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2020 Lexus UX Review & Buying Guide | Stylish and small, with a hint of Corolla

The 2020 Lexus UX is the smallest and cheapest Lexus out there, and with the UX 250h hybrid model, it’s mighty efficient, too. The UX was completely new last year, as Lexus finally entered the fast-expanding subcompact car segment. WeÂ’re impressed with the original design and quality of this least expensive Lexus, although there are some necessary compromises that were made along the way to achieve its low price. Voluminous interior space is obviously not a priority in this smallest luxury SUV segment, but the UX is nevertheless one of the least spacious. It's also far from the most fun to drive and is hampered by frustratingly slow acceleration regardless of powertrain choice. All-wheel drive can also only be had with the hybrid. In those ways, its European competition are handily superior. Still, Lexus has implemented some unique and new tech features in this crossover, not seen in other Lexus vehicles. The distinctive design and the hybrid systemÂ’s excellent efficiency are two other major selling points, and even if we wouldn't call the UX fun, its composed handling and comfortable ride yield a perfectly pleasant driving experience. What's new for 2020? The Lexus UX was totally new for 2019, so changes for 2020 are minimal. Lexus added Android Auto functionality (it already had Apple CarPlay). It's also added rear cross-traffic alert as an option to be packaged with the car's blind-spot monitoring system. What's the interior and in-car technology like? From the comfortable and supportive driver seat, the UX looks and feels like a proper Lexus. The design is consistent with, but, refreshingly, not a copy of other models. There are common details like the drive mode setting selectors that sprout from the instrument panel and the F-Sport's sliding gauge cluster within, while the available 10.25-inch infotainment display is perched atop a low, flat dash. The materials covering the dash and front doors are appropriate for this luxury price point and consistent with the ES 350, if not higher-priced Lexus models. By contrast, the hard plastic door panels in the rear are disappointingly more consistent with a Toyota Corolla. However, the UX features unique touches (we like the contrast-color dash and door trim available) and offers different controls than other Lexus models. The climate system is operated by unique toggle switches, while the air vents have little rotary controllers that look and feel better than those in a Lexus ES.

2022 Lexus UX gets new colors and a single new feature

If you were waiting to see what Lexus would do with the 2022 UX before committing to buy, the answer is "make tiny cosmetic changes." Outside, the biggest addition is that shoppers have a choice of new colors, although we can't tell yet what those colors are. Between the Lexus press release and images, the new colors mentioned are Grecian Water and Cloudburst Gray. Grecian Water is the rich blue hue that appeared on the 2021 UX Black Line special edition toward the end of last year — very pretty, but there'd be signs to avoid the beach if the Aegean ever turned this color. Cloudburst Gray featured on the 2021 Lexus IS and is migrating to the UX, and looks like an overcast day. And also as on the UX Black Series, buyers who opt for the Premium, Luxury, or F Sport packages can choose to have the UX body color extended to the normally black wheel arches. Inside the cabin, Grecian Water comes with a choice of either Black, Birch NuLuxe, or Birch NuLuxe with a Lapis washi dash. Cadmium Orange is available now on the 2021 UX and carries over, but will offer new interior choices to go with.  The UX received a refresh for this year consisting of a minor nip and tuck and some safety features being added as standard. The powertrains remain the 2.0-liter four-cylinder in the UX 200 putting out 169 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque, and a more efficient version of the same 2.0-liter assisted by a hybrid system in the UX 250H for 181 system horsepower. The runt of the Lexus litter is outsold in the U.S. by everything else in the lineup save for the flagship LS sedan and the ancient LX SUV, and we'll wager that changes when the new LX arrives. Even so, the UX sold fractionally better here last year than it did in 2019, and the numbers so far in 2021 are better than last year. We've asked Lexus for more information about the paints for next year, we'll update the post if we get a response. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.

Lexus F label to become even more performance oriented

Lexus has plans to take its F performance label to even greater heights, according to officials. That's one of the key reasons the IS 500 F Sport Performance wasn't a full-blown IS F, Lexus executives said. Speaking before a gathering of Lexus enthusiasts at the IS 500 Launch Edition's, uh, launch at Sebring Raceway, group vice president and general manager of the Lexus division Andrew Gilleland reaffirmed that the IS 500 F Sport Performance is the first in a line of high-performance but sub-F cars (at 5:11 in the video below). "There will definitely be more vehicles. There's a lot more coming where this came from," Gilleland said, eliciting cheers from the gathered crowd of enthusiasts. This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings. Gilleland then pointed at Lexus product planner Cooper Erickson and told the fans, many of whom had brought their own tuned F cars to the event, "If you want to see more of this," gesturing to the IS 500, "Go bug the s--t out of him." Erickson himself then took to the stage and discussed how the IS 500 came to be and the future of the F designation (at 6:17 in the video). First, he acknowledged that sedan sales are challenging. He also described the 2021 IS's chassis as a combination of the GS and RC platforms, which grew the track 1.4 inches wider. "If it's part GS and part RC, then why can't we drop a big-ass V8 in it?" Erickson wanted to know. "Nobody's doing that. But, we can," Erickson continued, "Because we do an amazing job with our hybrid products. So from a CAFE, greenhouse gas and emissions standpoint, we can manage having a V8 in a car like this when nobody else can." However, it still required approval from the mothership in Toyota City. So during an event at Pebble Beach, Erickson told Lexus chief engineer Koji Sato that he wanted to bring back the IS F. "Let's put the V8 in it, Let's do an IS F," he told Sato. At first, Sato's reply seemed like a no. "We have new plans for F," he explained. "F will be higher. Only Akio [Toyoda] can approve F [cars]." The CEO is known for being one of the few carmaker heads that actually moonlights as a racing driver. Erickson said that even if the IS F was off the table, he still wanted a V8-powered IS. "So what if we call it IS 500 F Sport? Who can approve that?" Sato's reply: "Cooper-san, I can approve that." Apparently the rest is history. This content is hosted by a third party.