Living with the 2021 Lexus UX 250h Sport Luxury AWD

• Welcome: Small Slice of Luxury
• The colour is the money: When white isn’t the budget option
• Sizing things up: Compact yet not cramped, the Lexus fits the bill

Welcome: Small Slice of Luxury

Price as tested: $65,500
Fuel this month: 634km @ 7.1L/100km

At a time in my life when my brood consists of the wife, two kids and a dog, driving around in a compact SUV can feel like wearing a pair jeans a size too small. There’s also a cat, but who the hell drives around with their cat in the car? Not me.

But, dear friends, we live in the time of the COVID pandemic when – much like vaccines, until recently – long-distance travel in Victoria is nonexistent. Even going across town is a big no-no under the current government restrictions.

So maybe now is actually an ideal time to be jumping into a small and luxurious Lexus.

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Enter the Lexus UX, now the cheapest entry point into the brand (at $44,445 for the petrol UX 200 Luxury) following the dropping of the CT 200 from local showrooms earlier in the year. Arriving on the scene in 2019, the UX offered a solid opportunity in the small-luxury SUV segment for Lexus, and with the range having an update in 2020, it makes for a compelling proposition.

Our UX joins the Wheels garage in 250h Sports Luxury guise ($59,000), optioned with all-wheel drive ($4500) and premium paint ($1500) bringing the total cost of $65,000 plus on-road costs. This kind of asking price might make some wince, but the pain is softened, to a degree, when you look at the standard equipment list compared to Euro rivals like the Audi Q2 and Mercedes-Benz GLA.

The standard features across the entire UX range include keyless entry and start, 10.3-inch display, DAB radio, sat-nav, smartphone mirroring, LED foglights, and heated power adjustable front seats.

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On the safety side, Lexus includes the Safety System pack containing pre-collision system with pedestrian and cyclist detection, active cruise control, lane-keep assist, auto high beams and speed-sign detection. Throw in eight airbags to make even the most anxious drivers breath easier.

Jumping up the range to the 250h gives you 18-inch alloys, powered tailgate, cornering headlights, 13-speaker Mark Levinson sound system, wireless phone charging, privacy glass, heated, ventilated and power adjustable front seats, and 360-degree reversing cameras.

That’s all quite a mouthful.

Arriving in 2019, the UX offered a solid opportunity in the small-luxury SUV segment for Lexus, and with the update in 2020, it makes for a compelling proposition.

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Under the bonnet the 250h runs a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated engine pumping out 131kW and 205Nm with the help of the fourth-generation (non-plug-in) hybrid system. The claimed combined consumption is 4.7L/100km; so far we’re at 7.1. I’m keen to see of that can be improved on with further running.

First impressions? Very positive. The silhouette of the car is brilliant, the sleek design and coupe-esque rear making giving the UX a sporty, crisply tailored look.

The interior is also impressive. The seating position is great and feels very un-SUV-like – the low-slung and driver–focused leather seats are welcoming and plush.

All controls are easily reached except buttons for the fuel flap and powered tailgate obscured behind the wheel. The crisp and clean infotaiment is controlled via the at-times infuriating track pad; thankfully the climate control is operated via clean and simple switches.

Oh, and one of my favourite features – a CD player. I can’t think of the last time I jumped into a new car that still included one; now I need to find all those CDs I packed away not so long ago!

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For now my time behind the wheel of the UX has been limited, obviously, but enjoyable none the less. Its smaller, lower stature makes it for a more car-like experience, which I’m really enjoying. So far the UX is proving to be the right car for the right time.

Update 2: The colour is the money

When white isn’t the budget option

Fuel this month: 256km @ 6.4L/100km
Total: 893km @ 6.9L/100km

A while back, I stepped out for lunch with a colleague to a local bakery. I put in my order and listened in bemusement as my friend requested his.

“I’ll grab a white roll, with white chicken – and mayo, please.”

I couldn’t help but quip, “Could you possibly be any whiter!?”

As a colour, white is often thought of as being very safe and boring. When it comes to cars, white paint generally gets associated with fleet cars or unmarked police vehicles. And let’s not even get into the argument about white not actually being a colour at all...

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But the white UX250h which currently sits in my driveway looks anything but boring. The Sonic Quartz paint looks stunning in the sunlight with a light pearlescent tone accentuating the sharp lines of the exterior styling. The neighbours have certainly given it the nod of approval and most importantly, so has The Boss.

I’d argue the UX is easily the best-looking SUV in the Lexus range, although the new NX (due here early next year) may claim that title. The jury is out until we see it in the metal.

Some might debate whether the UX is even an SUV. Is it really a high-riding hatch? Rolling on the Corolla’s TNGA platform, there is an argument for the latter. But is that a bad thing? Far from it.

Getting behind the wheel is a treat; the driving position is low and driver-focused – very un-SUV-like. The supportive front seats only help to magnify that sensation.

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The steering is far more engaging than the UX’s larger siblings. Refinement is also noticeably better than its Toyota cousin thanks in part to improved sound deadening.

The handling is also great. Throw it at a corner and it feels well planted. The lower centre of gravity keeps body roll to a minimum, the 18-inch wheels retaining strong contact to the road, although ride comfort does suffer on rougher surfaces due to the Dunlop run-flat tyres.

The rotary drive mode selector, which is located beside the instrument cluster, reminds me of the R32 Skyline I used to own. Switch it to Eco mode and the UX mostly cruises silently like a ninja until the throttle is given an extra nudge to fire up the engine for an additional hit of grunt.

Go up to Sports and the drivetrain tries to please, instantly responding with electric torque to the wheels via the stepped CVT. This is great for darting around inner-city areas but how it translates in long sweeping country roads I’ve not yet had a chance to experience.

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One of the only things I’ve found lacking in the UX is a head-up display which, annoyingly, is only included in the $3500 Enhancement Pack, which also bring a smart-key card and panoramic roof.

Another gripe has been the track pad, a control interface which has left me profusely swearing the first few times I drove the car, accidently selecting everything but what I was hoping for. It takes a while to acclimatise to but I’m finally getting around the nuance of it. The buttons and volume control on the armrest are a nice, unintrusive touch.

The much-maligned pad has been dropped in the new NX mid-size SUV, which opts instead for a touchscreen interface. I imagine it’s only a matter of time before they begin disappearing from the rest of the Lexus range.

With COVID restrictions now lifting, some open rural roads are next on the cards. Oh, and in case you’re wondering, my white-bread friend does own a white car.

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Pick and Choose: The Lexus UX options list

All UX models give you a few options of interior colours, but if you choose a UX in Sports Plus you have the choice of five. Our 250h is finished in the tasteful Ochre black/brown combination. Other options include white/Zephyr blue. Avoid new jeans on a hot summer’s day with that one. The F Sport features the flashy Flare Red (above) for the extroverts.

Update 3: Sizing things up

Compact yet not cramped, the Lexus fits the bill

Fuel this month: 397km @ 6.8L/100km
Total: 1303km @ 6.7L/100km

Honestly, when I first walked up to the UX250h I thought, “this’ll be a pretty tight squeeze for the family”. But the little Lexus managed to prove me wrong.

With COVID restrictions lifting in Victoria, I finally managed to get in a couple of trips with the entire clan in tow before having to return the car to Lexus (until then it was more or less a four-wheeled dust collector). Here’s the first revelation – the kids have enough room without having to compromise seating positions up-front. Even full-size adults will fit without any complaint, so long as we cap the height at six-foot.

The kiddos appreciated having air-conditioning vents back there, but more importantly, dual USB charging ports earned the thumbs ups, too.

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Moving on to the boot, the 368-litre capacity is good, but not great. It’s bested by the similar-sized BMW X1’s 505L and the Audi Q3’s 530L, though for everyday activities the Lexus’s space is more than enough. The flat, high sitting boot floor makes loading and unloading easy, with another compartment under the cover for extra storage (handy if you run an Uber for a bikey gang). The powered tailgate also manages to rise just high enough that I never feared splitting my noggin on it.

Where the UX really does shine is in the front cabin. The plush seats and great driving position still manage to impress and I’m fond of the clean dash design – its overall finish lives up to Lexus’s high standards of quality.

Behind the wheel the driving experience has been pleasant; the TNGA platform, after all, is now a very evolved dynamic quantity. The hybrid system is well-suited for around town and tries to please when pushed, but to be sure, for thrills in this segment you need to spend up to get something like an Audi RS Q3.

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One thing that’s raised an eyebrow is the fuel consumption. The claimed figure of 4.7L/100km is a fair bit lower than the number I’ve recorded.

I put that down to this; there’s a straight stretch of road that runs along train tracks near my place which must’ve been used by drivers aspiring to be the next Victor Bray. This would explain why the council a few years back decided to install speed humps every hundred metres or so. It’s great for keeping hoons away but terrible for keeping fuel figures down, yet it’s a road I have to use constantly to access local amenities. If my commute to work was still a thing, I’m confident the 6.7L/100km we averaged would have dropped lower.

Launched in late 2018, the UX now makes up just under 20 percent of Lexus’s sales and is closing in on its larger sibling, the RX. By the time you read this the UX300e battery electric vehicle will have joined the range locally which may help those figures increase.

While the UX may not be as big as some competitors – and arguably lack a bit of badge pedigree – I’ll argue it’s a better looking and finessed option than some of its rivals.

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