Lexus LBX long-term test
Back in January we named this small SUV as the best new car to buy in 2024 – and now we're backing up that verdict by living with one...
The car Lexus LBX 1.5 Hybrid Premium Plus | Run by Darren Moss, deputy digital editor
Why it’s here To see what our much-praised Car of the Year is like to live with on a daily basis, providing frugal transport while not sacrificing SUV practicality.
Needs to be Frugal, fun to drive, and able to function as a mobile office when needed
Mileage 2354 List price £34,505 Target Price £34,087 Price as tested £35,605 Test economy 55.5mpg Official economy 61.4mpg Private price now £27,872 Dealer price now £28,116 Running costs (excl. depreciation) Fuel £497
12 September 2024 – Star quality
“Star quality,” said famed American film producer Richard D. Zaynuck, “is one of the most difficult things to describe. It emanates from the person, and he may not even understand it himself. It’s a quality that separates the star from the rest of us.” And whether star quality to you means being the best of the breed, winning the most accolades or simply having that certain ‘je ne sais quoi’, I’d like to submit that the Lexus LBX I’ve had as my company car for the past six months has it in spades.
Of course, the LBX started out on a strong footing, having beaten all of its rivals in the small SUV class at our Car of the Year Awards back in January, and ending the evening as our overall Car of the Year for 2024. Among a field of outstanding new cars, it was a real star.
Our time together started well. I’d just finished running a Genesis GV70, whose 2.5-litre petrol engine was draining my bank account faster than a disgruntled office worker at Happy Hour. The LBX, then, with its combination of 1.5-litre petrol engine and electric motor, and the promise of an official 61.4mpg, was music to my ears. Over the 2300 miles the LBX and I have covered, I haven’t managed to match that figure, but my average economy has sat at around 55mpg, which isn’t at all bad considering my mixture of town and motorway driving. Certainly, my bank balance is happier for it.
The LBX’s hybrid system has meant my commutes to and from the What Car? office have been quiet as well as efficient, since the electric motor is able to do most of its heavy lifting around town. And when I do venture onto the motorway, the 134bhp available from the petrol engine means it's never felt slow – indeed, my car can sprint to 62mph faster than the equivalent Audi Q2.
A chance to drive the LBX back-to-back with one of the founding fathers of hybrid motoring – the original Honda Insight – showed just how far the technology has come, too. While the Insight relied on its slippery shape, low-profile tyres and hybrid setup to help drivers cut their running costs, my car packages all the same benefits into the far more practical shape of a small SUV.
I never struggled to fit my luggage into the LBX’s boot – but then again I usually travel only with myself or my partner on board. So it’s worth noting that you can get more into the boot of the rival Volkswagen T-Roc.
When I did travel four-up, as I do to my fortnightly Dungeons and Dragons game, my passengers noted that the LBX’s rear seats were comfortable and supportive, even though six-footers would find their heads brushing the car’s roof-lining.
Trained eyes may know that my car shares its underpinnings and mechanical components with its Toyota Yaris Cross sibling, but you wouldn’t know it from sitting inside the car. Every surface I touched regularly was coated with either plush leather or soft-touch plastics. I appreciated having physical controls to set the temperature, too, rather than having to delve into the LBX’s infotainment system.
Speaking of which, while my car’s 9.8in touchscreen was quick to respond to my inputs, I didn’t appreciate having to accept the system’s terms and conditions at the start of every journey. And while I’m sure the warning messages telling me to adjust my posture are designed to get my face into a position where it can be seen by the driver monitoring system’s camera, those messages were worded rather curtly. Nobody likes being told to sit up by their car on their morning commute.
Sometimes after spending months with a new car, you wonder whether your choice of trim was the right one, and if I were to have my time with the LBX again, I’d save some cash and go for our recommended Premium Plus trim over the Premium Plus Design trim of my car. While the latter brings some extra kit including a blind-spot monitoring system and a wider choice of paint combinations, it also adds more than £1000 to the final price.
Ah yes, the colour. Since day one it’s been the first thing anyone taking a ride in my car has commented upon. My car’s Passionate Yellow and contrasting black roof was as divisive as it was bright, but I ended up adoring it – it certainly made my car easy to spot in the supermarket car park. And after all, what’s the point in being a star if you can’t shine brightly?
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