Lexus UX 300h Sport Luxury 2025 Review

Clear competition to the front-drive Lexus UX300h Sport Luxury, priced at $62,320 before on-road costs, include similarly priced front-drive models like the BMW X3 sDrive 18i ($62,400), Audi Q3 35 TFSI S Line ($63,200), and Mercedes-Benz GLA200 ($63,600). Unlike the hybrid-only Lexus UX range, all of these rivals are powered by internal combustion engine (ICE).

Within the Lexus UX range, the front-drive 300h Sport Luxury sits midway between the UX 300h Luxury – available in either front-drive and AWD form – ($55,370) and the AWD UX 300h F Sport ($73,210).

Lexus also launched a challenge to the EV market with the flagship UX 300e in 2021 but abandoned it this year.

The UX, whatever the model, lives up to Lexus expectations.

The 300h Sport Luxury guise comes with leather-look trim and powered, heated and cooled front seats with memory settings for the driver.

There’s also the familiarly-Lexus powered steering column adjustment, two-zone climate control, a sub-woofer-boosted 11-speaker Mark Levinson sound system, and a powered tailgate.

The base-model UX300h Luxury skips a few features such as, front and side parking cameras, memory seat settings for the driver, cooled seating and a sunroof.

The entry-level UX also comes with a smaller 17-inch wheel/tyre combination.

A (small) powered sunroof, a smart key card, and a colour head-up display are available with the $3,500 Sports Luxury Enhancement Pack.

Visually, the UX 300h remains largely unchanged from its predecessor.

Slightly more aggressive front and rear styling, along with other subtle tweaks, help distinguish the updated UX.

Inside it’s pretty much all down to a minimally redesigned centre console with a chunkier shift lever and some extra brightwork with revised door-panel switchgear.

The Lexus UX comes with a five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty and includes three years of 24/7 roadside assistance – in line with key rivals.

Servicing is required every 12-months or 15,000km and pricing is capped at $595 per service during the warranty period.

The Lexus UX 300h’s safety credentials include all that’s necessary for a full five-star ANCAP safety rating, although some desirables, such as front cross-traffic alert and post-collision braking/steering, are missing.

However, standard safety tech includes there is high and low-speed autonomous emergency braking (AEB), adaptive cruise control, smooth and unobtrusive lane-keeping, pedestrian and cyclist avoidance, blind-spot monitoring, self-dipping, active curve-tracking LED headlights, driver attention detection and a full 360-degree parking view provided by front, side and rear cameras.

The Lexus UX 300h Sport Luxury dash presentation is a mix of new and old tech with a decent-size, high-set 12.3-inch screen and a shrouded digital instrument display ahead of the driver.

Wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto with a smartphone charging pad are standard.

An unusual design quirk is the instrument display cowling that devotes space to two prominent twist knobs on either side which are used to flick between drive modes and switch off/on the stability control system.

USB-C and A ports, Bluetooth and voice recognition all contribute to an interface that feels instantly familiar, even to first-time users.

Through Lexus Connected Services, there’s access to cloud-based information on traffic, weather, parking, and location searching – as well as remote engine start-up and door locking/unlocking.

Upgrading from 250h to 300h brings more power and efficiency.

The 2.0-litre internal combustion engine (ICE) increases from 107kW to 112kW – its 188Nm of torque remains unchanged.

The once nickel-metal hydride (NiMH) but now lithium-ion battery-fed electric motor – though gaining only a handful of kilowatts and torque over its predecessor – contributes to an improved combined power output of 146kW, which is 11kW more than before.

The technological upgrade not only brought added power; it also improved efficiency, and cleanliness, speeding up 0-100km/h acceleration by around half a second (now 8.1 seconds), and dropping the claimed fuel consumption from 4.7L/100km to 4.2L/100km.

Typically, our review car didn’t quite match the claimed consumption, averaging out to 6.2L/100km. That figure would likely improve with more everyday use, rather than the freeway-heavy testing we tend to do.

Indicative of that likelihood is the 5.5L/100km recorded in our most recent review of the supposedly-thirstier UX 250h.

The result of all this is a Lexus UX that feels more willing and maybe a bit louder under the bonnet than before.

While 8.1sec 0-100km/h acceleration is not about to induce head-spins, it’s quick enough to easily keep pace with traffic.

The electric motor’s contribution is noticeable, allowing that 2.0-litre engine to feel more relaxed overall, clearly benefiting from the added low-rpm torque.

Plus, the UX 300h Sport Luxury steers and rides well.

The strut/multi-link suspension striking a nice balance between comfort and sport with an absorbent ride and quick responses through well-weighted and quite-quick steering (2.75 turns from lock-to-lock).

Negotiating back-seat comfort is not only slightly compromised by the limited space – and visibility – but also by the UX 300h’s intrusive road noise. Up front, things are generally premium-car quiet.

The Lexus UX has never been generous with cabin space and that obviously doesn’t change in its latest form.

Unless you're trying to seat two or three basketball players, the limited space doesn’t take away from its overall sense of luxury and comfort.

A bit of negotiation between mid-size front and rear-seat passengers is all that’s needed, thanks to the well-cushioned, supportive seating.

The UX 300h is cosily-proportioned inside, but it always feels more luxe than a Toyota Corolla, or even a C-HR.

There’s no surprise when the UX’s boot offers a tiny 368-litres – which is well below its chief competitors.

There’s no spare wheel either, just a set of run-flat tyres.

Lexus UX sales might not be especially high, but the credibility factor is strong enough to maintain a reputation for good resale value.

Its shortcomings centre around its size.

The cabin is more an occasional four-seater and it’s certainly not a family SUV, with its ability to carry luggage quite severely compromised by a capacity quoted at just 368L.

It’s not an SUV in the traditional sense and might not be stretch-out-comfortable, but it’s great for two reasons: it’s beautifully built and more economical than its chief rivals. It’s also competitive priced.

The Lexus UX 300h Sport Luxury never has, and never will, come anywhere near the top of the prestige small SUV sales charts but it has plenty of appeal and is not likely to be a let-down when it comes to trade-in time.

2024 Make Model Variant at a glance:
Price: $62,320 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Powertrain: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol-electric engine
Output: 112kW/188Nm (electric motor:83kW/206Nm)
Combined output: 146kW (Nm not provided)
Transmission: CVT
Fuel: 4.2L/100km
CO2: 99g/km
Safety rating: Five-star (ANCAP Year 2019)

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