New Lexus RX 450h+ PHEV: the plug-in hybrid RX has arrived!

The Lexus RX 450h has always struck me as a magnificent car, across all five of its generations. Beyond its design, build quality and refinement, its hybrid drive system has been a benchmark for consumption and efficiency… until its main rivals got their batteries charged (quite literally) and, in a way, overtook it on the inside lane with plug-in hybrid versions.

But now, at last, in this new generation the Japanese luxury SUV also offers a plug-in version and zero-emissions label: the Lexus 450h+ PHEV, which joins the two non-plug-in hybrid versions, the 350h and the 500h. With this variant, the Lexus RX can compete with cars such as the Audi Q7 TFSIe or a Mercedes GLE 350e, among other luxury SUVs with PHEV powertrains.

306 CV of power and up to 69 km in electric mode

Equipped with a 2.5-litre four-cylinder petrol engine producing 185 CV, and with two electric motors (one on each axle), the system’s total output is 309 CV. This allows the RX 450h+ PHEV to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 6.5 seconds and, thanks to a battery of just over 18 kWh, to be rated for an electric-mode range of 69 kilometres.

According to the brand, one difference between the RX 450h+ and its rivals is that once the battery runs out, instead of switching to the petrol engine the car changes to hybrid mode, recharging the battery while driving. In reality this is not an advantage, simply because it is how virtually all plug-in hybrids on the market work. And some, like those Lexus has been launching recently, offer an electric-mode range that beats the entire competition.

Until we test it to form a more thorough judgement, a first reading we can make for now is the one given by its price: from €84,500 with the Business trim, rising to €93,900 for the Executive versions and €102,500 for the Luxury. A price in line with its rivals when you consider the equipment it comes with as standard. But, above all, a price that makes the 450h+ PHEV a very interesting alternative within its own range: it costs around €7,000 more than the 350h, but in return offers much lower consumption, almost 70 km of electric range, 80 CV more, better performance… and the advantages of the DGT CERO label.

Lexus RX 450h+ plug-in hybrid – Photo gallery

Technical specifications of this car

CrossoverLexus RX5 versions · from 83,900 €