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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.

Production Lexus NX small CUV headed for Geneva

Just five months ago, our spy photographers caught what appeared to be a mule for the forthcoming Lexus NX crossover with the body of a CT 200h for disguise. Then the LF-NX Concept CUV debuted at the Frankfurt Motor Show (it showed up at the Tokyo Motor Show as well) with a massive spindle grille and an extreme version of Lexus' sharp-edged new styling language on full display. Now Auto Express reports that a production version of the LF-NX concept will grace the Geneva Motor Show next March and go on sale next summer. If the names that Lexus trademarked a while back are any indication, it'll come in two trims, NX 200t and NX 300h.
Concept vehicles often look outrageously bold, with more extroverted styling than what eventually makes it into the production version. But Lexus reportedly will leave much of the LF-NX concept's styling alone for the production version, citing its customers' changing tastes.
"What we're finding is that these days customers want to be more expressive, so a lot of the concept's inherent design will come out in the finished car," says Paul Van der Burgh, Lexus' European director. "Why would you want something that looked like everything else in the segment?"

2019 Lexus ES 350 starts at just $550 more than outgoing model

Lexus wants you to pay attention to the 2019 ES. The all-new, seventh-generation midsize sedan that Lexus benchmarked against the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and Audi A6 gets a base price that just a few hundred over the old car. The entry-level ES 350 starts at $39,500; after $1,025 for destination and handling, that's $40,525 out the door and $550 more Washingtons than the 2018 model required. The mid-level ES 300h starts at $43,310, or $44,335 out the door. That saves $510 compared to the 2018 version, and it gets better fuel economy. The all-new ES 350 F Sport starts at $44,035, for $45,060 out the door. Every model rides on the Toyota New Global Architecture, known as GA-K here. The lighter, stiffer body hides improved mechanicals like rack-mounted electric power steering, and a new multilink rear suspension that encouraged fun driving during our recent review. The updated Lexus Safety System+ 2.0 comes standard on all models, and incorporates new features like daytime bicyclist detection and low light pedestrian detection. The ES 350 and ES 350 F Sport get a 3.5-liter V6 with 302 horsepower and 267 pound-feet of torque, 34 hp and 19 lb-ft over the former sedan, working through a new eight-speed transmission. The F trim makes itself known with 19-inch wheels, rear spoiler, and retuned suspension. EPA ratings for the ES 350 come in at 22 mpg city, 33 mpg highway and 26 mpg combined, an increase of two more miles per gallon on the combined cycle. The ES 350 F Sport is rated at 22 mpg city, 31 mpg highway and 25 mpg combined. The ES 350h uses a 2.5-liter Atkinson-cycle four-cylinder with fourth-generation Hybrid Drive. The 215 total horsepower from the ICE and electric motor returns 43 mpg city, 45 mpg highway, and 44 mpg combined. Lexus says this makes it the most frugal luxury car out there that doesn't have a plug. The ES is also the first Lexus to offer Apple CarPlay, on top of being able to use Amazon Alexa to communicate between the sedan and the home. The 2019 Lexus ES goes on sale in September. Related Video: