2024 Lexus UX

All about the user experience. According to Lexus, the name UX is an abbreviation of Urban Crossover. However, if we’re taking such a liberal approach to spelling, it might as well stand for user experience. The cabin is a thoroughly pleasant place to spend time, despite a compact body that’ll deter families with grown children. The hybrid battery is hidden under the rear seat, but there’s still only 17.1 cubic feet of cargo space, with rear legroom maxing out at 33 inches. It’s not great for adults back here, though kids will appreciate the center armrest and USB ports. Leave them with the babysitter, and the rear seats drop down in a 60/40 split to bring home your next consignment of Swedish flat-pack furniture.

Space is at a premium behind the comfortable front seats, but Lexus does know how to assemble a quality cabin. The aforementioned F Sport models are dolled up with incongruous red trim, but every surface is beautifully manufactured and impeccably assembled. This is a car that will last for decades. Its road manners also infer durability, with little noise creeping in and a comfortable ride meaning longer journeys waft by with little fuss.

What does it cost? Armed with a budget of $38,000, you’ll be stepping into the base UX 250h. That’s no hardship since it includes synthetic leather seats with power adjustment and a high-quality eight-inch infotainment screen. Every model also benefits from the latest Lexus Safety System+ 2.5, which bundles together adaptive cruise and active lane control, automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, blind-spot monitoring, and auto high beams. We’re pleased you don’t have to move up the UX model hierarchy to benefit from these features, especially as the car’s thick C pillars make reversing a fraught process. Needless to say, the UX has top billing from both of America’s crash test agencies.

Well specified though the base model is, we’d check under the sofa cushions for extra coins to buy the $40,100 Premium model, whose front seats are heated and ventilated below a sunroof and ahead of a power tailgate. If you want more screen real estate, F Sport Handling models have a 12.3-inch screen, though we’re less enthused by its other standard features – sports seats (why?) and performance upgrades (really?) Chuck in a few creature comforts like wireless phone charging, and the F Sport’s $50,000 price tag seems excessive when you could have a well-specified Volvo XC60 or Range Rover Evoque for the same money.

It cuts a dash in the car park. While the aforementioned Evoque seems to have been milled from molten aluminum, the UX looks like it needs ironing. The body is a riot of hard creases and odd angles, with the plastic wheel arch moldings looking out of place on a vehicle with no off-road pretensions. In the curious shade of green Lexus offers, it resembles something you’d find in a jungle. The design doesn’t aid practicality, either, with a compact trunk aperture and awkwardly shaped rear doors requiring you to duck to avoid minor head injuries. At least the dash is practical, with everything canted towards the driver and two rows of tactile switches logically placed below a clear, high-level infotainment screen.

Final thoughts. The UX doesn’t really have any competitors, so let’s think of it as a Prius in cargo shorts. It makes hybrid motoring look more interesting, without really advancing the cause. It’s no performance vehicle, its off-road credentials are negligible, and it looks silly adorned with roof bars. Like its CT forefather, it’s destined to be a niche player in the Lexus lineup, and it’s hard to justify the near-$50,000 price tag of over-engineered F Sport Handling models. Who buys a compact hybrid SUV with a Prius engine for its handling prowess?

The UX might seem pointless, especially in the NX’s shadow, but it’s not a bad car in its own right. It’s impeccably assembled and backed with a four-year warranty including two scheduled services, while the switchgear could probably withstand a bomb blast. Every model is well equipped, there’s a strong infotainment system, road manners are serene and fuel economy would be class-leading if it had any direct rivals. If you can live with limited rear space and a needlessly complex hybrid powertrain, your brand-new UX will deliver faithful service well into the 2040s.

Pictured: 2023 Lexus UX