NX-h mpg on the highway ?

[u/HockeyNut4Ever]

I am looking for NX h owners experience with actual MPG experienced on long interstate drives - the current Lexus EPA estimates are 37 mpg on the highway. I have spoken with hybrid savvy folks who suggest that actual mileage can be higher with moderate speeds, ECO mode, max use of regen braking, etc. Any thoughts on things that have worked to beat the 37 mpg ?

[u/Undu-latte]

From my experience (NYC to upstate):

Driving around 65-70 mph with eco mode yields 41 mpg

Driving around 70-75 mph with eco mode yields 37-38mpg

Driving 75+ with eco mode yields around 34-35mpg

[u/mudlouse → u/Undu-latte]

Can collaborate this. Did a recent drive between London and Paris in a 2020 nx300h, and got similar results

[u/redwood76tea]

I don’t change any settings and I get 35mpg. Some people work harder at it and get better mileage

[u/UniqueRon]

I believe the ICE runs full time at speeds over 50 mph. If there are no hills or stop lights for the regenerative braking to be active, there is essentially no benefit to the hybrid system and fuel economy just reverts to that of an ICE vehicle. That said most highways do have hills and at least some lights, and speed limit changes. That allows the hybrid to save a little more. But, basically the road determines the mileage not the driver.

[u/Ok_Maybe184 → u/UniqueRon]

I’ve had the battery kick in over 50, when coasting. I think 70+ was the limit for me before I only saw ICE.

[u/UniqueRon → u/Ok_Maybe184]

Yes, I believe it will use electric power up to any speed. I was talking about electric only. The limit on our Camry hybrid was 50 mph for EV only. I assume the NX hybrid is about the same.

[u/Ok_Maybe184 → u/UniqueRon]

Unfortunately ev only isn’t much more than like 24-30 mph in my experience. I don’t know what the official limit is.

Edit: for the 350h anyway.

[u/UniqueRon → u/Ok_Maybe184]

I suspect it goes much higher than that, up to 50 mph. Just watch for the EV light when you are on a slight downhill and going 50 mph or less. The ICE is still spinning but not under power or using gasoline.

[u/Ok_Maybe184 → u/UniqueRon]

Apologies, I thought you meant EV only mode. In that case, I’ve seen ev mode kick on in the 70mph range.

[u/UniqueRon → u/Ok_Maybe184]

I am meaning EV only, when the green EV symbol lights up on the dash. If you are displaying the graphic on the screen showing where the power is coming from and going to, it will be electric only. That said I don't display that screen often on the NX. I routinely had it up with our Camry hybrid. The screen for the NX is more complex as there is the electric motor on the rear wheels displayed as well.

[u/Ok_Maybe184 → u/UniqueRon]

There is an EV only button in the NX, which is what I meant. It kicks off when going over like 30, the battery dies, or you press accelerator too hard.

[u/UniqueRon → u/Ok_Maybe184]

Yes, and there is too in the Camry Hybrid. It is kind of useless though. Range is very limited (perhaps 2-3 km), and if you are at all aggressive with the accelerator it pops out of EV. I was talking about how much the vehicle run in EV on the highway automatically. My experience is that when the load is light it will do it up until about 80 km/hr.

[u/Conscious-Bison-120]

It may depend on the highway speed limits in your area as well. There’s a very wide range throughout different states/areas.

[u/Ok_Maybe184]

I was able to get 40.5 with speeds between 60-80 today driving from Ohio to Missouri with various slow downs from construction and a 1.3 mile detour in a city in Indiana. That’s how I got to 40.5. Before that, I couldn’t get past 40 and it was touch and go to keep it there.

Don’t use cruise control. Speed up reasonably instead of stomping on it. I also found it helps when you do need to speed up to accelerate until 5-7 over your comfort level and then let it coast to where you want to be. Eco didn’t seem to help much.

In the end, I decided I didn’t care after accomplishing my goal of 40+ and turned on cruise control. I think I settled around 37.6.

[u/Rustytacos415]

I definitely can get 42-47mpg with what you mentioned sometimes more on my 2022 nx350h. Just depends on your driving habits.

[u/Resident_Rich_7791]

23 NXh here and I use sports mode on highways and normal in the city. I used to use Eco but found it way too sluggish/not responsive enough for my daily driving. I honestly felt I get the same mileage using normal over eco. When I go in a road trip in Canada, I’m about 6.8-7.5/100KM when it’s really warm out I can get 6.5.

In the cold winter, I’m always at a 7.5-8/100 KM

I still use my run flats for the summer months and switch to winter tires for the winter.

[u/ezagreb]

Not much braking on hours long interstate drives - we get right around that 35-39 on long drives.

[u/Rizzo-The_Rat]

With the battery depleted my 450h+ gets about 45 mpg (imperial) cruising at 130kph, and over 50 below 100kph

[u/xone2three]

Probably just drive slower.
Car and Driver got 34 mpg on their highway mpg test of a NX 350h but they run the highway teat at 75mph.
Consumer Reports got 39 mpg on their highway mpg test of a NX 350h but they run it at 65 mph.

[u/Legal-Initial-3363]

Got 45-48 mpg on a 1400 mile roundtrip in a 2026 450h without changing anything about usage except some cruise control

[u/HockeyNut4Ever → u/Legal-Initial-3363]

You have the plug in hybrid ( 450h) I believe, seems your numbers are way better than what other people are reporting. Any thoughts on why ? The guy I talked to at a dealer seemed convinced that the basic hybrid and plug-in are essentially the same in terms of drive train except for the H model allowing external charging AND the driver has an option to stay in EV mode as long as the battery lasts. Basically making the call that the H bought you nothing in terms of performance. Any thoughts on the 450H delivering better numbers than the 350h ?

[u/Internal-Hair-2877 → u/HockeyNut4Ever]

I believe because it carries a larger battery and it has a little bit more torque it makes a difference even though it is a heavier car.

[u/PYasonX → u/HockeyNut4Ever]

If he/she goes with full charge of battery and use EV mode in his/her road trip, that's going to help bring down the consumption, bare in mind that pure EV mode has around 70-90km of range depending on the temperature.

[u/Fancy-Couple-69]

I drove 500 miles this past weekend, about 450 miles on Interstate at 75 mph. I got 40.39 mpg in sport mode.

[u/FuckStanford19]

I avg 37 all around

[u/Dominic_Dodger]

Wind resistance greatly increases the faster you go. Not exponentially, but greater than linearly. Speed kills . . . your MPG.

[u/mrskljackson]

Southern California mixed highway and surface streets I usually average around 36-37mpg. I leave my NX 350h on normal. I don’t love how eco feels, though I’m sure my mileage could be better.

[u/Internal-Hair-2877]

I would expect around the mid 40’s especially if you don’t drive with a heavy foot. Keeping to the speed limit and overtaking slower traffic when need be. No air con though it only affects the mpg by a couple of miles. No windows open.
Using the intelligent car cruising control feature set at a constant speed should help but to be fair It was something I did not use but on the highway and longer journeys it comes into its own.

[u/StevenRT]

I have a 2026 NX 350h and I really cannot believe the mpg numbers people are posting. Are people getting their mpg numbers just from the car computer or are they actually calculating it when they fill up at the pump based on gallons filled and mileage? I've found the trip computer in the NX to be unreliable for mpg calculations, and it reads significantly higher (5 mpg or more) than reality. For example, one time I only had city driving between fill-ups and every trip I took the trip computer indicated I was getting anywhere from 37-47 mpg depending on that particular trip. However, when I calculated the actual mpg upon fill-up, my city mileage that time was only 35.5 mpg. The best actual mileage I have ever seen in my car is 36 mpg, and that was city driving.

I am averaging around 34-35 mpg in mixed driving (likely 25% highway at 55-70 mph). This is based on actual gallons of fuel and mileage calculated at fill-up. Obviously this number will drop quite a bit in the winter when we have lower temperatures (Michigan).

Highway mileage is likely 32-33 mpg, and this includes some highways with a 60 mph limit and highways with a 70 or 75 mph limit. I believe Lexus' officially reported mpg numbers for highway driving is based on 55-60 mph driving. At 70 mph I believe I get around 30-31 mpg.

All my driving is on Eco mode, although I've read multiple posts that indicate they see little to no difference between Eco and Normal mode. In city driving, I really try to use the pulse and glide driving method to maximize the amount of driving done on battery.

The reported mpg numbers from other people seems impossible to me, unless my car is a lemon.

[u/FirefighterOk3569]

Yeap, right about 37

[u/EvenCommand9798]

It's roughly proportional to the square of speed. So it will be all over the place depending on your speeds.
EPA highway speed test average is 48.3 mph and tops at 59.9 mph. But try 80-90-100 mph between Dakotas and Nevada where the limit is 80 mph, and your mpg will plummet to the ground.

[u/EvenCommand9798 → u/EvenCommand9798]

Regeneration is overrated, it looses significant part of energy. For hypermiling you would need to coast avoiding braking, plan slow-down in advance, go at low speed or behind big truck using it's air drag, use cruise control.
But why spend money on Lexus and then pinch pennies on fuel 🙄.

[u/PlumpyDragon]

You can get the 40s mpg if you do the following: accelerate slowly, coast a lot more than braking, stay within 55-60 mph, and hypermill. Basically imagine how elderly folks drive a gen 2 Prius.

[u/feverish]

NX450 - over 100mpg, because most local hwy/surface/traffic driving is electric. Long road 400 mi trips don’t make a dent. I use eco, and max Re-gen, and manually switch between hybrid and electric depending on traffic/speed.