GRR Garage: We’re getting a Lexus UX!

So, what do we need to know about ‘our’ UX? Well first of all it comes to us in Takumi trim, which means we can expect to find some rather lovely 18-inch alloys, privacy glass, some quite-frankly astonishingly comfortable leather heated and cooled front seats, an all-around camera with front and rear parking sensors, blind spot notification, Lexus’s super-wide 10-inch infotainment screen, complete with Sat-Nav, a head-up display, heated steering wheel, automatic cruise control and climate control. For a small car, it’s pretty loaded with kit.

But, as with most Toyota-made products in 2019, the major talking point is the powertrain. Toyota and Lexus were basically the first company to mass-manufacture hybrid systems, and Lexus themselves were the pioneers of fitting them to SUVs with the second-generation RX back in the mid-2000s. Now hybrid systems are so ubiquitous in the Lexus range that even the stunning, range-topping LC can come fitted with one (in the form of the LC500h). Our UX might not command the performance that the LC is set up to bring, but what it will do is around 50mpg on the current WLTP cycle, probably a bit more important if you’re buying a UX than hitting 62mph in record time.

That powertrain, a ‘traditional’ non-plug-in hybrid system that Toyota and Lexus have recently begun to refer to as a “self-charging hybrid” (not without controversy), is a 2.0-litre inline-four petrol engine, fitted with an 80kW electric motor. That means a total of around 185PS, and it will roll around town at low speeds on pure-electric for a short distance depending on charge, meaning that the GRR lunchtime trip to the shops should be mostly done without burning any petrol. Thanks to that hybrid system, and if you fit the correct wheels, the UX can be bought in a tax-free form, but our car, with its bigger, higher-resistance boots, is not set to be such.

Before you ask, it’s in Azure Blue, the rather fetching launch colour for the UX (not the grey you see here) and from the outside it definitely catches the eye. The Lexus face is undeniable and the wheel arches are big and rugged, but don’t let that fool you, the UX is not a mud-plugger. The rear features a full width rear light cluster, following the late-2010s trend, and the brake lights are sculpted up away from the body, as if to channel some airflow. It’s definitely a striking machine, all wide-mouthed and angular, and it manages to look quite squat despite sitting high as a crossover, but we’ll let you make up your mind if it is good looking. It will definitely split opinion.

What will all this set you back? Well in Takumi trim the UX costs from £39,105 in two-wheel-drive form, or £40,335 for four-wheel-drive. We’ll be rolling around the Sussex countryside in it for the next month or so, so you’ll have plenty of time to decide if it’s worth it.