2019 Lexus UX250h Hybrid - Interior, Exterior Experience

2019 Lexus UX250h Hybrid - Interior, Exterior Experience https://goo.gl/euBnYA

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 so-called crossover when driving the UX. Body motions are kept in check, and there's a responsiveness to the steering that borders on sporty.