The 2019 Lexus UX250h is a pleasant little hybrid crossover
Subcompact crossovers are coming on fast. There seems to be a new one every month, as manufacturers eagerly enter the growing market segment. Lexus already has the subcompact NX, which competes with the Audi Q3, the BMW X1, the Mercedes-Benz GLA, and the Volvo XC40; it’s adding this new, much smaller UX to surround the segment. What the UX lacks in size, it more than compensates for with its styling — the body sort of looks like an amateur ice sculpture.
Like its siblings, the larger NX and the RX, the Lexus UX is
offered with a standard gasoline engine, a 2.0-liter inline-four that powers the UX200 and, as a hybrid, the UX250h. The standard version is front-wheel drive; only the hybrid comes with all-wheel drive. But the UX250h’s all-wheel-drive system doesn’t use a driveshaft. Like the RX450h, the UX hybrid uses an electric motor to power the rear wheels, and it works only at speeds up to 45 mph.
Riding on Toyota’s new compact architecture, the UX is a first cousin to the Toyota Corolla hatchback and the C-HR crossover. Although billed as a crossover, the UX sits pretty low. If you just stepped out of Lexus’s behemoth LX570, the ride height and driving position will seem positively carlike. A glance at the numbers bears out the impression: At 59.8 inches, the UX sits only a couple of inches higher than the Corolla hatchback. There’s not much room in the cargo area, either. As a result of the battery pack, the hybrid version holds 17 cubic feet to the nonhybrid’s 22 cubes.
The more time we spend with the UX250h, the more we see it as a replacement for the discontinued CT200h, just dressed to look like what people buy in 2019. We count this as a good thing because it’s easy to forget you’re in a socalled crossover when driving the UX. Body motions are kept in check, and there’s a responsiveness to the steering that borders on sporty.
Acceleration, however, is nowhere near sporty. The UX250h hit 60 mph in 8.6 seconds, which isn’t very quick even by compact-crossover standards. That tepid acceleration can be largely blamed on the 3600-pound curb weight. There’s only so much a couple of electric motors and an Atkinson-cycle 2.0-liter that combine for 181 horsepower can do against that mass. While the hybrid’s powertrain does make 12 horsepower more than the UX200, it also carries a 180-cell nickel-metal hydride battery and two electric drive motors, one at each end. Of course, those two motors boost initial acceleration and will squirt out a bit more passing power, but they also add mass. As in all Lexus hybrids, the electric motors can provide brief moments of engine-off driving.
Of greater importance to hybrid buyers will be fuel economy. The EPA estimates the UX250h will get 41 mpg in the city and 39 on the highway; we averaged 31 mpg. Drive it like you’re interested in maximizing each gallon, and the UX will please. The powertrain is largely silent, the ride is supple, and the atmosphere is modern. Interior materials are excellent, and the virtual gauges behind the steering wheel are as elegant as in the rest of the Lexus lineup. A large screen sits at the top of the instrument panel. Interacting with the infotainment screen is done by a pad next to the shifter — hey, a real shifter! (That’s a rarity among Toyota hybrids.) There’s a learning curve to getting the touchpad and its adjacent secondary buttons and scrolling wheels to control what’s on the screen, but it’s not nearly as annoying as Acura’s touchpad system in the new RDX. Still, touchpads of these type in general have the frustrating tendency to pull our eyes away from the road much more than we’d prefer.
Aside from the polarizing exterior design and the parsimonious fuel economy, there’s nothing really attention-grabbing about the UX250h. Should your attention turn to the UX250h and the desire to write a check for $35,025 overwhelm you, you’ll be delighted that this new Lexus goes down the road with a controlled and refined manner in line with other Lexus products. You’ll also find joy in the high-quality interior and, of course, the fuel economy. The two-box shape is inherently practical, but the UX is smaller than its competition. If this sounds a bit boring, at least the exterior design guarantees no one will think you’re someone who makes boring choices.