This is not something that was designed in Cupertino. . .

By Gary S. Vasilash

“Apple design” isn’t as often in the conversation today as it once was.

While for some people it was essentially just a matter of using a clean, simple white surface and a name that had the letter “i” stuck on its front, that really misses the fundamental nature of Apple design.

It came down to something that someone could use without having to read a user’s guide or manual.

What is astonishing about this is that no matter what product Apple designed—from computer to phone—it was a highly technical product, something that in the pre-Jobs period necessitated study to use.

A subtle proof that Jobs wanted people to use products right after they were unboxed is that there is a charge in that iPhone (as there had been in iPods) so that it isn’t necessary to plug it in and wait.

Its use would be both intuitive and immediate.

All of which might make you wonder what this has to do with the 2024 Lexus NX 450h+ F Sport luxury compact crossover.

It’s this:

The inside door handle is confusingly absurd. (While it would be grammatically appropriate to just use the word absurd and leave it at that, this handle takes it up a notch.)

It is a metal component that is flush with the surface of the arm rest it is embedded in. To use it it is a matter of inserting your finger into a space between the plastic housing and the handle.

But the is not just pulled once. It is necessary to pull it twice.

And to use what is ordinarily a simple lever of some sort, Lexus has added small iconic instructions on both the plastic housing (an arrow with points on each end indicating the intended movement to be achieved) and on the door pull’s top surface, a red label.

I’m sorry, but this is a horrible execution.

Is it a deal-breaker for those who might be interested in getting a nice, well-handling plug-in hybrid that features sumptuous seats and an array of safety tech and infotainment tech, a vehicle that provides an approximate 36-mile electric-only range before it reverts to a conventional series-parallel hybrid that has an EPA-estimated 36 mpg combined?

Probably not.

Although the thing is, this is something that the buyer will have to live with. Certainly it is something that she’d get used to. Certainly something that would be highly annoying were a freshly manicured fingernail to be fractured by working the handle. Certainly something that would come to mind every time the owner was in a model with a more-utile actuator.

And maybe the folks in the Lexus Handle Department got an atypical assignment and assiduously went at it.

On the outside there are what appear to be conventional door handles that you reach in from the top or bottom and pull toward you.

In the case of the NX there is a rubberized surface on the interior surface of the handle that covers an electronic button. By pulling the button is activated and the door opens.

Is this a “luxury” feature or, well, a solution to a non-existent problem?

Again, overall—from the exterior styling to the cargo capacity (22.7 cubic feet with the rear seat up; 46.9 cubic feet when folded down)—this is a nice vehicle.

It is based on the GA-K platform that it shares with the hybrid-only Toyota Venza and the Toyota RAV4—in all of its powertrain configurations—so one can have not only Lexus-level amenities with the NX, but Toyota-level reliability.

Still, this would be a better vehicle if some of the designers and engineers asked themselves, “What would Steve do?”