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0–100 review
0–100 review LEXUS UX 300E SPORTS LUXURY
Are legendary Lexus quality and an outstanding ownership package enough to sway buyers towards the Japanese luxury car maker’s first battery electric?
Story Harry Weller
WITH ESTABLISHED prestige rivals like Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz already aboard the EV bandwagon, and newcomers like Tesla and Polestar also muscling in, Lexus has arrived at the party fashionably late with its UX 300e.
Available in two trim levels, Luxury and Sports Luxury, the battery electric UX 300e joins an existing line-up of four-cylinder petrol and hybrid-electric UX models.
Lexus hasn’t gone out of its way to differentiate the new EV from its internalcombustion-powered stablemates, which may prove a turn-off to some buyers. Those who choose to dig a little deeper will find a richly appointed compact, albeit one that doesn’t so much move the EV meter, as get Lexus into the game.
A front-mounted electric motor puts 150kW/ 300Nm to the front wheels in both versions, accelerating the little SUV from 0–100km/h in 7.5 seconds. That’s fast enough to see off Mercedes-Benz’s direct rival, the EQA 250, but is still chasing the coat-tails of a Tesla Model 3.
Similarly, the 54.3kWh lithium-ion battery pack gives a respectable but not stellar driving range of 360km (NEDC), falling short of the electric Benz’s 480km and bettered also by the Model 3 and Polestar 2.
Inside the stylish and high-tech cabin, driver and front passenger are well catered for but the rear seats won’t suit XL-sized frames. The handsomely trimmed interior features the attention to detail Lexus has become known for, including nods to the brand’s Japanese heritage, such as textured trim inspired by the grained-paper finish used on traditional sliding doors.
Standard features include a 10.3-inch widescreen multimedia display, paired with a 7-inch colour driver display and a colour headup display. Unfortunately, the infotainment system’s user interface is not the most intuitive and the touch-pad is fiddly.
Out on the road the Lexus is eerily quiet and can be quickly hustled from corner to corner with the slingshot acceleration EVs are known for. A low centre of gravity keeps handling tidy with minimal body roll, but it ultimately lacks the sort of connection through steering and brakes that rewards enthusiast driving.
Where the UX 300e comes whirring back into contention is via an excellent ownership package, including a fiveyear vehicle warranty, a 10-year battery guarantee, three-year Encore Platinum membership, a complimentary JET Charge home charger with installation, and threeyear complimentary on-road recharging with Chargefox.
THE SPECS
DRIVEAWAY PRICE • $86,847 (Stamp duty exempt in TAS) BODY STYLE • Compact SUV SEATING • 5 ENERGY CONSUMPTION • 15.0kWh/100km SAFETY • ANCAP 5-Star (2019) ENGINE TYPE • Single frontmounted permanent magnet synchronous electric BATTERY • 54.3kWh lithium-ion polymer RANGE • 360km (NEDC) TRANSMISSION • 2-stage reduction gear DRIVE TYPE • Front-wheel drive MAX. POWER • 150kW MAX. TORQUE • 300Nm 0-100KM/H • 7.5 seconds For more visit lexus.com.au
EVER WONDERED what a road trip in an EV would be like? Elspeth Callender attempts to answer all your questions as she gets behind the wheel of the sleek Audi e-tron Sportback 50 Quattro.
Images Stu Gibson
ROAD
test
CLOCKWISE FROM RIGHT The e-tron Sportback 50 Quattro takes on the winding road at Mayfields Bay; admiring The Hazards during a coffee break; arriving at the Piermont Retreat grounds.
t seems fitting that my first EV experience is testing a car from Audi’s first all-electric range. I have an e-tron Sportback 50 Quattro for the day but do start to wonder, I walking into Audi Centre Hobart, how much brain reprogramming is required for this leap.
Concerns soon dissipate. Although its little electric charging-port doors fulfil some of my childhood sci-fi dreams, the e-tron is no spaceship. Its gear shifter is the only unfamiliar feature I should recognise. Audi has even retained the brand’s classic large grill despite it being functionally superfluous, which is a fancy way of saying ‘purely decorative’.
The e-tron Sportback 50 Quattro has a coupe-style roofline. Pair that with 21-inch 15-spoke alloy wheels and you’ve got a sleeker SUV to the regular e-tron 50 and 55. Mine is white with chrome trim but the black styling package buys you next-level exterior aesthetics. A sunroof is optional.
I slide into the Valcona sport driver’s seat for a comprehensive journey the sales executive calls “getting you set up”. The black-saturated cabin lives up to Audi’s reputation for interior design and finish. Without a driveshaft there’s legroom galore. Virtually all adjustments, apart from the steering column, are electric. I push the keyless start button and information glows my way from two touchscreens, a ‘virtual cockpit’ dash and a windscreen display.
Designed, engineered and even built in Germany (not all Audis are), this award-winning EV has an impressive list of standard features.
Unexpected pleasures include heated rearvision mirrors, adaptive air suspension, auto wipers, a 3D sound system and a wireless charging pad. A rear bumper sensor closes the tailgate with a foot-wave. A phone app remotely controls locking and cabin temperature. Personal favourite: it’s impossible to lock the ‘key’ in the car.
This practical vehicle is well-equipped for transporting humans of all sizes and can tow 1800kg. Spare leads under the bonnet are easy to access. Its sophisticated safety features and driver assistance systems remind me we’re very much in that vehicle-technology stage between us driving the car and the car driving us.
While heading north on the Tasman Hwy (A3) I switch between drive select modes (comfort, dynamic, efficiency, offroad, allroad) and note variations in accelerator response, steering-wheel weight and suspension height and stiffness. In dynamic, for instance, throttle response is sharper and the steering wheel more sensitive.
At nearly 2.5 tonnes this is a heavy car and, even at the lowest clearance in dynamic mode, the weight is obvious on bends, though my cornering improves when I use the paddle shifters on the steering wheel, which simulates gear changing. Downshifting eliminates brakes and recuperates battery power. It’s very smart.
From Mayfield Beach we’re right on Oyster Bay – the traditional homeland of the Oyster
Bay nation. We forego music for the car’s calming quietness. Even acceleration is near silent. Although there’s power on tap, nudging the gear shifter from D to S-for-sport mode releases even more. Overtaking, I really appreciate the absence of that kick-down time of combustion vehicles.
Overall it doesn’t feel particularly different to driving a conventional top-of-the-range SUV. That is, until we roll into Swansea with a low-ish battery and zero experience recharging an EV between us.
“Wouldn’t it be funny if there were people sitting up there in the RSL club right now laughing at us,” says my travelling companion while he and I re-enact a scene from The Comedy of Errors as we fumble our way into the future. I call Audi. “Have you pulled the plug out and pushed it back in again?” they ask.
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFTSleek and techy interiors; the e-tron Sportback 50 Quattro can handle varying terrain; heading into Piermont Retreat.
Range anxiety dispelled
BURNIE
DEVONPORT
ST HELENS
LAUNCESTON
QUEENSTOWN
DERWENT BRIDGE ROSS BICHENO
SWANSEA
HOBART
TRIABUNNA
LEGEND
Public EV charging stations
Private EV charging points
Say goodbye to range anxiety. There’s public and private EV chargers throughout Tassie. Just find one that’s right for your EV. Visit myelectriccar.com.au
THE SPECS
PRICING • $162,990 drive away BODY STYLE • 5-door SUV SEATING • 5 ENERGY CONSUMPTION • 23.2kWh/ 100km (combined) SAFETY • ANCAP 5-Star ENGINE TYPE • Dual-motor electric BATTERY • 71kWh liquid-cooled lithium-ion CHARGING/PLUG • Type 2 / CCS RANGE • 341km TRANSMISSION • Single speed DRIVE TYPE • Quattro all-wheel MAX. POWER • 230kW MAX. TORQUE • 540Nm 0-100KM/H • 6.8 seconds
Once we get it together, it takes 25 minutes and $10 for the battery to climb from 30% to 70%. We’re too hungry to fully recharge. The e-tron is a luxury vehicle with a premium price tag but comes with six years of free Chargefox network charging and other more valuable perks. Plus there’s no stamp duty on EVs in Tasmania.
Instead of continuing up the East Coast, as many do, we turn off into Dolphin Sands. At Melshell Oyster Shack we park beside a colourful awninged caravan and buy fresh oysters and cold beverages from friendly people. We eat in the sun overlooking the lagoon.
Backtracking to nipaluna/Hobart we stop in at Piermont Retreat, swim at Cressy Beach and do some cheese-eating and wine-tasting at Boomer Creek Vineyard. We stop at Me & Mum’s in Little Swanport where we buy coffee and homemade biscuits for the road, and end up meeting the owners and their friends. “We saw you in Swansea,” someone says.
Fifty kilometres out of Hobart we’re down to 50km of battery range. No problem; I shift from dynamic into efficiency drive mode, rapidly flap the appropriate paddle shift and roll into Audi with 17km to spare.
CLOCKWISE FROM LEFT The e-tron Sportback 50 Quattro is the perfect weekend getaway car; charging up is easy and familiar; the newly opened Electric Highway will ease any range anxiety you may have.
Get charging RACT members can save 20% at all Chargefox ultra-rapid EV charging stations. Visit ract.com.au/chargefox for details.
Test drive the Audi e-tron Sportback 50 Quattro at Audi Centre Hobart. Learn more at audicentrehobart.com.au
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