2023 Lexus UX

UX200 Luxury highlights:

• 17-inch alloy wheel
• LED headlights
• LED daytime running lights
• Shark fin roof-mounted antenna (NEW)
• Power-folding, heated door mirrors
• Rain-sensing window wipers
• 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment display (NEW)
• Wireless Apple CarPlay (NEW)
• Wired Android Auto
• DAB+ digital radio (NEW)
• Satellite navigation
• 10-speaker sound system (NEW)
• Dual-zone climate control
• Push-button start
• Washi instrument panel paper trim and stitching (NEW)
• Artificial leather upholstery
• Heated front seats
• 10-way power driver’s seat
• Eight-way power front passenger’s seat

Enhancement Package 1 adds:

• LED fog lights
• Parking support alert
• Parking support brake
• Blind-spot monitor
• Rear cross-traffic alert
• Keyless entry

UX200 Luxury and UX250h Luxury with EP2 add the features of EP1 plus:

• Power tailgate (kick sensor for hybrid models)
• Wireless phone charging
• Cornering lights
• Headlight washers
• Privacy glass
• Alloy scuff plates

Enhancement Pack 3 adds:

• Moonroof

18-inch alloy wheels are a standalone option on all Luxury models.

UX Sports Luxury adds:

• 18-inch alloy wheels
• ‘High-grade’ LED headlights with dynamic auto-levelling
• LED front indicators
• Adaptive high-beam system
• Auto power-folding exterior mirrors
  • Heating
  • Reverse link
  • Memory function
  • Driver’s side electrochromatic finish
• Panoramic view monitor
• 13-speaker Mark Levinson sound system
• Acoustic front and side glass
• ‘High-grade’ metallic finish door garnish and instrument cluster
• Leather-accented upholstery
• Front seat ventilation
• Driver seat memory
• Easy access system
• Removes sunroof

UX Sports Luxury Enhancement Pack adds:

• Sunroof
• Head-up display
• Smart key card

UX F-Sport adds:

• Dark premium metallic 18-inch wheels
• ‘Exclusive’ front and rear bumpers
• F Sport grille and badging
• Body-coloured wheel arches (NEW)
• Adaptive suspension
• F Sport steering wheel
• F Sport shift lever
• F Sport pedals
• Aluminium foot rest
• Active Sound Control
• 8-inch TFT digital instrument cluser
• F Sport Seats
• Removes acoustic glass
• Removes Mark Levinson premium audio
• Removes Panoramic View Monitor

UX F Sport Enhancement Pack 1 adds:

• Sunroof

UX F Sport Enhancement Pack 2 adds:

• Sunroof
• Surround-view camera
• 13-speaker Mark Levinson sound system
• Head-up display
• Smart key card

The UX is small but lovingly crafted inside.

Our tester had soft blue-and-white leather seats and a tri-tone dashboard, which contributed to a properly upmarket feel. It doesn’t come cheap, but you can’t question the Lexus-ness of the UX from behind the wheel.

The driving position is excellent. The seats might feel plush, but they have support in all the right places, and drop right down to the floor to accommodate tall drivers – or average-sized people who don’t want to feel like they’re sitting on phone books.

All the touch points are high-quality. The armrest and door trims are pillowy soft, and the compact steering wheel is trimmed in soft, waxy leather.

Even the indicators make the same satisfying click they do in more expensive Lexus models, and the instrument panel harks obviously back to the LFA supercar with its ringed central section and prominent digital speedo. It feels more special than its small SUV rivals.

It can’t come close to matching those rivals on the technology front, though. The high-set infotainment display looks flash… but has one of the worst user interfaces on the market, relying on a fiddly touchpad and in-house voice control.

This isn’t a new complaint; every Lexus review we’ve published features a variation of the same whinge. The UX has a set of shortcut buttons in front of its touchpad which help, but it’s still way too difficult to perform simple tasks at the moment. Here’s hoping the new NX SUV and its touch-focused setup is better.

Exterior changes for the 2023 model year include a new sharkfin antenna across the range, and body-coloured wheel arch cladding on F Sport models.

F Sport models also get a new brace in the steering gear, which together with the standard Adaptive Variable Suspension (AVS) system and rear performance dampers “quickly absorb body flex and minor vibrations to further sharpen handling and improve overall ride comfort and quietness,” according to Lexus.

Further to the F Sport’s technical developments, all UX models now have 20 additional spot-welding points on the body for greater stiffness, which is also claimed to improve road-holding and driver feedback.

Lexus says it has also retuned the UX’s electric power steering system and shock absorbers “to help provide a seamless transition between braking, steering and acceleration through bends and on a variety of road surfaces”.

The 2023 Lexus UX is available in the following exterior finishes:

• Sonic Quartz
• Titanium
• Sonic Chrome
• Onyx
• Graphite Black
• Caliente
• Khaki Metal
• Celestial Blue (Luxury and Sports Luxury only)
• Sonic Iridium (Luxury and Sports Luxury only) (NEW)
• Carnelian (F Sport only)
• White Nova (F Sport only)
• Cobalt Mica (F Sport only)

The UX is also available in the following interior colour schemes, depending on the variant.

• Black
• White Ash
• Rich Cream
• Hazel
• F Sport Black
• F Sport White
• F Sport Flare Red

The two-tone Cobalt interior from the pre-update range has been discontinued.

Servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first, and the first three services are capped at $495.

2023 Lexus UX200 models are powered by a 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine producing 126kW of power and 205Nm of torque, which now gets fuel-saving idle stop/start technology.

It’s mated exclusively to a continuously-variable transmission (CVT) with drive sent to the front wheels only.

UX250h models also use a 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated four-cylinder petrol engine with either one or two electric motors, and a 216V nickel-metal hydride battery pack. It’s also mated exclusively to a CVT.

The petrol engine in the hybrid powertrain produces 107kW and 188Nm, with the front electric motor producing 80kW and 202Nm. The rear electric motor in E-Four all-wheel drive models produces an additional 5.3kW and 55Nm.

Total system outputs for the hybrid powertrain, regardless of whether it has one or two electric motors, is 135kW.

The 2023 Lexus UX is covered by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty, like all new Lexus models.

Servicing is required every 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first.

This latest update to the UX brings a larger 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system, replacing the previous 10.3-inch unit.

The new infotainment system now supports wireless Apple CarPlay, though you’ll still need to plug in to use Android Auto.

There’s also DAB+ digital radio, satellite navigation, and an “expanded” 10-speaker system that replaces the previous eight-speaker system featured in the Luxury and F Sport grades.

Customers can now use a voice command feature, triggered by the phrase “Hey Lexus”, that can perform functions like changing the radio station or automatically lower the windows.

Using a inbuilt Data Communication Module (DCM), Lexus now offers a complimentary three-year subscription to Lexus Connected Services.

This connected services system offers access to features such as cloud-based connected navigation with live traffic, automatic collision notification, SOS emergency calling, stolen vehicle tracking, recent trip information, plus more.

The UX200 with 17-inch alloy wheels has a boot capacity of 419L, whereas with 18-inch alloy wheels it has a boot capacity of 424L. The UX250h has a boot capacity of 368L.

The Lexus UX is a lovely little SUV, with the emphasis on little.

It’s the quietest, most comfortable compact crossover on the market, and has a properly upmarket feel when you get inside.

The sense of luxury in some small SUVs is watered-down compared to their bigger siblings, but the UX feels like the real deal – a full-sized Lexus that’s been hit with a shrink ray.

Points also go to the UX for offering an efficient, refined hybrid powertrain. If you live in the city, it’s hard to argue with the benefits of going hybrid.

It’s just hard to recommend the model we tested, given it costs more than $60,000 before on-road costs. That money will buy you a base model NX, for example, or a mid-range BMW X1 with more space in the rear.

Love the unique brand of luxury for which Lexus is known, but have a small garage? The UX is perfect.

Want the most metal for your money? Best look elsewhere.