Lexus Malaysia has officially lifted the veil on the all-new Lexus UX and boy do we have plenty of good things to say about it but we’ll explore that later on.
For now lets talk price, equipment, features and all that. There will be three variants available – Urban at RM 243,888, the Luxury at RM283,888 and F-Sport at RM299,888. Closest competitors include the likes of Volvo’s XC40, Mercedes-Benz’ GLA, BMW’s X1 and the Audi Q3.
Powering this all new car is a 2.0-litre naturally-aspirated engine with 169 hp and 205 Nm of torque paired to a Direct-Shift CVT with a mechanical first gear.
The first gear, as Lexus explained, is capable of getting the UX off the line quicker, up to speeds of 60 km/h, before the 10-speed virtual ratio CVT kicks in unnoticed. 0 to 100 km/h is rated at 9.2 seconds, with a top speed of 190 km/h.
The UX is the first Lexus to be built on the new Toyota New Global Architecture Platform (GA-C) that somewhat underpins the Corolla, Corolla Sport and C-HR to name a few. Rest assured that on the handling front as the UX is equipped with MacPherson struts in the front and double wishbones at the back.
As for the exterior, the UX shares rather similar traits as the Lexus NX we drove last year, with triple LED projectors that can pass off as an art sculpture.
It gets more charming at the back as the UX features LED tail lights that resemble the updated Macan launched last year but with a slimmer, edgier appearance. The tail lights, with edges that swoop up on both ends, also serves to provide better stability at high speeds, according to Lexus.
Wheel options range from 17-inch for the Urban variant, 18-inch for the Luxury variant and 19-inch for the F-Sport variant.
The Luxury and F-Sport variants comes with the complete set of kit including powered tailgate, 360-degree view camera, heated and ventilated front seats, head up display, 10-inch infotainment display, wireless charging, an 8-speaker system and leather seats with Sashiko quilting – a pattern used in traditional Japanese martial arts attire.
Typical Lexus craftsmanship is also seen on the dashboard of the Luxury variant with a surface inspired by Japanese “Washi” paper.
With the lower Urban variant, which is probably the one you’d want to go for, Lexus hasn’t exactly held back with its offerings.
Instead of 10-inch display, you get a 7-inch unit and 6-speaker sound system instead of eight. You also lose out on the head up display, power adjustable steering wheel, wireless charging, powered tail gate and retractable side mirrors – frankly, negligible items. Apple CarPlay and Android Auto are standard across the board.
Lexus has been most generous on the safety front as all three variants feature autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control with stop go, eight airbags and adaptive high beam. The Luxury and F-Sport variants get the additional blind spot monitor and rear cross traffic alert.
IMAGE GALLERY
Urban variant Urban variant Urban variant Urban variant Urban variant
