EPICURE Early Spring 2020

LEXUS UX F SPORT
Motoring Journalist Sue Cooke reviews the
versatile ‘urban explorer’; the new Lexus
UX F Sport
If you were to buy a new car tomorrow what powerplant
would you choose? According to research from
GoCompare Car Insurance 22% of motorists would
choose to buy a hybrid. They are more eco-friendly than
conventional petrol or diesel cars and fuel costs and road tax
can be cheaper.
And I fell completely under the spell of the Lexus UX hybrid.
This compact SUV is powered by a petrol engine and an
electric motor. A green EV icon lights up when electric
only is engaged. Accelerate hard and the indicator moves to
power. Coast down a hill and the indicator moves to charge.
What the UX can also do is to regenerate the electric motor
through gentle braking. It’s a marvellous system and with
CO2 emissions of 97g/km, the UX sits in a very low VED
band of E.
I normally find one or two things about the cars I road
test which I don’t like but there isn’t a single thing with the
UX, oh, apart from the silly name which has prehistoric
connotations. However, there is nothing ancient about the
technology in this SUV. Slide into the very supportive bucket
seats and Lexus’ signature luxury and attention to detail is
impressive. Press the power button and a wow factor galaxy
of stars appears in front of the driver. Press it again and a
digital display of dials emerge behind the steering wheel. Just
to assure you that the car is ready to move off in soundless
electric mode, the word ‘Ready’ appears on the screen.
I like the soundless electric drive, but press hard on the
accelerator and an adrenalin inducing sportscar roar is
emitted. Active Sound Control generates the aural effect
of up and down shifts like those of a geared automatic
transmission. An additional Sonic Interaction Design
function adjusts the sound the vehicle makes when driving
in Sport S+ mode..
Adding to the anticipation are two levers which jut out of the
steering wheel column. They look like horns and certainly
one has a very racy purpose. Turn this to Sport S+ and the
digital dial turns red and white and a distinct deep heart beat
can be heard. Or perhaps it was mine! This mode enhances
the car’s handling and stability when cornering and provides
a more dynamic driving feel. Other modes are Sport when
the dial goes red or Eco and the face goes blue.
Lexus calls the UX an ‘urban explorer’ and the plethora of
futuristic standard equipment is much too long to list here.
There is even an easy to use mini ipad which operates the
radio, sat nav etc. What I also like is the braking system.
You can just forget about it. The ‘hand brake’ automatically
engages when you stop and disengages when you accelerate.
Lexus says the UX is a gateway model to help the company
achieve its target of 100,000 annual sales in Europe by 2020.
In my opinion, this compact SUV has everything to support
this target.
FACTS AT A GLANCE
MODEL: Lexus UX F Sport Hybrid
PRICE: £33,900otr
ENGINE: 2 litre petrol and 181bhp
electric motor
PERFORMANCE: 0-62 in 8.5 seconds and on to a
top speed of 110 mph
CO2 EMISSIONS: 97g/km
COMBINED FUEL CONSUMPTION: WLTP 49.5-
53.2mpg
116 EPICURE | Early Spring 2020
EPICURE Early Spring 2020.indd 116 24/01/2020 15:31