ArcaMax

It's similar to what you'd find in a Prius, but pumped up some - to 194 hp, total, when both gas engine and electric motors are given' you all she's got. Which isn't a lot.

Or rather, it's only enough to get the hybrid NX to 60 in the mid-high eights, or about two seconds behind the non-hybrid NX.

The upside is class-best fuel efficiency: 35 MPG in city driving and 31 on the highway for the FWD version and 33 city, 30 highway for models equipped with the optionally available all-wheel-drive system.

This is about 10-12 MPG better in city driving than the non-hybrid NX manages (22 MPG).

However, the highway numbers are a lot closer - 28 MPG for the NX200t with AWD, which is only about 2 MPG off the pace of the AWD NX300h.

During my weeklong test drive of an AWD-equipped NX300h, I averaged just over 27 MPG - lower than the EPA's figures, but to be fair to the NX300h - and hybrids generally - the majority of my driving was high-speed highway-type driving.

This is the equivalent of expecting a Corvette to perform well off-road- and then complaining when it gets hung up on a rock.

Hybrids are most fuel-efficient when the gas engine isn't running at all (or running part-time) and the vehicle is operating on its batteries and electric motors. This will be the case when the NX is stopped at a red light or stuck in traffic. It can also be driven at speeds up to about 30 MPH for about a mile or so without burning any gas at all.

The problem for hybrids, efficiency-wise, is that maintaining highway speeds usually means the engine's constantly running. And because the gas engine in a hybrid vehicle is typically on the underpowered side - it's also running hard to maintain highway speeds.

This is why the NX300h gets worse mileage on the highway than in the city - the opposite of conventional (non-hybrid) cars.

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