SEXY LEXUS
The new subcompact LBX is a nice piece of luxury at a low price
LEXUS for less than 40 grand, you say? There must a catch, surely. Well, there isn’t and there is.
The new LBX is a subcompact crossover, and you’ll get it at that price in the entrylevel Elegant trim. The catch is a small one. It doesn’t come with keyless entry, and the tailgate is manually operated.
It comes in solid colours only, has no privacy glass, and has just two charging ports for your devices.
For the sake of just over two grand more, though, at €41,600, you get the two-tone paint option, five charging ports plus wireless charge pad, dark grey alloy wheels, perforated black Tahara leather upholstery, privacy glass, and smart entry.
If you were buying on PCP, it would be a no-brainer. Just pay the extra for the Emotion grade and be done with it, because it’s one of the smallest price walks to make a good car perfect.
In every other respect, there is no difference. The 1.5 petrol-electric hybrid powertrain is identical, and the headline figure of 9.2 seconds from 0100kph belies the fact it feels a lot livelier than that. In no small part, this is due to the dimensions.
The LBX has a wraparound feel you’d expect in a MINI, and this makes it far more of a driver’s car than I reasonably expected. The weight distribution is excellent, and it leads to nimble handling and a very smooth ride. Only once, when I didn’t notice a sign warning of a speed bump, was the effect actually jarring, but it was my own fault for hitting it at too high a speed. Otherwise, the suspension is particularly well set up for long drives, when there is a welcome airiness and grace to it.
The continuous variable transmission (CVT) is sweeter than I remember in other Lexus models, though it can be a little noisy if you press too hard on the accelerator. That 0-100kph time is not up there with full EV models in the same segment, but as I’ve often said here, anything sub 10 seconds works for me, and it clears that hurdle by 0.8 of a second.
LBX stands for Lexus Breakthrough Crossover, and that’s a little fanciful, because the car shares much of its underpinnings with the Yaris Cross from parent company Toyota. Don’t be alarmed, though, because in every detail on the outside and in the interior, this is no Toyota.
The Lexus finish always is a premium one, and I loved a lot about the cabin. There’s a lovely grip to the Tahara leather steering wheel, which feels almost like wetsuit fabric, all soft and spongy. You’ll never worry about sweaty palms again.
The Ammonite Sand Tahara leather upholstery is a lovely warm shade that really lightens the cabin. I’d be nervous of how it would wear long term if you always had children in the car, but for a lone adult, it’s really attractive. Talking of children, the rear seats are best for the smaller family members. If you had a couple of six-footers there, they’d be pushed for space and, let’s be tactful, if middle-aged spread was an issue too, this really is a fourseater based on width.
The boot space is good at 332 litres, but the compromise here is that there is no spare tyre, just a puncture repair kit. Up front, you get a seven-inch instrument cluster and a 9.8-inch infotainment screen, Bluetooth for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, and six speakers.
I particularly liked the positioning of the screen, the top of which sits below the dashboard line, infinitely preferable to those that poke their heads above it. Joy of joys, there also are flip switches for temperature control, rather than having to flick through a distracting screen menu.
My car came in an attractive silver, as you can see from the photo here taken in glorious sunshine in Courtown, Co. Wexford. It’s a standout, especially against the dark grey 18-inch alloys.
As you would expect from Lexus, the safety systems are multiple, and include Safety Sense 3, lots of airbags, pre-collision system, front pedestrian and cyclist detection, daytime-only front motorcyclist detection, emergency driving stop system, emergency steering assist, proactive driving assist, intersection turning assist, predictive efficient drive, rearview camera, road sign assist, lane trace assist, dynamic radar cruise control, adaptive speed limiter, anti-theft system, and intelligent parking assist sensors front and rear.
I didn’t quite get the advertised fuel economy of 4.5l/100km, but I wasn’t far off, and with cheap motor tax or €180, and low running costs, the LBX is a nice piece of luxury at a low price. I was rather taken with it.