2019 Lexus UX 250h Review

The hybrid powertrain in the UX 250h is smooth around town, but it's also tremendously slow, especially for a vehicle with a luxury price tag. In our testing, accelerating to 60 mph took a leisurely 10 seconds. The vehicle's steering is nicely weighted, and the UX has some of the fun responsiveness found in the Toyota Corolla (to which it's related), but the added height and weight make for pronounced body roll through corners.

Overall, the hybrid UX is most comfortable with city driving, where the engine can stay in its acceptably torquey midrange, and there's no call for real handling prowess. Unfortunately, the braking response isn't entirely linear and can feel jerky at low speeds.

The UX 250h is a comfortable vehicle, but it doesn't quite offer what we'd expect for the money. The seats are a strong point, with soft leather and padding that proves supportive even on longer drives. Although there's little wind noise and no engine noise while cruising, the engine kicks up an unpleasant racket when you ask for power. You're also exposed to traffic noise and intrusive pinging from the tires over rough pavement. The suspension smooths out bumps, but the run-flat tires produce a ride that feels busier than we'd like.

With some controls hidden in infotainment menus, the climate control system is best left in its capable auto mode. Some vents are unfortunately close to the driver's hands and can be loud at even partial power.

The UX's cabin is surprisingly spacious, but it's not the easiest to live with. Both front and rear passengers have lots of room, with space in the back for full-size adults. However, the seating position works better for people who like to sit low in the vehicle. It's not so great if you prefer sitting upright in your SUV. There's limited steering-wheel telescope, although there is good front-seat height adjustability. That's necessary since at their lowest setting the front seats can be tough for people with limited mobility to get in and out of. 

The control layout takes a while to get used to and is overall less intuitive than some rivals. Also thick roof pillars, particularly around the rear hatch, limit overall visibility.

The trunk floor is way higher than you'd think from the outside. It provides easy loading and unloading, and the second row folds perfectly flat. Remove the floor panel and you get 21.7 cubic feet of total space; leave it in place, and there's only 17.1 cubes behind the back seat. That's good compared to a sedan but a bit tight for a small SUV, especially considering there's no spare tire to take up space.

Inside the cabin, the glovebox and door pockets are small, although there's room for small water bottles in the doors. The center console box is also narrow, but the cellphone tray is handy. The cupholders are on the small size as well, though the front cupholders feature an anti-tip design. The rear seats also offer pockets and cupholders.

Lexus' trackpad-based infotainment system is one of the more distracting interfaces to navigate within the luxury space. Voice controls are functional but a bit limited and require quite a few guided steps to complete certain commands. There are plenty of charging options around the cabin, including two USB ports for rear passengers, but you only get Apple CarPlay and not Android Auto. On the plus side, the sound system is what we'd expect from a Lexus, offering a lot of quality at any volume.

Basic active safety features are standard, which is still a bit uncommon for a luxury vehicle. The driver aids are overcautious, with overly long following distances and sharp stops in traffic. Definitely not a premium experience.