Lexus UX (UX 200, UX 300h, 300e) Megathread

[Sulu]

Just took delivery of a UX300h AWD Premium in Grecian Water on Friday. Options include the digital key, 12" center screen, wireless phone charger, and cold weather package. This was my wife's choice over a Prius AWD that I was pushing. (sorry for the back of the lot pic... I don't have any other pics that don't have my wife in them!)

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I put about 140 miles on it this weekend. Hilly interstate is 42mpg at 70mph. Add in local driving and most trips are in the 48-52mpg range. The pick-up with the new 5th gen hybrid is really nice. Very smooth, very quiet, and aggressive with the rear motor when I put my foot into it. Definitely doesn't moan or strain to get up to speed.

Suspension is perfect. Not too floaty, not crashy, handles decently on the backroads. Certainly doesn't have the grip of my other TNGA-C platform car (GR Corolla), but it drives very nicely. It feels like a luxury car suspension and ride. The road noise is well dampened and there is practically no wind noise. More serene than I'd expect in this segment, TBH.

Interior is mostly very nice. I like the seats and steering wheel a lot. IP is mostly very nice. There are a few points where the area around the new shifter feel a bit plain. Maybe a different texture on those sections would have spruced it up a bit. I feel like I'm going to scratch that area taking water bottles in and out. The rear door cards are low rent. Definitely could have used a character line between the arm rest and the window sill to up the visuals. On aggregate, though, it feels appropriate for the price.

Tech is spot on. The car has automatic braking all the time (not just with radar cruise set). You almost don't notice it. Lane centering, radar cruise, automatic headlights, automatic wipers, automatic ventilated seats, automatic heated seats, automatic heated steering wheel, you get the picture... all work very well. I had a quick shower come through on my drive today and never touched the wiper stalk. It just did what it was supposed to do. The big center screen is easy to use, easy to see, and not in the way. The configurable gage cluster looks nice, but I don't like that I have to configure the pages while stopped; my GR Corolla allows me to adjust the cluster on the move.

Overall, Lexus did a great job of not making this feel like a Corolla with a Lexus badge just like the GR Corolla doesn't feel like a Corolla with a hot engine. It really feels like they went the extra mile and made the car feel special. My wife was a 19 year MINI owner. She had an '05 MINI Cooper S (6MT, LSD) and a '17 MINI Clubman S (6MT, AWD) before the UX. Both were special ordered and she cried when we sold the '05. We sold the '17 Clubman about 6 hours after she brought the UX home. No tears. She's over the moon with the UX. She keeps giving me a hard time, too, about who was right in her getting the UX. I gotta admit that she was right. I think the UX is going to make a great runabout for our 3 person family.

Did you drive the Prius? How does your UX compare to the Prius?

Is it worth the premium? I gather from your review that you believe the UX is a Lexus and so is worth the premium over a Toyota. Just curious. Kirk Kriefels, in his review of the UX 300h, says that the Prius is a better value and better car.

 

[Tragic Bronson]

Overall, Lexus did a great job of not making this feel like a Corolla with a Lexus badge just like the GR Corolla doesn't feel like a Corolla with a hot engine. It really feels like they went the extra mile and made the car feel special. My wife was a 19 year MINI owner. She had an '05 MINI Cooper S (6MT, LSD) and a '17 MINI Clubman S (6MT, AWD) before the UX. Both were special ordered and she cried when we sold the '05. We sold the '17 Clubman about 6 hours after she brought the UX home. No tears. She's over the moon with the UX. She keeps giving me a hard time, too, about who was right in her getting the UX. I gotta admit that she was right. I think the UX is going to make a great runabout for our 3 person family.

So if the wifey gets the itch for the third pedal again, she will steal the GRC from you to drive? About time she found a TMC product to purchase since its been a perk of your employment

 

[qtb007]

Did you drive the Prius? How does your UX compare to the Prius?

Is it worth the premium? I gather from your review that you believe the UX is a Lexus and so is worth the premium over a Toyota. Just curious. Kirk Kriefels, in his review of the UX 300h, says that the Prius is a better value and better car.

Did not drive the Prius. She sat in it, didn’t like the sloped windshield that was in her space, and didn’t like the small rear glass. She asked if there was a Lexus equivalent and I said the UX. She test drove it and immediately said that was what she wanted.

Maybe a marginally better value, but not a better car. The UX is much, much nicer and quieter inside. The suspension is far more plush. The Prius is really great at the XLE trim but quickly turns into a $40k vehicle in the Limited trim… which seems high. The UX works better at the $40k-45k price range.

 

[qtb007]

So if the wifey gets the itch for the third pedal again, she will steal the GRC from you to drive? About time she found a TMC product to purchase since its been a perk of your employment

She said she’ll have to drive the GRC every so often to keep up her skill. I told her after 19 years of daily driving a stick, she doesn’t have to worry about forgetting. Definitely happy to have the MINI off the books. It was a good, reliable car, but we were starting to get into that age where they start betraying us. Really happy to no longer feed it premium at 25mpg, too! 43mpg on regular is much more tolerable.

 

[qtb007]

Did you drive the Prius? How does your UX compare to the Prius?

Is it worth the premium? I gather from your review that you believe the UX is a Lexus and so is worth the premium over a Toyota. Just curious. Kirk Kriefels, in his review of the UX 300h, says that the Prius is a better value and better car.

So, out of curiosity, I watched his review. He had a FWD F sport Handling versus our AWD Premium. I agree in some cases that the Prius does get better technology than the UX because it is a fresh new design and not from 2019. Digital rear view mirror, 360 degree camera, and heated rear seats are available for the Prius and not available on the UX. The sound generator is ridiculous, but apparently it is easy to turn off; the Premium doesn't have it. That said, if those particular tech features aren't deal breakers, the UX stacks up well because it is so much nicer in suspension, noise dampening, touchpoint material quality, automatic features for HVAC, etc. It isn't just the same car with a different badge and styling. The UX feels like a premium product. IMO, the AWD Premium is the trim to get. As a trim, it matches the character of the car better. This isn't a racecar. It's a nice, comfy urban crossoverish hatchback. The Premium trim is a lot more true to that mission than the F sport while being less expensive.

Kirk keeps talking about "getting the same drivetrain" for $32k in a Prius or Corolla Cross. There is no planet where someone sits in a $32k Corolla Cross or Prius and says that it is just as nice as even a base model UX. If getting the drivetrain and platform is the only purpose, hands down, choose the Toyota. This is true for basically every Lexus / Toyota that share a platform and drivetrain. Why spend $64k for an RX500h to get a Hybrid Max when the same powertrain comes in the much bigger Grand Highlander for $55k?

I approached this convinced that my wife was getting a Prius Limited AWD. That would be around $37-40k depending on options. She did not like the extremely raked windscreen or the small rear glass. She felt like she couldn't see out of it. She didn't like the jet cockpit gauge cluster, either. It felt narrow inside. I had to talk her into even sitting in the Corolla Cross. "Ew." I think the Corolla Cross is pretty solid -- for what it is. Young college grad just starting out in life? Absolutely. Great car for that. 42 year old mom of 1 that has driven premium cars through adulthood and wants a "nice small car". Sorry, Kirk, that's a dumb take and does the typical car guy thing where they can't see the perspective of others. My wife was certain after the test drive that the UX was the right choice. She instantly knew and she has a great instinct for knowing what she will like (she claims that she knew that we'd get married after our first date, haha, 21 years later still together).

The UX was $44k before accessories. So, $44k for a car she really loves or $37-40k for a car she will have to learn to live with? For someone that has owned 2 cars in her adult life, spending $4k more to get exactly what she wants seems like a wise investment. If she drives it 8 years like her last car (or 11 years like her first car), that's $500/yr. That's nothing. So, as usual, Kirk's opinion, spreadsheets, and choices in how to wear a ballcap should be taken with a grain of salt.

 

[internalaudit]

The dashboard layout of the UX is one of the best looking in the Lexus lineup. Since the unveiling, I haven't come across something in the Lexus or Toyota lineup that looked better. It looks very classic and pleasing to the eyes.

I just realized I like the way the gauge cluster is housed in a binnacle and where there is a display/infotainment system screen just beside it, at the level of sight. Very similar to my wife's X3 with the older iDrive 7 layout. I don't like the long curved display in newer BMWs and other vehicles. It's not like I'm going to be fooling around with the infotainment or car settings that much. Just thinking about it, the Prius has that display that's too far away and that could actually have glare too as it's not housed in a binnacle.

Next best design for me would be Porsche/Audis were the screens are embedded into the dashboard but they're really not as functional as one has to keep looking down when fumbling with the screen.

And because the Prius lost a lot of cargo storage, it's not even as practical anymore. With poorer visibility in the rear on the Prius, clearly the UX is the winner.

 

[Levi]

The dashboard layout of the UX is one of the best looking in the Lexus lineup. Since the unveiling, I haven't come across something in the Lexus or Toyota lineup that looked better. It looks very classic and pleasing to the eyes.

The LBX has a very nice looking minimalist yet premium looking interior.

 

[internalaudit]

The LBX has a very nice looking minimalist yet premium looking interior.

I had a look, I still prefer the UX / BMW iDrive 7 layout.

UX:
https://s3.amazonaws.com/lexus.site...-nuluxe-interior-tile-x.jpg?ck=06052024041123

Older BMWs:
https://www.bimmer-tech.net/media/image/71/01/9e98139966fa99670b9a1c815dc4.jpeg

In the LBX, I have to look down:
https://www.topgear.com/sites/default/files/2023/12/LBX-21.jpg?w=1784&h=1004

 

[Sulu]

Kirk keeps talking about "getting the same drivetrain" for $32k in a Prius or Corolla Cross. There is no planet where someone sits in a $32k Corolla Cross or Prius and says that it is just as nice as even a base model UX. If getting the drivetrain and platform is the only purpose, hands down, choose the Toyota. This is true for basically every Lexus / Toyota that share a platform and drivetrain. Why spend $64k for an RX500h to get a Hybrid Max when the same powertrain comes in the much bigger Grand Highlander for $55k?

I can imagine someone cross-shopping the Prius and UX but I really cannot imagine someone cross-shopping the Corolla Cross and UX.

The look and feel of the interior of my wife's Japanese-built Prius Prime is so much better than North American-built cars like the Corolla (Cross) or Camry; and with its longer wheelbase it has a respectable amount of rear seat space. The Corolla Cross, like the Corolla, has a tight back seat and a truly econobox interior.

 

[qtb007]

I can imagine someone cross-shopping the Prius and UX but I really cannot imagine someone cross-shopping the Corolla Cross and UX.

The look and feel of the interior of my wife's Japanese-built Prius Prime is so much better than North American-built cars like the Corolla (Cross) or Camry; and with its longer wheelbase it has a respectable amount of rear seat space. The Corolla Cross, like the Corolla, has a tight back seat and a truly econobox interior.

I'll have to jump back in a Prius sometime. The one we sat in, that my wife did not care for, was an XLE. I do much prefer the styling of Prime's SE/XSE interior trimming over the non Prime's LE/XLE/Limited. She wanted AWD, so the Prime was never in the running.

We have put almost 900 miles on the UX in the 11 days we've had it. Hand calculated has been over 43mpg with 500 of those miles being hilly interstate.

Really an easy to drive vehicle for this type of trip. The Proactive Driving Assist, which I haven't used on any other models, is really well done. It isn't autonomous by any means, but it takes that radar cruise and lane centering that you can use on the freeway and applies it to suburban driving. There is a lot of construction in Pittsburgh, so we took the backroads through the burbs to get to the concert and baseball game. It controlled speed for corners, braked coming up against traffic, etc but nothing felt abrupt. Almost like a driving coach.

Handling is quite good; the chassis and suspension are taut but not harsh. Really happy with the responsiveness of the drivetrain. Very smooth and does quite well in the instantaneous passing power on the interstate. Lean into the accelerator and it goes.

The seat comfort is excellent. Really liked the 2 way opening on the center console. The little Lexus touches, like the power steering wheel that pulls away when the car shuts off is something I didn't think I'd appreciate as much as I do. Even little things like the air vent controls have a premium feel. I used the digital key on my phone all weekend. My wife keeps the card style key in her wallet and I just opened the Lexus app using her shared digital key for locking, unlocking, and starting the vehicle. Cargo space was enough for 3 of us for the weekend (3 carry on bags, 1 other bag with presents, my mountain biking gear) without having to put things in the 2nd row with my daughter. The extra space from the false floor in the low position is definitely helpful. TBH, though, I think they should have tried to get the 12V battery under hood instead of the cargo area. It would have given Lexus more flexibility for how to configure the cargo area or given the space for a spare tire. Wind and road noise is what I'd expect... not totally vault-like since we are still talking entry level luxury car but still very good.

I did the first hand wash yesterday evening. Really love the color. It pops.

 

[Gecko]

Congrats, @qtb007 - beautiful UX and wonderful to hear how much you're enjoying it so far.

 

[Sebass]

@qtb007 Wow stunning purchase, the UX is a great car and you picked a fine color too. Your garage is amazing!

 

[Flagship1]

I can imagine someone cross-shopping the Prius and UX but I really cannot imagine someone cross-shopping the Corolla Cross and UX.

The look and feel of the interior of my wife's Japanese-built Prius Prime is so much better than North American-built cars like the Corolla (Cross) or Camry; and with its longer wheelbase it has a respectable amount of rear seat space. The Corolla Cross, like the Corolla, has a tight back seat and a truly econobox interior.

it boils down to what one values highly. Personally i have had a couple UXs as loaners and didnt really think it was all that great of a vehicle let alone being labeled as a CUV. Its a great CT replacement/hatchback but the funky proportions, lack of rear legroom when the drivers seat was set to my position and rear high load floor turned me off. The biggest selling point from my dealer connect was price of entry and for those who want something nimble and easy to drive around the urban areas where parking and space in general was at a premium. The hybrid only setup makes owning one even sweeter cause its tried and tested.

If they could really work the proportions and packaging of the ux like they have done with the rx, nx, and lbx it would get more buyers. However from my understanding the next gen looks very similar to the current gen.