2023 Lexus UX

Pros

• Excellent fuel savings
• A lot of popular tools
• Because the town is small, it’s easy to get around by car.

Cons

• Gradual acceleration
• The back seat is too full
• A small room for bags and a high liftover height

How do you move the UX 250h? Even though the UX 250h is easy to drive around town, it is prolonged for a luxury car. In our tests, it took a slow 10 seconds to 60 mph. It is tied to the UX, which has some of the excellent quickness of the Toyota Corolla and nicely weighted steering—however, the extra height and weight cause the car to roll over a lot in curves.

Overall, the hybrid UX is most at home in the city, where handling skills aren’t as necessary, and the engine can stay in its middle power range. At low speeds, the brakes can feel jerky and are hard to change so that they stop the car with the right amount of force.

How well does the UX 250h feel? Even though the UX 250h is a nice car, it doesn’t live up to what we expected for the price. The chairs are certainly one of the highlights of this piece. They are made of smooth leather and have padding that keeps them comfortable even on long trips. While moving, there isn’t much noise from the wind or the engine, but when you ask for power, the engine makes a terrible racket. It would help if you also dealt with annoying road noise and pinging tires because the ground isn’t even. Even though the ride isn’t as smooth as we’d like because of the run-flat tires, the suspension smooths out bumps.

Because some changes are hidden in the infotainment settings, the best thing to do with the temperature control system is to leave it in auto mode. Some fans are loud and close to the driver’s hands, even when only partly turned on.

How does the inside look? Even though the UX’s cabin is pretty big, there are more comfortable places to live. The front and back seats have a lot of room, and the back seat can fit two full-size people. The situation suits people who want to sit low in the car. If you like to sit up straight in your SUV, there are better things. The height of the front seats is easy to change, but the steering wheel doesn’t move much. This is important because, at their lowest setting, the front seats can be challenging for people with limited movement to get in and out of.

It takes time to get used to and can be more challenging to use than other choices. The thick roof beams, especially those at the back door, make it hard to see everything.

How good is the tech? Lexus’s infotainment system, based on a trackpad, is one of the more frustrating in the luxury market. Voice commands are helpful but have limits, and some orders must be done in several steps. There are many places to charge your phone in the car, including two USB ports for people in the backseat, but Android Auto is prohibited. On the other hand, the sound system is excellent in any setting, which is what we’d expect from a Lexus.

Active driving aid features that come as standard are unusually simple for a luxury car. Driver assistance systems, on the other hand, are meticulous. They leave too much space between themselves and the vehicle in front of them and stop the car suddenly, which is not at all a high-end experience.

What about putting things away? From the outside, the trunk floor looks much lower than it is. There is a total of 17.1 cubic feet of room for your items. Since there is no space-taking spare tire, this is fine for a car but a little tight for a small SUV.

Inside, the glovebox and door pockets are small, but small water bottles can fit in the door pockets. Even though it isn’t huge, the smartphone tray in the middle center box is helpful. Even though the front cupholders are made not to tip over, they are small. There are also pockets and places to put cups in the back seats.

How well does it use gasoline? The UX 250h is a small luxury SUV, but it is expected to get 39 mpg in combined drive. According to the tests we did in the field, the EPA’s estimate is correct. When you ask for more speed, the car’s setup makes it easy to drive well without any lag or punishment.

Does the UX 250h’s price make sense? The inside of the UX is built and made beautifully, with lots of soft-touch materials. Every surface has a different texture, giving the space depth and an exciting look. Most of the time, Lexus warranties are better than average.

The UX 250h is a good choice if you want a reliable car that gets good gas mileage. But you’ll probably be disappointed if you expect a great deal—our test car costs about $40,000, the same price as the base RX 350 compact car. You can choose a cheaper version with fewer technical and material changes, but that gets too close to a well-equipped RAV4 Hybrid to be comfortable.

The UX 250h stands out from almost all of its competitors because of how it was designed and built. It is not, however, fun. The UX is slow and heavier than other products on the market. Even though it has the same stable and capable chassis as the Corolla, it is suffocated by being a Lexus and needs to be coaxed out.

The UX 250h Premium, which comes standard with an electric liftgate and front seats that can be heated or cooled, is the trim level most purchasers will select. The Premium model has a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system and a better sound system than the basic model, which doesn’t have either.

Lexus UX 250h models

There are four trim options for the 2023 Lexus UX 250h: base, Premium, F Sport Design, and F Sport Handling. Each has a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine that powers a front-wheel-drive hybrid system. It has 181 horsepower and can be driven on all four wheels. Drivers can choose from regular, Sport, Eco, and EV modes. The F Sport Handling adds a Custom driving mode and changes Sport mode into Sport S, Sport S+, and Sport S++.