Lexus UX Hybrid Checks Most Of The Brand’s Usual Boxes, But Not All

Lexus long has been one of my favorite automotive brands, and I’ve often marveled at how the Toyota-owned luxury marque has been able to score one direct hit after another in product innovation as the industry has evolved rapidly in terms of vehicle types, technologies and styling.

That’s why I had high hopes for the Lexus UX Hybrid compact SUV when I recently drove one. And while the smallest Lexus crossover impressed me overall, as nearly every Lexus does, I was disappointed with a couple aspects of the execution that struck me as below the brand’s usual extremely high standards, established over the last half-century.

UX has been around for about five years now, having emerged as the brand’s answer to capturing the youngest cohort of American consumers who can afford and want a premium SUV but may want to afford — or need — only a small one. Lexus downsized its basic proposition to fit the UX footprint, hoping the new model also would serve as a fresh gateway for younger buyers into a brand whose main customer was continuing to age.

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To a great degree, the 2023 UX Hybrid I drove recently upheld the high standards I’d become used to with Lexus vehicles. For this model year, UX is offered exclusively in hybrid form, coming in front- and all-wheel-drive versions, and it delivers the requisite excellent mileage, with an EPA-estimated 39mpg in combined driving. With front-wheel drive, the UX Hybrid gets an EPA-estimated 43 mpg in the city and 41 mpg on the highway, with the AWD version registering a tad less fuel efficiency.

And the driving experience was generally fine, producing about the punch you’d expect without lagging or feeling like you’re not getting enough power.

Still, unlike in larger Lexus crossovers and SUVs, you’re continually aware that this is a fuel sipper, not a street burner. The powertrain consists of two electric motors and a 2.0-liter, four-cylinder engine that produce a combined 181 horsepower. All models are paired with a nicely functioning continuously variable transmission. Yet at various times I found myself feeling like Lexus could have given me more of the smoothly delivered power that it has found ways to engineer into all of its other models.

The handling of the UX also met my expectations for Lexus, with minimal body lean and a tight turning radius, along with the smooth ride — even in a little vehicle — that the brand has become known for. Throw in the usual well-executed Lexus styling, and a rear liftgate and folding back seat for utility. There’s also a nifty “hidden” compartment in the rear underneath a cargo cover.

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But while the interior of the UX Hybrid is packed with amenities that come standard, I was disappointed with the high level of wind noise inside, which struck me as most un-Lexus-like.

I suppose even Lexus engineers had to arrive at some compromises as they put together the UX and continually have upgraded it over the last several years. After all, with a base price well under $40,000 and the fuel-efficiency appeal of a hybrid, this vehicle is the first sniff that many aspiring luxury buyers can get of this leading brand — and it’s a worthy one.