2022 Lexus UX

Overview

The Lexus UX is a great option for you folks if you want a luxury badge, premium looks and feels while compromising on rear-seat comfort along with sluggish engine performance. That leads to its existing sales, which states very low numbers, and Lexus needs to change their strategies to enter the budget SUV market. It surely packs a good list of features, such as the whole suite of advanced driver-assistance features including lane-keeping assist and adaptive cruise control. There have been no changes in the powertrain options since its introduction in 2019: the UX 200 is powered by a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated inline-four engine whereas the UX 250h is powered by the same 2.0-liter engine but gets assisted by an electric motor. The cabin is nicely designed with almost all-modern Lexus bits and pieces, but the company needs to do something to enhance the overall vibe to the interior as well as increase the rear seat space, especially the legroom. As for the changelog, there isn’t much apart from introducing new color profiles for both the exterior and interior, including colored overfenders which come standard with the F Sport and Luxury trims. But, do you think the UX will be the best option for you? Should you consider the 2022 UX instead of the Mercedes-Benz GLA or the Audi Q3, or even the Volvo XC40? We will discuss thoroughly about this aggressive-looking compact SUV from Lexus.

Trims and Features

For the 2022 model year, both the UX 200 and the 250h consist of three trims: Base, F Sport, and Luxury. The UX 200 has a 2.0-liter naturally aspirated inline-four engine whereas the UX 250h has the same 2.0-liter engine but is assisted by a mild-hybrid system to increase the power and fuel economy. However, the latter comes with an AWD system as standard while the standard UX 200 is FWD only. Here is a complete list of features for your reference.

Base.


Price: $33,000/ $35,200.

• 18-inch alloys.
• LED headlights and taillights.
• Dual-zone automatic climate control.
• Leatherette upholstery.
• 8-way power-adjustable front seats.
• 7-inch touchscreen display.
• Multiple USB ports.
• 6-speaker audio unit.
• WiFi hotspot.
• Apple CarPlay and Android Auto integration.

Advanced driver assistance features for the 2022 UX 200 and 250h include

• Adaptive cruise control.
• Blindspot monitoring.
• Lane-departure warning.
• Lane-keeping assist.
• Forward collision mitigation.

Premium Package.

• Sunroof.
• Ventilated and heated front seats.
• Rain-sensing wipers.
• Color-matching overfenders.

Other standalone optional features available for the UX 200 and 250h include

• Adaptive headlights.
• Heated steering wheel.
• Hands-free tailgate.
• 10.3-inch touchscreen with 8-speaker audio and navigation.
• Color heads-up display.
• Wireless charging pad.
• Front and rear parking sensors.

F Sport.

Price: $35,340/ $37,540.

• Sportier 18-inch alloys.
• Sport suspension.
• LED foglights.
• Upgraded instrument console.
• Sport front seats.
• Enhanced engine sound generator.
• Paddle shifters mounted on the back of the steering wheel.

Luxury.


Price: $38,040/ $40,240.

• Contains features from the premium package.
• Driver seat memory functions.
• Acoustic front windows for enhanced noise cancellation.
• Hands-free tailgate.
• Illuminated HVAC control knobs.

Exterior: Instantly recognizable with sharp design detailings

Lexus cars have a similar design philosophy that goes on the exterior as well as the interior. The UX, though it is based on the mini-SUV Toyota C-HR, looks like a compact NX. The huge spindle grille, angular headlamps with the L-shaped DRLs, the heavy creases around the body, all contribute to the very Lexus-ness that we have come to admire about this luxury brand. The styling influence from NX seems to be more prominent from the sides, especially the hatch. The rear LED lighting is similar to the other Lexus cars and is stretched from one side to another. As standard, the UX will come fitted with 18-inch alloys, but the F Sport trim will feature more stylish wheels of the same size. The latter trim also adds LED foglights along with sportier front and rear bumpers. For the 2022 model year, the plastic overfenders come colored on every model except the base. Lexus added two new colors to the palette: Grecian Water and Cloudburst Gray, and discontinued the Nebula Gray Pearl.

Depending on the regular 200 and the hybrid 250h, the curb weight will differ for about 300 pounds. The general dimensions include a 177-inch overall length, a 103.9-inch long wheelbase, a good 60.6-inch height, and a minimum width of 60.6 inches. If you compare the UX to its closest competitors, it is the longest by length but shortest by wheelbase. The XC40 is the tallest in the segment but the Q3 and the GLA are still taller than the UX by an inch or two. It seems that the Lexus UX is among the most compact luxury SUVs in the market.

Interior: Its key selling point as a Lexus

Lexus makes up for its sluggish performance by making the cabin more approachable. Once you are inside the UX, you will likely mistake it for other $50,000 SUVs as the build quality and the design execution are just excellent. To be honest, we found that the Q3 and the GLA have cheaper plastics around the cabin. The UX’s dashboard is angled towards the driver to make it look like a driver-focused SUV (which it actually is). The layout is close to the other Lexus cars, except for the infotainment screen, which sits atop the dash. It isn’t in the best position for faster access. The leather-wrapped steering wheel and the digital dash are present from the base trim, but with the F Sport trim, Lexus offers the upgraded instrument console with the iconic moving bezels. The F Sport also brings steering-mounted paddle shifters which mimic gear shifts because the UX has a CVT instead of a more conventional gearbox. That said, everything you touch feels soft and premium. The center console has the drive selector, the infamous touchpad, and two cupholders; simply carried out.

Coming from Lexus, we expected the UX to pack some good features, and that it does. It includes dual-zone AC, four USB ports, power-adjustable front seats, leatherette upholstery, and keyless ignition. Speaking of the seats, they are very comfortable and have enough bolsters, especially with the bucket seats which are available with the F Sport trim. There are heated and ventilated seats available with the Premium package. The top-of-the-line Luxury trim adds enhanced front glass for noise reduction, but the cabin seems refined anyway, even if you opt for the base trim. Now, let’s invite the elephant into the room: the cabin’s space. As we have mentioned above that the UX has a driver-focused cabin, there are no compromises in comfort or space, at least in the first row. But we are afraid to say the same for the rear row. The headroom available is a decent 36.3 inches, but legroom has been set to just 33.1 inches. Now, if we compare the numbers to competitors, the XC40 leads the group with more balanced dimensions throughout the cabin. The Q3 and the GLA are not far behind, but the UX, unfortunately, is. It offers the most legroom in the front, with 42 inches, but Lexus could have shaved two inches from the front row to create roughly 35 inches in the rear. If it had been that way, it would have been so much better.

As for the cargo capacity, the Q3 and the UX lead the competition with over 21 cubic feet of space. The GLA has the least with just 15.7 cubic feet. Here is a list of all the interior features available with the 2022 Lexus UX.

• Dual-zone automatic climate control.
• Leather-wrapped and heated steering wheel.
• Paddle shifters. (F Sport only)
• Leatherette upholstery.
• Heated and ventilated front seats. (Optional with the base and F Sport, standard with the Luxury)
• Sunroof. (F Sport and Luxury)
• Fully digital instrument console.
• illuminated air vents.

The latest Enform comes installed with the 2022 UX. While the infotainment system and user interface are quite intuitive, using it might be a bit of a stretch. You will get a rather smaller seven-inch display that is not touch-sensitive. You will have to use the touchpad on the center console to go through various options and settings, which is not the most convenient, we would say. You can get a better viewing angle with the optional 10.3-inch display, but then again, a touchscreen would have been just fine. Other important infotainment features include

• Android Auto and Apple CarPlay integration.
• Satellite radio.
• Navigation system.
• Heads-up display.
• 8-speaker audio unit.
• Amazon Alexa connectivity.
• WiFi hotspot.

Performance and Handling: The final nail in the coffin

Yes, Lexus loves to install naturally aspirated engines under the hood of its cars but sometimes it does not work that way, especially when it is an SUV. We appreciate the 5.0-liter V-8 on the LC 500 and even on the IS 500 but the character of that engine matches the aforementioned cars’ personalities. However, we feel that the 2.0-liter naturally aspirated four-pot just cannot make things fast for the UX 200. It is slow, laggy, unrefined, and it is sad to see all these come from Lexus, a brand most of us love. The engine puts out just 169 horsepower and 151 pound-feet of torque while the mild-hybrid 250h, as it packs an electric motor, puts out a bit more power: 181 horsepower. Now, the fun fact is that both the variants have CVT installed but the lesser powerful UX 200 drives the front wheels while the 250h drives all four wheels and there is no optional AWD system on the UX 200. All the other competitors use a similarly sized 2.0-liter engine but they all are turbocharged and a lot more powerful than the UX. The base GLA puts out 221 horsepower and 258 pound-feet while the XC40 and the Q3 share the torque figures: 221 pound-feet.

The differences are more prominent if you see the real-world performance. In our testing, the base UX 200 reached up to 60 miles per hour in almost nine seconds. The 250h, with its slightly more power, seems to accelerate a bit faster; 8.6 seconds to 60 and 16.6 seconds to quarter-mile, as per Car and Driver. Both the GLA and the XC40, with their base 2.0-liter engine, reach 60 miles per hour in 6.8 seconds. See? The difference is much higher than you would imagine.

By its raw performance, you would have guessed about its handling capabilities. Well, it is not the worst but is certainly not for enthusiasts. You may even opt for the F Sport trim but be ready to get disappointed, again. Lexus emphasized more on comfort with the UX and has done the right thing. Maybe they will come up with a new F Sport trim with all the bells and whistles to make it sportier. The suspension is softer on the base and the Luxury trims. The F Sport, however, has “sport suspension” which doesn’t make much of a difference. The steering feedback is great in city limits and lower speeds, but quite the opposite when you hit higher double-digit numbers. Are you curious about how it drives? It is the least entertaining SUV in its segment. The CVT is a total mess and makes the engine feel like it is running out of breath. If you want a better handling compact SUV in the segment, the GLA or the XC40 would be much better.

Fuel Economy

The Lexus UX makes a comeback when it comes to good fuel economy, and that is no magic but reality. The underpowered engine provides the best-in-class mileage figures: 29/37/32 for city/highway/combined. The hybrid, of course, does better with a whopping 41 miles per gallon in the city, 38 miles per gallon on the highways, and 39 miles per gallon combined. The UX 200 comes equipped with a 12.4-gallon gas tank which can return about 400 miles combined. The UX 250h, however, packs a slightly smaller 10.6-gallon tank as it is a hybrid. You will get above 400 miles combined with the UX 250h.

How safe is the 2022 Lexus UX?

Lexus cars are safe, and the UX is no different with a five-star rating from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and a “Top Safety Pick” award from the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety. That said, it also gets loads of advanced safety features which we doubt that the other competitors do. Lexus fights back all of the criticisms by providing features like adaptive cruise control, blindspot monitoring, lane-keeping assist, lane-departure warning, rear cross-traffic alert, and more. Other safety features include

• Stability control.
• Lane-departure warning.
• Tire pressure monitoring.
• Frontal collision mitigation.
• Multiple airbags.

Should you buy the 2022 Lexus UX?

We wouldn’t suggest you to consider it over the competition. It is certainly not cheap and has several red flags including lackluster performance and rear-seat comfort. However, there are a couple of things that we like about the UX: a well-built cabin, impressive fuel economy, and the full suite driver assistance features. The UX might attract you if you like driving slow are want to be greeted by a luxurious cabin. The Mercedes-Benz GLA is the performance king, but we recommend the Volvo XC40 for a good overall experience.

FAQ

How much is the Lexus UX?

The new UX starts from $33,000 and will go north of $40,000 if you get the optional features.

Is there any new Lexus UX coming out?

There is no official statement confirming the same but given that it was launched back in 2019, it will likely get a refresh or perhaps a new generation in the coming years.

What are the EPA ratings for the Lexus UX?

The UX 200 has 29/37/32 for city/highway/combined while the UX 250h has 41/38/39 city/highway/combined.

Is the Lexus NX bigger than the UX?

Yes, the NX falls under the midsize SUV category whereas the UX is a subcompact crossover.