Lexus LBX 2024 review

As though a harbinger for what is to come from Lexus in the near future, the LBX arrives in three hybrid-only variants across just two trim levels.

It also kicks off from a new and more accessible price-point for Lexus, of just $47,550 plus on-road costs for the Luxury 2WD grade. From there, it works its way up to $52,990 for the mid-spec Sports Luxury 2WD, and at the top of the range sits the Sports Luxury AWD at $56,990.

Pretty straightforward stuff to begin with, but we expect there’s more to come from the LBX nameplate in the future with the likes of the go-fast Morizo RR concept, which it seems is likely to be headed for production for those who were looking for something approximating a GLA45 rival.

Features LED headlights.

For now though, the LBX, particularly at its keen starting price, already undercuts key rivals like the aforementioned Mercedes-Benz GLA and outgoing Audi Q2, although it manages to be notably smaller than these rival offerings from Germany. Other contemporaries, like Genesis and BMW simply don’t offer anything comparable, with their smallest SUV models being the GV60 and new, larger X1 respectively.

Lexus has always been a bit of a torchbearer for value in the luxury space, too, and despite its dimensions, the LBX packs a great set of standard equipment across its two trim levels, with a handful of notable exceptions.

The entry-level Luxury scores 18-inch alloy wheels, LED headlights, tail-lights and foglights; auto-dimming wing mirrors with auto folding, and tinted windows, alongside such interior luxuries as synthetic leather interior trim, a 9.8-inch multimedia touchscreen with voice recognition, sat-nav and wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto; a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster, a wireless phone charger, ambient interior lighting, an auto-dimming rearview mirror, a surround-view parking camera, dual-zone climate control, keyless entry and push-start ignition, eight-way power adjustment for the driver’s seat, a power tailgate and heated front seats.

The LBX packs a great set of standard equipment across its two trim levels.

Meanwhile, the Sports Luxury gets a 18-inch alloys in an alternate design, additional contrast trims on the rear pillar, interior trims in a blend of synthetic leather and suede, genuine leather trims for the steering wheel and shifter, power adjustment for the steering column with paddle shifters and a heated steering wheel function; haptic feedback controls on the steering wheel, multi-colour ambient lighting, a head-up display, an ‘engine sound enhancement’ with active noise cancellation, a 13-speaker Mark Levinson audio system, and an ‘Advanced Park’ feature where the car can park itself.

Both grades also score two-tone paint schemes, and the safety suite on both is also formidable (more on that later).

It’s good value kit at this price-point and free of the usual option-pack rigmarole which comes on many luxury rivals. There are some bits and bobs missing, though. Lexus is usually famous for the inclusion of a sunroof, which doesn’t appear on either grade here. There’s also no ventilated seats or heated seats in the rear, and if you were hoping to option bigger wheels, you can’t do that either.

There’s a bit of a catch though, because while this car’s Toyota relation is spacious for a small SUV, the LBX has sacrificed much of this in its pursuit of luxury and design.

The cabin, which is adorned with dark trims in both grades feels about as small as the car looks from the outside, and while it’s a comfortable place to sit, it is notable how my knee sits hard up against the centre console piece, which is mercifully clad in soft material.

Storage options are okay with some notable limitations. There are bottle holders and pockets in each door, although they only just fit our test bottle, and there’s only a single cup holder holder in front of the shifter, with a little tray next to it which might be good for wallets, keys or phones. 

There is a second cupholder, which is revealed if you slide the centre armrest piece back. To be fair, it’s a better cup holder solution than I’ve seen in some compact cars lately, and the LBX nearly makes up for it with a rather large and EV-like storage pass-through underneath the console itself.

CarPlay is wireless, which is a nice touch, but there are also USB-C ports sticking out from the front of the console should you need them.

The LBX has a handful of shortcut buttons and a single dial for controlling volume. While some climate functions like fan speed and recirculation need to be controlled via a dedicated area at the bottom of the touchscreen, there are also physical toggles for temperature for each climate zone, a sync button, a front and rear defogger button, and an ‘auto’ button for quick fuss-free use.

The software suite, like all current Toyota and Lexus products is a bit ordinary. It’s quick and simple, but maybe a bit too simple. There’s no home screen, and the majority of menus are a bit scant of features. At least Apple CarPlay worked seamlessly and looked great in my time with the car.

The back seat offers very limited room. This is compounded by the fact the rear door doesn’t open very far, so it’s not only tight once you’re in, but it’s hardly easy to get into either.

I can’t imagine it’s easy to fit child seats or negotiate with loading pets into this space. It also doesn’t offer massive room for adults.

The 2WD versions get an impressive 402 litres thanks to a deep floor and a relatively wide area.

I’m 182cm tall and my knees are pretty much touching the seat in front when set to my own driving position. I also have just enough headroom, although the padded finishes in the door continue, and the seats themselves proved reasonably comfortable.

There’s also limited amenities available to rear seat passengers. A single large bottle holder in the door managed to fit our test item (albeit, on an angle), and there’s no drop-down armrest for additional cup holders in the centre position. There are also no adjustable air vents on the back of the centre console, with only dual USB-C ports and pockets on the backs of the seats offered to rear passengers.

To me it seems as though this car is intended predominantly for childless couples rather than those with families thanks to the limitations of the rear seats.

At least the boot is half-way decent, although there’s a significant caveat. The 2WD versions get an impressive 402 litres thanks to a deep floor and a relatively wide area, while the all-wheel-drive crops this space down to a decidedly less impressive 315 litres thanks to the presence of an additional electric motor on the rear axle. Unfortunately, both grades only get a repair kit under the floor in lieu of a spare wheel.

The LBX has a very modern-sounding if not premium drivetrain, consisting of a 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine boosted by one or two electric motors.

On tap is just 67kW/120Nm from the engine, which is assisted up to a combined 100kW with the aid of a 69kW/185Nm electric motor.

Opting for the top-spec all-wheel-drive version adds an additional 4.7kW/52Nm motor on the rear axle.

The LBX has a very modern-sounding if not premium drivetrain, consisting of a 1.5-litre three-cylinder engine boosted by one or two electric motors.

Interestingly, power for the electric motors is provided from not a lithium-ion battery, but a nickel-metal hydride one. Sounds old-school, but this is an innovative new NiMH design, which is more efficient and has a higher power output.

It’s a cool bit of tech, but hardly provides the turbocharged thrills of most of its premium rivals, with 0-100km/h sprint times arriving in a smidge under 10 seconds (9.2 seconds for the 2WD or 9.6 seconds for the AWD). See more in the driving section of this review.

Of course, this trim three-cylinder hybrid set-up is designed not only for the smooth hybrid drive experience, but also to keep your fuel bills low.

To that end, the LBX has an ambitiously low official/combined fuel consumption number of 3.8L/100km regardless of variant, so not only is it an affordable luxury car, but it will save you significant amounts of money on fuel over its lifetime. The LBX can even drink base 91RON fuel, which is rare in this segment.

In our brief test drive we saw more like 5.0L/100km, but the cars were being driven hard and at higher speeds than usual.

It is also set to help the brand be smiled upon by the incoming new vehicle efficiency standard, which in its initial form looks to cap CO2 emissions at 140g/km, with the LBX producing just 85g/km in 2WD form, or 87g/km in AWD form.

A 36-litre fuel tank suggests a maximum cruising range of around 947km.

The LBX is equipped with both radar- and camera-based safety equipment, granting both trim levels the standard array of expected active items, including freeway-speed auto emergency braking (with cyclist detection), lane-keep assist with departure warning, blind-spot monitoring with both front and rear cross traffic alert, adaptive cruise control with stop-start functionality, traffic sign recognition, safe exit warning and driver attention alert.

Its connected services suite is also able to call for SOS in the event of airbag deployment and can track a stolen vehicle via GPS.

Despite its size, the LBX packs eight airbags (dual front, side, and curtain, with a driver’s knee airbag and a centre airbag), but at the time of writing it was yet to be rated by ANCAP.