Lenovo introduced some significant chassis changes with the ThinkPad X240, so the modifications are pretty subtle this year: The design of the matte gray X250 is almost completely identical to the predecessor; the minor differences in terms of weight (1.43 kg) and height (20.3 mm) are negligible. The rivals from Dell (1.5 kg, 19.4 mm) and HP (1.52 kg, 21 mm) are very similar.

Lenovo uses a glass-fiber reinforced plastic chassis with an integrated magnesium frame to ensure a sufficient stability despite the low weight. An effort that paid off: Except for some small areas, for example, the slightly flexible area above the keyboard, the chassis leaves a very sturdy impression. The X250 was also tested according to military standards including the resistance against vibrations, humidity, dust and temperature changes – even though the notebook will hardly face those kinds of stresses in practice it is certainly reassuring in respect of the product quality.

The lid cannot quite keep up with the stiffness of the base unit and slightly twists under moderate pressure. Still, this issue is not really a cause for concern, especially since a certain amount of flexibility can even protect against serious damages in some cases – a crack, for example. The panel is once again held by massive metal hinges that hardly bounce during vibrations and allow a maximum opening angle of up to 180 degrees.

All things considered, the best description for the case is probably "functional" – not the design but the function and the ergonomics were more important during the development.