2022 Lexus UX250h Hybrid: A Closer Look
If you like a luxurious SUV without high fuel bills, this might be right for you.
CAR FRONT
The Lexus UX250h is a compact hybrid SUV that is claimed to get excellent fuel economy. We tried it out for a week to see if this is true.
Text and photos by Chad Haire
PRICE
The base cost of the non-hybrid UX 200 starts about $33K. The hybrid 250h costs more, and ours was loaded up with everything, so hit a tidy $44K plus change. Adding to the vehicles cost are these triple beam LED headlamps with auto-leveling feature. They also turn in the direction of the steering wheel, great for taking tight corners. Our night drive test showed this setup to work great, but at $1,660 extra, they are not cheap!
ENGINE
Under the hood, a 2.0L 169 horsepower motor from the UX200 is replaced with this 2.5L hybrid rated at 181 ponies. Fuel economy is listed at 41 mpg city, 38 highway, and 39 overall. We clocked 400 miles to see the real numbers.
SPARE
Like most hybrid cars, there is no spare tire issued. This is usually done by car makers to save money, but anyone taking long trips should have a spare, which can be purchased after the sale.
HUD
The heads up display is very bright, day or night.
INFO SCREEN
The info screen isn't the largest we ever used, and sits back a distance, but is still okay to see.
TOUCH PAD
The info screen controls are operated by this finger touch pad, which replaced the older stick, used in earlier Lexus models. This newer system can be awkward to operate at first, so takes some practice.
RADIO
These radio controls are on the console. They are perfectly placed, and a pleasure to use. If only all Lexus vehicles have this setup.
DRIVE MODE
You can have NORMAL, ECO, or SPORT drive mode by operating this knob.
POV STREET
This small vehicle is heavier than it looks, so a bit slow on acceleration numbers. Otherwise, it's a pleasure to drive in daily commuting.
MPG
In the real world, our fuel economy was impressive, ranging from 37 to 41 mpg. It didn't seem to matter if it was in the city or highway. The absolute worst we got was 35 but were running it very quickly to see the lowest result possible.
TIRES
The non-hybrid UX is two-wheel drive, this 250h is driven by four wheels for better traction.
OFF ROAD POV
With slightly raised suspension and four-wheel traction, this hybrid can be taken into the dirt. However, with thin-walled street tires, and lack of a spare, these should be light duty adventures only.
