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The Lexus LBX is a important mannequin for the premium Japanese carmaker because it kinds as a brand new entry level for patrons to the model.
This luxury mild SUV is technically Lexus’ smallest mannequin ever, undercutting the CT hatch that was on sale domestically from 2011 to 2021.
The LBX relies on the identical GA-B platform because the Toyota Yaris Cross and is solely powered by a 1.5-litre three-cylinder petrol-electric hybrid drivetrain producing 100kW of energy.
Deliveries of the LBX commenced in Australia on March 18, with Lexus Australia claiming round 1500 examples are set to reach within the first 12 months. Regardless of this Lexus Australia chief govt officer John Pappas informed CarExpert provide for the primary 12 months will likely be tight.
This car is without doubt one of the most luxurious mild SUV choices in Australia to this point. Is it price contemplating? Learn alongside to seek out out.
How does the Lexus LBX evaluate?
View an in depth breakdown of the Lexus LBX towards equally sized autos.
Lexus
LBX
How a lot does the Lexus LBX price?
Three variants are being provided at launch.
- 2024 Lexus LBX Luxurious 2WD: $47,550
- 2024 Lexus LBX Sports activities Luxurious 2WD: $52,990
- 2024 Lexus LBX Sports activities Luxurious AWD: $56,990
Costs are earlier than on-road prices
To see how the LBX compares with its rivals, use our comparability instrument.
What’s the Lexus LBX like on the within?
Strolling as much as the LBX it has a cute but placing presence that’s distinctly Lexus. There’s the basic spindle grille up entrance, some cladding across the wheel arches to stress that it is a crossover, in addition to full-width tail mild meeting.
Opening up the door is a wierd expertise however a really comparable one in the event you’ve been in any current Lexus mannequin. The LBX has an E-Latch door deal with system that requires you to press a button on the within of the outside door deal with for it to open.
The outside door deal with doesn’t truly transfer when go to open it. This generally is a little awkward for individuals unfamiliar with them as they suppose the door handles are damaged.
Hopping in you’re offered with a set of sporty-looking seats with finishes that rely upon which trim degree you go for. The entry-level Luxurious receives black NuLuxe leatherette upholstery with crimson highlights, whereas the flagship Sports activities Luxurious receives mixture leather-accented and UltraSuede upholstery with contrasting orange highlights.
The motive force’s seats in each LBX variants supply loads of electrical seat adjustment permitting you to dial in your required seating place. I fairly preferred how a lot you’re capable of dial up the thigh assist.
Each the entrance seats supply heating throughout all the LBX vary which is extremely helpful while you first hop within the automobile on a cold morning.
Forward of the driving force within the entry-level LBX Luxurious is a NuLuxe leatherette-wrapped steering wheel which, just like the seats, is extremely smooth to the contact. It could be controversial however I a lot desire how this steering wheel feels to the correct leather-accented unit within the flagship LBX Sports activities Luxurious.
Persevering with why the LBX Luxurious’s steering wheel is healthier is as a result of it has common steering wheel buttons which might be logical and have a satisfying click on.
The LBX Sports activities Luxurious, like a lot of current Lexus SUV fashions, has touch-sensitive buttons which might be complicated at first and a bit of distracting. The button’s objective adjustments relying on which web page you could have chosen, and you could consult with the head-up show to see what features the buttons will do.
The touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons within the LBX Sports activities Luxurious are needlessly difficult. I don’t perceive why Lexus didn’t simply make the Luxurious’s common steering wheel buttons customary throughout the vary as a result of there’s no studying curve wanted to make use of them.
Behind the steering wheel is a correct 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster that seems to be clear and high-resolution. It provides loads of configuration with three predominant web page layouts that may be customised to your liking.
Going again to these touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons within the LBX Sports activities Luxurious, while you’re transferring you may’t truly change the instrument web page format. You possibly can nonetheless within the LBX Luxurious which is so complicated.
The top-up show within the LBX Sports activities Luxurious is shiny and could be configured to show minimal or a variety of data. Sadly the head-up show isn’t out there within the entry-level Luxurious variant in any respect.
Shifting throughout the 9.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system is the centrepiece of the LBX’s inside, sitting proud on the dashboard. It’s a sq. unit that just like the digital instrument cluster is shiny and high-resolution, although it’s a fingerprint magnet.
The touchscreen’s person interface is very easy to grasp and to navigate. There aren’t an entire heap of sub-menus to get misplaced wherein is a reduction.
As customary the LBX provides each wi-fi Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. With my iPhone 15 Professional Max linked wirelessly I didn’t expertise any dropouts.
Fortunately there’s a wi-fi charger on the base of the dashboard in a small storage cubby which helps preserve you’re telephone topped up. There are additionally two USB-C ports slightly below the touchscreen.
It’s good to see there are some bodily local weather management switchgear within the LBX, in contrast to some its premium rivals that are fully integrating them into the touchscreen. You’re capable of management gadgets just like the temperature and defrosters with bodily switches and buttons, although adjusting issues just like the fan pace can solely be performed utilizing the touchscreen.
Wanting across the cabin there are a substantial quantity of soppy touches. That is undoubtedly no Toyota Yaris Cross on the within with tougher plastics being troublesome to seek out.
On the centre stack there’s a basic Lexus hybrid gear selector which has a considerably complicated motion for individuals unfamiliar with it. Cupholders are additionally few and much between. There’s one all the time available, nonetheless the second is hidden by the sliding centre armrest.
Beneath the centre stack there’s an open space that’s giant sufficient to accommodate a purse. It is a good contact as a result of the glovebox on the passenger aspect is so small the proprietor’s handbook takes up all of the area.
Shifting to the second row is the place the LBX’s attraction begins to come back undone. The area on supply is de facto restricted, that means this automobile is clearly extra geared in the direction of single individuals or {couples} with no kids.
As soon as I had pried myself into the second row I discovered there’s nearly no legroom behind my very own driving place, plus head and shoulder room felt actually cramped. With a view to get out of the LBX I have to step like I used to be utilizing a ladder as a result of the door opening is so tight.
If the dearth of area wasn’t sufficient of an indication that the LBX’s second row isn’t the most effective place to be, there aren’t many facilities in any respect. The one notable inclusion are two USB-C ports on the again of the centre console. There aren’t any rear air vents, nor fold-down armrest for second-row passengers.
On the again the LBX comes as customary with a powered tailgate which is a premium function for this phase. As soon as the tailgate is open the quantity of area relies on which variant you go for.
Lexus formally quotes boot area for the LBX 2WD variants at 402 litres with the rear seats up, whereas boot area for the LBX Sports activities Luxurious AWD is a barely tighter 315 litres. Folding the rear seats of the LBX 2WD variants expands boot capability to 994 litres.
Boot area within the LBX 2WD variants is okay, whereas within the Sports activities Luxurious AWD it’s not nice because the rear electrical motor-generator eats into the space for storing. Each LBX variants have a excessive loading lip which isn’t superb while you’re lifting heavy gadgets into the boot.
Certain folding down the rear seats makes the boot area on supply bigger, nevertheless it’s not essentially extra useable as a result of there’s a steep lip the place the seats fold. It’s unlucky the rear seats don’t fold flat.
Lastly all the Lexus LBX vary solely comes with a tyre restore equipment. Meaning there’s no spare tyre by any means. For some individuals this is perhaps okay, however for others it’s one thing to be actually conscious of since you don’t wish to get caught in the midst of nowhere with a flat tyre ready hours for roadside help.
What’s beneath the bonnet?
The Lexus LBX is hybrid-only. It’s out there with both front- or all-wheel drive, relying on the variant.
| Mannequin | Lexus LBX |
|---|---|
| Engine | 1.5L three-cylinder series-parallel hybrid |
| Engine energy | 67kW |
| Engine torque | 120Nm |
| Entrance motor generator | Synchronous everlasting magnet electrical motor |
| Entrance motor generator energy | 69kW |
| Entrance motor generator torque | 185Nm |
| Rear motor generator (AWD solely) | Asynchronous induction electrical motor |
| Rear motor generator energy | 4.7kW |
| Rear motor generator torque | 52Nm |
| Whole system energy | 100kW |
| Battery | Nickel-metal hydride |
| Transmission | e-CVT |
| Pushed wheels | Entrance-wheel drive (all-wheel drive elective) |
| Weight | 1330kg (kerb 2WD) 1415kg (kerb AWD) |
| Gas economic system (declare) | 3.8L/100km |
| Gas economic system (noticed) | 5.2L/100km (blended driving 2WD) 5.4L/100km (blended driving AWD) 4.4L/100km (city driving 2WD) |
| Gas tank measurement | 36 litres |
| Gas requirement | 91 RON |
To see how the LBX compares with its rivals, use our comparability instrument.
How does the Lexus LBX drive?
Beginning up the Lexus LBX is an easy course of that feels very acquainted in the event you’ve ever pushed any Toyota hybrid car. You press the beginning button and there’s a delicate beep and flash on the sprint indicating you’re able to drive.
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Luxurious
Sometimes the startup course of is totally silent, although on chilly mornings the three-cylinder petrol engine could change on to heat up the fluids and provides the battery pack a slight cost.
As I famous within the inside part the LBX’s gear selector may take you a second to acquaint your self with in the event you’ve by no means used a Lexus gear selector earlier than. As soon as you know the way it really works it’s pretty self explanatory.
There are delicate variations with the gear selectors within the LBX Luxurious and Sports activities Luxurious. Whenever you pull the gear selector straight downwards within the former it prompts ‘B’ mode which amplifies regenerative braking and in addition makes use of the engine to gradual you down extra, whereas within the latter it prompts ‘S’ mode which is actually a sport mode.
Setting off the LBX will fortunately cruise round on EV mode at decrease speeds. When you attain a sure pace, are going uphill, or push the accelerator a bit of tougher from a standstill nonetheless, the petrol engine will kick in.
There’s a noticeable distinction in how the Lexus LBX’s 1.5-litre naturally aspirated three-cylinder petrol engine surges to life when in comparison with the Toyota Yaris Cross’s. It’s nowhere close to as rattly and shaky which might generally be the case with three-cylinder engines as they’re not as balanced as four-cylinder engines.
This makes the engine startup course of extra subdued and fewer noticeable, that are each large ticks for the LBX. In the event you weren’t paying consideration in on a regular basis visitors you’d be hard-pressed to know when the engine truly fires to life except you’re trying on the digital instrument cluster.
Each time the three-cylinder petrol engine does fireplace to life its gas consumption is initially fairly excessive. It is because it’s getting all of the fluids transferring across the engine once more and it’s additionally charging up the nickel steel hydride high-voltage battery pack.
Though the LBX could produce 15kW greater than the associated Yaris Cross Hybrid, don’t count on its whole system output of 100kW of energy to blow you away. Because of the electrical motor-generator (or mills within the AWD) nonetheless, the preliminary acceleration can get you forward of visitors on the lights in the event you’re that method inclined.
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Sports activities Luxurious
It’s price noting the all-wheel drive model of the LBX is 85kg heavier than the front-wheel drive variations which makes the claimed 0-100km/h dash 0.4 seconds slower. Entrance-wheel drive LBX variants are claimed to have the ability to do the 0-100km/h dash in a docile 9.2 seconds, whereas the all-wheel drive LBX takes 9.6 seconds.
Regardless of not being at outright sports activities automobile (save that for the not-yet-confirmed-for-production LBX Morizo RR), the LBX has direct steering and continues to be actually chuckable and dynamic within the corners. I’ve had comparable experiences with all of the autos primarily based on Toyota’s modular TNGA platform.
When you’re cruising about within the metropolis the LBX is far quieter and refined than the Yaris Cross. The one distinguished noise you hear is the whine of the electrical motor-generator, particularly while you’re slowing down with regen.
The LBX’s journey and dealing with is yet one more spotlight of this luxury mild SUV. It seems like a correct Lexus within the sense the vast majority of the bumps are soaked up, although you continue to get a way of what’s occurring beneath the automobile.
Two-wheel drive variations of the LBX have a torsion-beam rear suspension setup, whereas the all-wheel drive model has a extra subtle double wishbone trailing arm rear suspension setup to be able to accomodate the additional weight of the rear electrical motor-generator.
Regardless of this I discovered it actually arduous to tell apart any actual variations between the 2 sorts of rear suspension. I believe that goes to indicate how properly Lexus has tuned the two-wheel drive’s rear torsion-beam setup. Each of them are capable of tackle pace bumps like a champ.
Given it’s diminutive exterior dimensions, the LBX is an absolute dream to park. Its steering is de facto to show lock-to-lock and it has actually small turning circle of 5.6 metres.
As customary there are each entrance and rear parking sensors, in addition to a surround-view digicam. In the event you step as much as the Sports activities Luxurious variant you additionally get a semi-autonomous parking help.
Whenever you get out on the open street at increased speeds it turns into obvious the town is the place the LBX feels most at dwelling. The hybrid powertrain begins to expire puff when build up pace which causes the three-cylinder petrol engine to drone because it’s mated to an electrical constantly variable transmission (e-CVT).
When you attain a cruising pace nonetheless out on the open street the LBX is surprisingly refined. The hybrid SUV doesn’t get blown round an excessive amount of and may maintain its personal on the street towards bigger autos.
The flagship Sports activities Luxurious variants have lively noise cancelling which does drown out among the street and tyre noise that’s prevalent on coarse-chip bitumen roads. It’s price calling out street noise within the entry-level Luxurious variant wasn’t overly dangerous both.
On the security entrance all the LBX vary comes with driver consideration monitoring. Whereas I used to be driving it didn’t trigger any frustrations by any means, nonetheless when my co-driver was behind the wheel it beeped incessantly.
Adaptive cruise management comes as customary and it’s surprisingly superb. The system is ready to reply naturally when vehicles merge into the lane forward of you and never slam on the brakes instantly.
The automobile’s lane-keep help perform can be useful on clearly marked highways and freeways with light curves, however I turned it off as a result of I discovered it to be too pressured on slender and winding city Sydney roads.
Lastly all the LBX vary comes with shiny LED headlights which have an computerized high-beam perform. Though I didn’t get a possibility to check these out correctly they’re actually helpful for these driving at night time in rural and regional areas.
What do you get?
There are two totally different Lexus LBX variants provided domestically. The entry-level Luxurious can solely be had with front-wheel drive, whereas the flagship Sports activities Luxurious is accessible with both front- or all-wheel drive.
LBX Luxurious 2WD highlights:
- 18-inch alloy wheels
- Tyre restore equipment
- Automated LED headlights
- Adaptive high-beam
- LED tail lights
- LED entrance fog lights, cornering lights
- Rain-sensing wipers
- E-Latch door handles
- Auto-dimming driver’s aspect mirror
- Shark fin antenna
- Rear spoiler
- Entrance, rear air spats
- Rear privateness glass
- Energy tailgate
- 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster
- 9.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system
- Wi-fi Apple CarPlay, Android Auto
- Related satellite tv for pc navigation
- ‘Hey Lexus’ pure voice recognition
- DAB+ digital radio
- 6-speaker Panasonic sound system
- 5 x USB-C ports
- 2 x 12V sockets
- Wi-fi charger
- Twin-zone local weather management
- Proximity entry and push-button begin
- NuLuxe leatherette-wrapped steering wheel
- NuLuxe leatherette-wrapped shift-by-wire gear knob, door trim, ornamentation
- ‘Tsuyasumi’ centre console ornamentation
- Single-colour ambient inside lighting
- Auto-dimming rear-view mirror
- Entrance and rear carpet flooring mats
- Black NuLuxe leatherette upholstery with crimson highlights
- Heated entrance seats
- 8-way energy driver’s seat with two-way lumbar and reminiscence
LBX Sports activities Luxurious 2WD provides:
- Black 18-inch alloy wheels, 10 twin-spoke design
- Rear pillar movie ornamentation
- Color head-up show
- Energetic Noise Management
- Engine sound enhancement
- 13-speaker Mark Levinson premium sound system
- Multi-colour ambient inside lighting
- Real leather-accented shift knob
- Real leather-accented steering wheel
- Paddle shifters
- Heated steering wheel
- Haptic touch-sensitive controls
- Ultrasuede door trim and ornamentation
- Mixture leather-accented, Ultrasuede upholstery with distinction orange stitching
LBX Sports activities Luxurious AWD provides:
- AWD brand
- Rear induction asynchronous motor-generator (4.7kW/52Nm)
- Double wishbone trailing arm rear suspension (replaces torsion beam)
Is the Lexus LBX protected?
The Lexus LBX hasn’t been crash-tested by ANCAP or Euro NCAP at this stage.
The next security tools is customary throughout the vary:
- 8 airbags
- Autonomous emergency braking (AEB)
- Day, night time pedestrian detection
- Day, night time bike owner detection
- Day bike detection
- Junction help
- Reversing AEB
- Blind-spot monitoring
- Rear cross-traffic alert
- Secure exit help
- Driver monitor digicam
- Adaptive cruise management
- Visitors signal recognition
- Entrance, rear parking sensors
- Encompass-view digicam
- Tyre stress monitoring
The LBX Sports activities Luxurious provides a semi-autonomous parking help.
All Lexus LBX variants additionally obtain a three-year complimentary subscription to Lexus Related Providers. It provides clients real-time car data, distant performance, and emergency calling.
How a lot does the Lexus LBX price to run?
The Lexus LBX is roofed by a five-year, unlimited-kilometre guarantee like the remainder of the Lexus lineup.
Logbook companies are required each 12 months or 15,000km, whichever comes first. The primary 5 companies are capped at $595 every.
A 3-year complimentary Encore subscription can be supplied at no further price. It consists of roadside help, complimentary service mortgage automobile, Ampol gas reductions, in addition to unique life-style occasion provides.
CarExpert’s Tackle the Lexus LBX
It’s arduous not to attract parallels to the Toyota Yaris Cross when driving and experiencing the Lexus LBX, nevertheless it nonetheless drives and seems like a Lexus ought to.
The journey could be very compliant, it’s dynamic within the metropolis, and the noise suppression is nice for its phase.
I do know sure persons are going to like this automobile. These persons are doubtless singles and {couples} who don’t want to make use of the second row of seating on a regular basis (if in any respect) and in addition don’t want an excessively large boot.
Whereas this automobile provides loads of luxurious touches and fuel-sipping hybrid effectivity, the LBX does include a worth premium which will flip individuals off right away. A beginning worth of $50k drive-away for a flowery Yaris Cross Hybrid is a substantial sum of money.
Because it at present stands, the candy spot of the LBX vary is the entry-level Luxurious 2WD variant. It doesn’t really feel prefer it’s lacking a lot customary tools, plus the NuLuxe leatherette finishes are softer and extra supple than the correct leather-accented finishes within the flagship Sports activities Luxurious variants.
Certain the LBX Sports activities Luxurious could decide up options like lively noise cancellation, a premium Mark Levinson sound system, and a head-up show, amongst others, it additionally has some annoying quirks together with the finicky touch-sensitive steering wheel buttons.
The flagship AWD variant can be tougher to advocate as a result of in addition to doubtlessly including a contact extra grip and safety in slippy situations, it simply weighs the automobile down and reduces boot capability.
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