LEXUS UX

250h Takumi E-Four

What is it?

The UX is the compact, self charging hybrid SUV from Lexus. Sitting on Toyota’s new global architecture, as used by cars such as the latest Yaris, Prius and Camry, and other TGNA cars, the UX 250 should prove to be both engaging and comfortable to drive.

On the road

For the first couple of days it was Muddy Madam who kept hold of the keys, and I didn’t have a say in it, she was quite smitten by the UX, and trust me, that’s high praise, even before I start!

Whether it was on long journeys or just nipping to the shops, the 4 cylinder in-line 2.0 litre petrol engine mated to an electric CVT gearbox was lovely and smooth. The UX always starts in electric mode and silently pulls away, shifting to petrol at around 20mph, or sooner depending on how heavy my right foot was. The technology seamlessly selects the best power source (petrol or electric mode) based on your driving, and of course recovers the energy that would normally be wasted through regenerative braking.

Driving along the twisty roads heading towards Buxton, the UX was surprising agile - and fun. This is helped by Active Cornering Assist, which monitors the vehicle’s trajectory through curves and applies the appropriate braking on the inside wheels to suppress understeer - very clever stuff. All-wheel drive also gives the UX a sense of sure-footedness when things get a little damp.

Despite being a fun car to hoon around country lanes in, it’s equally at home in Eco mode bumbling around town in total silence using its electric motor, giving you a sense of smugness.

So far so good, yeah? Hmm, despite having a special acoustic windscreen that’s designed to cut down noise transmission, I found the UX isn’t as quiet as I would have hoped for. There was a fair bit of road noise emanating into the cabin from, I suspect, the low profile run-flat tyres. That said, it doesn’t help that both the engine and gearbox are so smooth and quiet, you’d probably hear the silent screams of flies and bugs as they come into contact with the windscreen!

Chatting to other motoring journos, the E-Four isn’t that much different to drive that the regular 2wd version, that’s because the E-Four system uses a separate dedicated electric motor that’s integrated into the rear differential, as opposed to the usual prop and drive shafts, and therefore only adds just 60kg to the weight of the vehicle.

During the week, that contained a variety of different journeys and speeds, it achieved just over 45mpg, which isn’t too far off Lexus official figures of between 47.1 - 53.3mpg.

Off road

As I mentioned, despite being the all-wheel-drive version, or E-Four as Lexus prefer to call it, it’s really designed for onroad slippery scenarios and snow, I can’t imagine you’ll see many UX owners green-laning.

That said, I did take the UX part way up Macclesfield Old Road, but it wasn’t much of a test as it hadn’t rained for a good few weeks, and the ground was dry and the terrain fairly tame.

Interior

It’s a lovely place to be, Lexus have obviously put a lot of thought into it and created a sort of layered dash that looks and feels classy.

Before I continue on laying on the superlatives, let’s get an annoyance out of the way.

The UX’s remote touchpad tech, that I believe is borrowed from other Lexus models, is awkward to use and the sat-nav isn’t very intuitive. In fact, trying to plot directions back to Bolton from Buxton, the system didn’t recognise Bolton as a place! I could’ve put my postcode in, but by this stage I’d had enough and used my iPhone instead. Like most things, I’m sure that once you’ve used it for a while it becomes easier.

Thankfully, this incident didn’t mar my experience; the seats, driving position and overall ambience inside the UX was one of class, and every time I jumped in, it made me smile.

I particularly liked the analogue style clock on the sticky-up infotainment screen. Just thought I’d throw that one in.

There are no dials for heater and temperature, rather a neat bank of switches just below the centre vents.

Rather peculiarly, attached to the side of the main binnacle you’ll find a large twistable knob for the Drive Mode Select that allows you to choose from 3 settings; Normal, Eco and of course Sport, that latter also tightens up the steering.

If you’re a tall passenger then you’d better call “shotgun” to claim first rights to the front seat as there isn’t much knee room in the back. The rear seats are comfy enough, there just isn’t that much space.

Regarding luggage capacity, with the rear seats in place you have 438 litres of space in the 2wd model, which decreases by 40 litres in the AWD.

With the seats folded flat you have 1231 litres in the 2wd and 1194 litres in the AWD.

Engine ’n’ transmission

The UX is only available with one engine and gearbox, a 2.0 litre, 181bhp four cylinder electrically assisted petrol engine and with a continuously variable transmission that produces the feeling of six gears.

You can either have front wheel drive or electrically powered all-wheel-drive, as in our test car.

Performance wise you’re looking at; 110mph, 181bhp, 0-60mph in 8.7 seconds and CO2 136g/km, and as I mentioned earlier, Lexus are claiming 47.1 - 53.3mpg.

Conclusion

Well, Muddy Madam wants one, which is the highest praise any manufacture could ever ask for!

Obviously it isn’t perfect, as I moaned a bit about the road noise, fiddly touchpad and sat-nav, but other than that it was a great car to live with for a week, and if we had a spare forty-odd grand to spend on an AWD hybrid, the UX250h would be high up on the list. It has a refined and sophisticated powertrain with a luxury interior, a host of driver assistance systems, with excellent seats, good economy and agile handling; what isn’t there to like?

price: from £29,955 (as tested - £41,420) more at » https://www.lexus.co.uk