I was already driving: Lexus LBX: The smallest Lexus ever

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Lexus designers did a good job. When you stand in front of the new LBX, you can’t tell that it’s on the same platform as the Toyota Yaris Cross and that both models share technology.

Six centimeters wider, five centimeters flatter, with a longer wheelbase and shorter overhangs, the 4.19 meter long LBX is not as ‘upright’ as the Yaris Cross but is significantly chunkier. With its typical Lexus face, newly interpreted “Diabolo grille” and stylish LED lights, the LBX looks more valuable and makes it clear from the outside that it competes in a higher league like the Audi Q2.

While the LBX looks lighter and sleeker than the Yaris, thanks to less rustic-looking panels on the wheel arches, it’s actually around 100 kilograms heavier. Lexus technicians explain that more than half of this extra weight is due to the use of more insulation material than in the Yaris Cross. LBX passengers should travel as comfortably as if they were packed in cotton wool.

luxury interior

This means that the LBX also meets interior comfort requirements. The materials used here are tasteful and high quality; The ambiance is stylish and the Mark Levinson sound system sounds amazing. However, the available space is not very generous. Things can get tight quickly, especially for tall people in the back. The boot with a relatively high loading threshold is also quite modest (315 to 994 l).

The cockpit looks simple. In addition to the 9.8-inch touchscreen, elegantly placed in the center console and slightly lower than in the Yaris, there are also several practical buttons for direct control of the most important functions. Many of the electronic aids offered as standard or options on the LBX are not yet available to us in the small car segment. For example, the digital car key (the car can be unlocked using a smartphone), the E-Latch door opening system (prevents doors from opening from the inside when a cyclist approaches), or the predictive productivity assistant system that proactively analyzes traffic via navigation, etc. helps save fuel.

Not a sports car

Which brings us to driving. And then we quickly realize: Weighing around 1.3 tonnes, the LBX is not sporty. It is quiet and comfortable thanks to the double glass and the insulation material we mentioned. The LBX shares with the Yaris Cross a slightly revised, self-charging hybrid system (1.5-litre three-cylinder with electric motor at the front axle) and a now slightly more powerful and more compact nickel hybrid battery. The four-wheel drive version has an additional 6 hp electric motor on the rear axle.

This proven drive unit with a total power of 136 HP (100 kW) is sufficient for daily use and is also very economical. Lexus claims WLTP consumption of 4.5 l/100 km (4×4: 4.6 l). But this driving combination is not really dynamic (0-100 km/h in 9.2 seconds; 4×4: 9.6 seconds, top speed 170 km/h).

It remains to be seen whether Lexus can actually bring the 400 LBX to the targeted young audience in Switzerland in the first year of sales. Because prices are confident and start from 35,900 francs, while the 4×4 version starts from 44,900 francs. This is much more than the technically identical Toyota Yaris Cross, with less comfortable equipment but priced at 24,400 or 30,900 francs (4×4).

Source: Blick