 7.1 L/100 km, which is still pretty efficient. Bonus points for not needing premium fuel. For comparison, the non-hybrid NX 350 has a combined rating of 9.4 L/100 km.

The role of Pugsley — in cartoons and real life — is usually portrayed by a shorter, pudgier-looking fella, and that’s exactly what I saw when I first laid eyes on the NX. The NX is Pugsley in SUV form. From the back, it’s cute and stubby; it’s a chunky-looking baby SUV.

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The NX seems, in many ways, like it’s trying a bit too hard to step out of its sibling’s shadow, but it isn’t always in the most intuitive ways. That said, with a bit of patience, there are many things that you’ll get used to, eventually. For example, the door handles open easily. Instead of pulling, there’s a button on the handle that easily pops the door open, electronically. It works similarly from the inside, but the first try might be a little confusing. A simple push on the handle will electronically pop open the door. In an emergency, the handle can also be pulled to let the driver or passengers out.

Another thing you’ll have to get used to is the mode selector and its side movements to shift into reverse or drive. It should be a straightforward or backward push; that’s what’s most intuitive.

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In the normal drive mode, it’s a smooth and comfy ride. I generally drive with a heavy foot, but I didn’t expect the SUV to tell me that. At one point, a notification popped up to say it was deactivating EV mode because I pressed too hard on the gas pedal; I didn’t even know I was in EV mode. Regardless of mode, I found the brakes really hard to get used to. Over the week of testing the NX 350h, I still hadn’t found a sweet spot to get the vehicle to stop gently. I tried the Sport and Eco mode to see if it would make a difference, but no matter how gentle I was on the brakes, the SUV stopped abruptly, jerking me (and passengers) forward. Giving it the benefit of the doubt, maybe a little more time with the NX is crucial to understand its driving quirks. In highway traffic, if you don’t have to actually come to a full stop, the car is smooth; the problem is mainly with the full stop.

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When parking the NX in a smaller parking lot at a plaza, it wouldn’t let me pull up closer to the vehicle parked in front of me, thanks to auto-braking. It was a bit annoying, but there’s a parking assist function that can be taken off in the vehicle’s driving assist settings, along with a bunch of other safety features like lane-departure alert, blind-spot monitor, safe exit assist, and road-sign assist — use them as you see fit.

During a rainy drive, I left all the safety features on and pulled into a parking spot, ready to show my husband that the SUV wouldn’t let me get close to the car in front. It didn’t work — but don’t worry, I didn’t hit the car in front. The sensors don’t work if something is obstructing the view, which makes sense, but a bit of rain shouldn’t be a problem, and in this case, it was. Furthermore, the tested NX was equipped with a digital rearview mirror. I think it’s a bit pointless for a vehicle of this size, but the bigger problem is that it sucks at night — not to mention a dark, rainy night. There’s a horrible glare on the screen that makes everything appear blurry. It’s just easier to use the normal mirror.

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It may seem like I’ve got nothing but negatives to say about the NX, but that’s not entirely true. And it’s important to note that despite the negatives, I still really liked the NX 350h. I like that the big touchscreen is angled slightly toward the driver and it’s simple to wirelessly connect to Apple CarPlay or Android Auto. While I’m not usually a fan of such a big screen, this one works well, and again, with a bit of practice, you’ll get used to the things you need to use, such as the climate controls and safety features. There’s also a touch option that allows you to choose maximum heat, maximum cool, or a simple silent mode — all great options, in my opinion.

One thing that gets annoying with so many touch options instead of physical ones is that you’re not always sure if you’ve actually touched something. There’s an option for the vehicle to make a noise when something is pressed, but it gets annoying after a while (similar to how it feels when someone leaves the typing sound on their phone). It can be turned on or off in the vehicle’s settings, but it’s a couple layers deep.

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Though some settings aren’t as easily accessed as others, they’re the settings that you’ll likely only change once and never need to go looking for again. Another one is the option to turn on — or off, in my case — the feature that moves the steering wheel up and slides the driver’s seat back when the car is turned off. It’s convenient for some, but not if you’ve got kids back there, and most of the time, I do; the kids don’t like being squished in an already-squished space.

This little SUV won’t fit three car seats, though I did — uncomfortably — manage to fit one forward-facing car seat and two booster seats. It was a struggle to get the kids buckled because the middle booster overlaps the two buckles, but it’s still doable. The worst part is probably the arguing coming from my kids because “she’s staring at me” and “he keeps touching my arm” — but the arms have nowhere else to go but right beside each other. Basically, it’s not the ideal SUV for a family of five, but, that said, the Lexus RX 350 is a whole lot better when it comes to car seat space in the second row.

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And speaking of space, if I’m driving, there’s more than enough space to fit long-ish legs behind my seat. However, if someone taller is sitting in the front, there won’t be adequate space for those in the back, especially not a kid in a car seat whose little legs stick straight out, as opposed to being firmly planted on the ground.

When it comes to storage, you’ve got a few options. The 643L of cargo space is more than enough for a week’s worth of groceries but it can also fit a three-piece luggage set — as long as the tonneau cover is removed, otherwise you won’t be able to stack it up.

The centre console is unique in the sense that it opens from both sides; however, it’s a bit odd to open, regardless of the side you choose. The button closest to you is awkward to get to, but opens the door away from you for easier access into the space. Meanwhile, the easier button to push is on the opposite side (closer to the passenger), but opens the door toward the driver, meaning they can’t see into the storage space. Weird design. Also weird is the little slot above the wireless phone charger. It’s big enough for the key fob to fit in there, but one sharp turn and it falls out; not quite winning the most practical award.

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There are some vehicles that are practical and best-sellers and yet, for some reason, I’ve found them hard to absolutely love. However, this one is the opposite. It’s not quite the perfect SUV, and there are many competitors out there, but there’s something charming about the NX 350h that makes me really adore it. In the same way that some cars are missing a certain something (*ahem, RX 350*), this one just seems to have a certain je ne sais quoi despite missing a bunch of marks (the heated steering wheel doesn’t even get very warm).

It’s desperately trying to be different, but when you’re the Pugsley of the family, you don’t really have a choice — if you want to be noticed. However, if flying under the radar is more your speed, then consider opting for the NX instead of the more well-known RX/Wednesday-type — at least you won’t have to deal with that dreaded touchpad. Meanwhile, I’ll just be over here manifesting my Netflix hopes of a Pugsley storyline in season two of Wednesday.