Why we ran it: To see if Lexus ux300e, its first EV, could compete with the established premium electric SUVs
Month 5 - Month 4 - Month 3 - Month 2 - Month 1 - Specs
Life with a Lexus ux300e: Month 5
The car that sets the template for this brand’s EV future has had 8000 miles to make its case. So what’s our verdict?
One thing the Lexus UX 300e has done since I became its custodian several months ago is make me excited for what’s coming next. That might come across as damning with faint praise, but that is not my intention. Lexus has done a lot right with its first battery-electric vehicle, and if it can carry over many of the qualities seen on the UX 300e to the upcoming RZ 450e, it could be a very good electric car indeed.
You could argue that much of its success has just been copied and pasted from the standard, hybrid UX model, but I think that sells it short. With big batteries comes a big weight-laden responsibility – and it involves maintaining drivability as well as all the other qualities Lexus is known for: comfort, premium luxury and refined performance.
Despite its 275kg weight increase (it doesn’t feel particularly heavy, by the way) over the hybrid, the UX 300e ticks many of those boxes with aplomb.
As I’ve been banging on about for several months, it’s supremely comfortable compared with many class rivals. In true Lexus fashion, it’s a pleasant and calmingly quiet place to sit and the proverbial cherry on top is that it’s surprisingly rapid when you want it to be, too. Thanks to the more instantaneous power delivery from an electric motor, it’s one full second quicker from 0-62mph than its hybrid counterpart.
Join the debate
Add your comment
With the Premium Plus options pack, which brings the price of our vehicle up to a slightly eye-popping £45,245, our vehicle is a model that falls somewhere in the middle of the range.
Toyota late to party and you would have thought they'd come up with something a bit special but in the real world pretty much everyone has a better range/price point even the 4 year model 3 which happens to be 160kg or so lighter.
£45k for something the size of an e2008.