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2019 Lexus UX now the most affordable Lexus

The 2019 Lexus UX subcompact crossover now has official pricing, and it makes it the most affordable Lexus model available. The standard, non-hybrid Lexus UX 200 starts at $33,025, and the hybrid Lexus UX 250h starts at $35,025. This means the base UX is roughly $4,000 cheaper than the next most affordable Lexus, the compact NX 300 crossover. Not only that, but the UX 200 undercuts some of the little crossover's main rivals such as the Mercedes-Benz GLA 250 and BMW X1. The former starts at $34,945, and the latter starts at $34,895. With the basic Lexus UX 200, you get a naturally aspirated 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that's also found in the new Toyota Corolla hatchback. It makes 169 horsepower, 151 pound-feet of torque, and it goes solely to the front wheels via the same kind of CVT as the Corolla, complete with 10 selectable ratios and a special short-ratio gear for takeoff. If you want all-wheel-drive, you'll have to opt for the UX 250h hybrid. That model features 175 horsepower and a rear electric motor to provide power to the back wheels. Notably, both of these UX models are significantly down in power and torque compared with the aforementioned German rivals. The Mercedes GLA 250 makes 208 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque, and the BMW X1 makes 228 horsepower and 258 pound-feet of torque. Regardless of whether you pick the basic UX 200 or the UX 250h, you'll get at least a six-speaker sound system with a 7-inch infotainment screen. It also comes with Apple CarPlay, though Android Auto is not available. The UX models can be optioned with larger infotainment displays all the way up to a 10.25-inch example. All models also come standard with adaptive cruise control, lane-keep assist and forward collision prevention with pedestrian detection. The UX 200 will be the first on sale starting this December, and the UX 250h hybrid will become available the following month. Related Video:

Lexus takes to Pikes Peak in RC F GT Concept

Lexus is gearing up to take on Pikes Peak with the RC F GT Concept you see here, developing the new racing prototype for the venerable hillclimb event. Different from the more extreme GT3 and GT500 racing concepts we've seen to date, the new GT concept is more closely based the road-going RC F. Only it's leaner and meaner and ready to take on the grueling 12.4-mile race to the clouds and all its 156 turns. The RC F GT packs the same 5.0-liter V8 and eight-speed automatic transmission as the production model. The major difference is that it weighs some 800 pounds less, thanks largely to the widespread use of carbon fiber body panels and polycarbonate windows. It also incorporates a more aggressive aero kit and rolling stock, and allows the technicians to tune the engine for competition applications. To tackle the Peak, Lexus is handing the keys over to none other than Justin Bell, the former GT2 class winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the FIA GT Championship. He'll be fielding the RC F GT in the Time Attack class for production-based vehicles, while providing Lexus engineers with valuable performance data and the chance to develop components for future applications. Two years ago, the IS F CCS-R prototype competed in the same event, and served as a test bed to develop the powertrain that went into the RC F that followed. Related Video: LEXUS TO COMPETE IN 2015 PIKES PEAK INTERNATIONAL HILL CLIMB WITH ALL-NEW RC F GT CONCEPT - V8 Powered, Production Car-based Coupe to be Driven by Justin Bell - RC F GT Program to Serve as Key Developmental Tool for F brand Engineering June 22, 2015 TORRANCE, Calif. (June 22, 2015) – On June 28th, Lexus will compete in the Time Attack class of the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb. The luxury automaker will be campaigning the all-new RC F GT Concept, a vehicle that builds upon the legacy of the IS F CCS-R vehicles that last competed at Pikes Peak in 2013. This historic event, now in its 93rd running, is a race against the clock that tests man and machine with the changing elements, altitude, and a treacherous 12.42 mile, 156 turn course that winds up the peak from 9,390 feet up to the 14,115 foot summit. The new Lexus will be piloted up the mountain by British driving ace, 24 Hours of Le Mans winner, and automotive media personality Justin Bell. "With very little time behind the wheel, the RC F GT Concept has already proven fast and easy to drive, very much like the production models, actually.

Lexus in no hurry to be a big player in China

For a while now, China's spiraling wealth, population and development has had the world's luxury automakers in an expansionist fervor, with many executives exhibiting the sort of gleefully maniacal behavior historically reserved for gold-rush prospectors. Yet Toyota, of all companies, is exercising a surprising amount of caution in the Asian nation.
As The Wall Street Journal notes, Toyota's premium brand, Lexus, sold all of 64,000 vehicles in China last year, while BMW cleared its books of 326,000. In fact, it didn't even bother entering the market until 2005, while rival Audi built its first car in the market a decade and a half earlier. Even now, Lexus doesn't build any vehicles in China, and with the country's notoriously high tariffs on imports, that's a major disadvantage. Yet the business daily quotes Lexus executive vice president Mark Templin as saying that the brand is nowhere near ready to start building cars in the market. "We're not having those discussions about when we're going to go to China... We have a lot of work to do before we get to that point."
Part of that work includes establishing a more expansive dealer network - Lexus only had 99 stores as of 2012, while rival Mercedes-Benz had over two-and-a-half times as many, and it's still expanding. Adding a lot of dealers without having a goodly number of competitively priced offerings for them to sell may seem like an odd strategy, but Templin tells the WSJ that the goal is to "cultivate our image for quality and customer service and let the customers that we have go tell that story for us."