Lexus' latest and smallest crossover, the UX, has been tested by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS) and earned the organization's Top Safety Pick Award. Stop us if you've heard this before, as the 2019 Lexus UX is another vehicle that failed to earn the IIHS' highest Top Safety Pick Plus designation because of its headlights.
As a requirement to earn the Top Safety Pick award, the UX earned a rating of “Good” in all six of the IIHS' crash tests, had a front crash prevention system that earned a rating of “Superior” – all it needed to earn was “Advanced” – and have headlights that were found to be “Acceptable.” If the UX's headlights earned a rating of “Good,” the vehicle would've earned the institute's Top Safety Pick Plus award.
The Top Safety Pick rating, though, only applies to UX models with optional curve-adaptive headlights. The subcompact crossover's standard LED projector headlights earned a rating of “Poor,” which is the worst score possible. Upgrading to the Triple-Beam Auto-Level LED Headlights costs a total of $3,660 on the base UX 200, as Lexus requires consumers to get Blind Spot Monitoring ($500), the Premium Package ($1,175), and an auto-dimming rearview mirror with a universal garage opener ($325) on top of the headlight package ($1,660).
Because of Lexus' odd package structure that forces you to bundle upgrades with other options, getting into a UX that earns the IIHS' Top Safety Pick rating is much more expensive than a base model. An entry-level UX 200 starts at $33,025 (including destination). Getting into a model with the right equipment to earn the safety award costs $36,685.
While Lexus charges a large amount of money to get “Acceptable” headlights, the Japanese automaker offers every UX with its Lexus Safety System Plus 2.0 as standard. The suite comes with a pre-collision system, road sign assist, lane tracing assist, lane departure alert, and dynamic radar cruise control as standard.
The UX 200 may have missed out on the Top Safety Pick Plus rating, but the mini Lexus is still competitive in regard to safety. The 2019 BMW X2 is the only other luxury crossover to earn a Top Safety Pick rating. The 2019 Volvo XC40 received the IIHS' Top Safety Pick Plus award.
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