First Drive: Lexus UX 2019 Review

Today's vocabulary word is "Xenial". If you know what it means, you know more than I do before traveling to Stockholm, Sweden to drive the all-new Lexus UX 2019.

It turns out that Xenials are all around us and that most of us do not know it. In fact, there could be 25 million in the United States alone. If you were born in the early 1980s, you are a Xenial and, according to Lexus, you had an "analog" childhood and a "digital" adult age.

FIRST LOOK: LEXUS UX 2019

Lexus knows it because he's been looking at you with dollar signs in his eyes. He even built for Xenials what he considers to be the ultimate vehicle for urban exploration, the 2019 UX crossover.

Yeah, if there is something that Lexus plans to pursue relentlessly – apart from perfection, of course – it's Xenials. And the new UX is the bait.

The new Lexus starter is a crossover

The UX is likely to appeal to a much wider range of people than just Xenials, of course. But understanding them can be helpful in knowing the nuances of the UX compared to all other compact crossovers and understanding the reasons why Lexus made design and product decisions.

Born in the early 1980s, the Xenials are a demographic group between the X and Y generations. Today, the Xenials are in their thirties, but young people are usually not, but they are not robots. they appreciate the more organic and visceral experiences they could remember from their youth.

The more professionals start earning money in their careers and paying off their student loans, Lexus expects them to look for their first car "to reward". It's the perfect time for luxury car manufacturers like Lexus to lure them into the trade with an awesome entry-level product. The decision to attract them with a crossover and not a coupe, a sedan or a sexy convertible was obvious.

On the one hand, SUVs and crossover vehicles have been gaining popularity since Xenials were in elementary school and now account for 58% of all new car sales.

In addition, Lexus customers are particularly attracted to SUVs. Although they still offer more passenger car models than SUVs – six sedans and coupes versus four utility models – they account for more than two-thirds of the company's total sales volume (69%, to be exact).

The four most popular Lexus SUVs are by far the mid-size compact NX and RX crossovers, which offer a bit more ground clearance, cargo space and off-road capabilities than passenger cars. structural components. Further up the price / prestige ladder is the rugged but aging GX truck-based and flagship LX SUV, the latter pushing up $ 100,000.

The new UX 200 and the UX 250h hybrid will be placed underneath them when they arrive in the showrooms at the end of the year. And with starting prices of $ 33,025 and $ 35,025 respectively (including shipping and delivery) and two more for the F Sport versions of each, the UX is Lexus' most affordable crossover and the most more affordable society.

UX design: crossover, or aggro hatchback?

Lexus may have clearly understood that it needed a fifth utility vehicle, but the form this vehicle could take was not so obvious.

I can imagine Lexus targeting the Xenials with a Jeep Wrangler off-road adventure machine, but the UX-U for "Urban", X for "Crossover" -shifts to 180 degrees, adopting more a hatchback approach that gives drivers a good view of their environment, but does not have a real appetite for off-road activities.

Stylistically, the UX is clearly identifiable as a Lexus, thanks to its great expression of the brand's trademark grille. But the UX is as short, squat, and within the Lexus family, packaged in a very unique way. Indeed, it's hardly an SUV.

Like the Toyota C-HR crossover, which some members of the company recognize is a relatively close company, the UX helps you deal with its various scoops and body contours. The casual crossover looks like thick-looking front wings and black trim around the lower body and on the wings to visually elevate the UX and contribute to its correct SUV image projection.

That said, the UX seems more consistent than the C-HR, whether it's a standard model or a F Sports version. Each of them receives its own treatment for the grille of the spindle, the front of the standard model having thick L-shaped pieces, different according to the angle under which they are observed. The F Sport adopts an interlaced L mesh.

The F Sport is also equipped with thick air / fog lamp assemblies that support the entire front fascia, while standard models feature more refined vertical elements in the same location and no fog lights. Equally astonishing, the headlights feature linear daytime running lights that cross diagonally the sets of headlights, thus accentuating the determined look of the UX. The F Sport variants also feature darkened chrome trim and unique 18-inch wheels.

At the rear, several horizontal elements enhance both the impression of width and aerodynamics. The lower bumper has a diffuser cutout and the cantilevered rear spoiler over the rear window also has a lowered section. In the middle is a full-width strip of 120 LED taillights that unfurl on each outer edge in small flippers. Lexus says they can help maintain airflow as the vehicle passes, improving directional stability when faced with strong crosswinds or fast turns.

History inside

Despite the entry-level positioning of the UX, it is difficult to find the right market in any form whatsoever. On the contrary, the interior of this SUV is well laid out, and the texture similar to washi paper on some dashboards dresses the space of only Japanese way.

You enter the Lexus UX simply by sliding sideways on the seat, without dropping or hoisting up as you would in lower or higher cars. This is an advantage that drivers of all ages can enjoy, whether it's Xenial exercises after a grueling day, or a grandmother sinking into a bridge club.

From this perch, the view is excellent, if not as impressive as a higher level SUV. Thanks to carefully designed mounting points for the dashboard, steering wheel and front seats, the seating position is just as natural as that of a normal car.

The front seats of the F Sport are unique to this trim and feature aggressive but comfortable side cushions. The back seat can fit three adults, but they will be quite comfortable. Two will be happier.

One of Lexus' most recent efforts, the UX's dashboard design includes a subtle turn that places the elegant LC-inspired subwoofers in a slightly pilot-oriented orientation. Above is a long, 10.2-inch information display controlled by a sharp touchpad on the center console.

The F Sport versions include a larger 8-inch TFT instrument panel with a sliding round bezel that can either frame the tachometer on the screen in the front and center, or, at the touch of a button, to the right to reveal the content of a multi-information display. The UX F Sport also includes a G-meter that records and displays the longitudinal and lateral forces exerted while driving the vehicle.

Slow and steady

If the confident driving I've experienced on Swedish roads is one thing to do, you might even feel g forces on winding cobblestones. The UX's solid structure and precise steering have strengthened my confidence in cornering and its tight 34.2-foot turning radius has made maneuvering easy in some of Stockholm's narrow streets. And all the while, the quality of driving has found a good balance between tension and compliance.

You will not feel much strength during acceleration, whether you're in the UX 200 front-wheel drive or the UX 250h four-wheel drive hybrid.

A 169-horsepower 2.0-liter 4-cylinder engine powers the UX 200, while the UX 250h uses a 141-horsepower lower 4-cylinder to propel the front wheels and a less powerful electric motor to propel the rear wheels. The combined total power for the UX 250h models reaches 175 hp, but the electric motor only runs at 45 mph, but the UX 250h reverts imperceptibly to a 141 hp front-drive vehicle.

The UX 200 uses the same Direct Shift Continuously Variable Transmission (CVT) that Toyota installs in its new Corolla Hatchback. This CVT uses a first fixed ratio for launches, producing a natural acceleration of the line followed by a continuous CVT gear shift. Put it in manual mode and move it with the standard F Sport paddles and you'll find that it behaves like CVTs with fixed-ratio driving modes, that is, a little mud when change of report.

What the UX 200 never feels is fast. And apparently, there is no UX, whether or not he wears sportswear F. Toyota believes that the most powerful race of the hybrid slightly more powerful, from 0 to 60 mph, will only take not less than 8.6 seconds, and non-hybrid front-wheel drive vehicles will be even longer at 8.9 seconds.

These numbers make UX twins among the slimmest vehicles on the market, regardless of price. It's not exactly the kind of distinction we see Xenials boasting about Instagram and Snapchat – and this kind of slowness contrasts sharply with the alert direction and UX's eagerness to change direction when it is said.

Unless the Xenials are never in too much of a hurry, or it's true that urban exploration efforts are better at the snail's pace, it could be the biggest vulnerability of the UX.

That said, it is advantageous to be slow: excellent fuel economy. Lexus believes that the UX will provide the best fuel efficiency of any crossover or SUV that is not a plug-in hybrid. In combined driving, the UX 200 is expected to show 33 mpg and the UX 250h is expected to reach 38 mpg in combined driving. The reality may be different, as underpowered vehicles tend to be whipped harder, sucking more gas.

Can the UX succeed where other "cute luxury" have not done?

It should be noted that although Lexus has never built anything like UX, many of its competitors have it. When the UX goes on sale, it will be confronted with the BMW X2, Infiniti QX30 and Mercedes-Benz GLA250, each blurring the same way the 5-door sedan and the crossover SUV, offering a symbolic ground clearance of their own systems. drive wheels.

I can not say how UX is better or worse than competing models without driving the quartet of cute luxury utils. I can say, however, that none of these models has flown away from many dealers.

Can Lexus break through where others have not made their mark? Time will tell us. And if that's not the case, maybe these smart, indebted Xenials are more interested in value, travel, and investment than automotive companies really understand.

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