Everything CUV/SUV is at odds. Most CUVs, if not all, do not have THE commanding view that most claim to like.
The other claim about CUVs/SUVs by customers (or did manufacturers fabricate that claim?) is concerning their easy entry/exit compared to sedans thanks to the car being higher/taller. Yet the latest SUVs' sell the optional air-suspension and promote the extra low setting "parked" that allows easier entry/exit. New CUVs/SUVs are not even that tall that this is needed. Most CUVs/SUVs are lowered and have little ground clearance with hard suspension to make them handle better with less body role.
I don't want to rain on the UX's parade, because I want Lexus to make money so that they could make other less profitable but more emotional cars, yet CUVs/SUVs are the most irrational thing that happened in the history of automotive industry. Nothing at all about them makes any sense.
In all reality, I couldn't care less if Lexus were to call the UX a short, high-riding, low-slung wagon
. It fits my definition of what I would traditionally call a hatchback. Ironically, though, I remember having a conversation with my wife a few months ago about how my RAV4 used to provide the ability to see the road a little bit better. Now that almost everyone seems to be driving taller/higher vehicles, that advantage is pretty much lost. The only things you get nowadays from the CUV/SUV type vehicles is crappier gas mileage and handling (as compared to a hatchback/wagon). I was actually quite shocked that Lexus publicly compared the UX driving feel to a hatchback, since that seems to be a dirty word these days.
I'm cautiously optimistic that the new UX will provide the driving experience that I'm looking for with the desired form factor. When I test drove the CT a few years back, I really liked the way it handled. The powertrain, however, was beyond anemic, and the NVH levels were absolutely not Lexus quality (not sure if that got fixed in a revision).
I don't see anything to stymie the CUV/SUV trend other than something catastrophic happening to fuel prices. People like the idea of being able to put more in their vehicle even if they never use it (most don't). Likewise, many think that a bigger vehicle is safer, despite the vehicle size arms-race that has resulted from it. It's hard to say how popular the UX will end up. It really just depends on whether it's perceived as a crossover. It's all pretty funny to me that companies are trying to market vehicles the size and stance of a Mazda3 hatchback as crossovers nowadays.