You don’t have to buy a big car to be posh, and here’s one reason why.
The LBX is a tiddler, about the same size as a VW Polo, but it has big car luxury. So the little Lexus is still cheap? Erm, not really, premium doesn’t come cheap even in a small car so we are looking north of 30k and some climbing to the top of the range.
Lexus launched LBX three years ago for one reason: To get into the heads of the young and upwardly mobile. Yes, the Japanese company needed to cast its net wider than its traditional middle and ageing audience. And it had the means. On the opposite side of the factory floor is the Toyota Yaris Cross, highly efficient and sensible so it took the chassis, covered it in a trendy body, dressed it in upmarket gear and hey presto it has a car that will appeal to those bright young things who like cool and casual, as well as us fuddy duddy old ‘uns.
Just to get the record straight this is not a Toyota with a Lexus badge. No offence but this is proper premium. The door handles provide the first clue, nothing mechanical here, a soft touch and the door opens electrically.
Inside looks to have had an overdose of faux leather. Seats, dashboard inserts, door coverings and lots of red stitching leave you in no doubt why you are paying the extra bucks. It looks good as does the flowing dashboard design particularly the slim air vents which are neatly set and unobtrusive.
Everything looks up to date, a digital driver’s display and central touchscreen angled back to avoid glare and it works. There are a few switches to control the heating below the screen otherwise everything is screen based including the fan speed and heated front seats but they are always on display which is sensible.
The not so good bit is that the display often looks a mishmash and needs some quiet contemplation to work it all out. For whatever reason I could not get the navigation to work; not even voice control could find a destination.
Things are worse with the touch sensitive steering wheel functions. Menus appear in the head up display on the windscreen but dart around and are distracting when driving. Basically the Lexus needs a tech transplant and it is ready and waiting on the Toyota side of the garage. The RAV4 reviewed last week has the new system which is simple and user friendly and I am betting it is ready to be dropped into new Lexus models.
One last negative is rear legroom. There is no disguising the fact that it is tight and bettered by just about every other similar sized supermini I have driven. On the plus side the boot is big for its size, it might have been worth cutting it down a tad and giving a few more inches of legroom.
LBX uses the same 1.5 litre hybrid engine as Yaris but has more power. I covered a lot of miles driving to south Wales on endlessly twisting A roads and was grateful for the excellent pick up when overtaking. I loved the handling as well, safe and solid in and out of bends with nicely weighted steering giving plenty of feedback.
Economy is a given with any Toyota or Lexus models, the company’s hybrid technology is the envy of the motoring world and LBX gets the benefit. I often got mid sixties on individual trips but was disappointed not to crack 60mpg at the end of my 490 mile week. I nearly got there with 59.6mpg, a little shy of the official average.
This is an expensive package for a small car but is there if you like a bit of luxury, refinement and a decent spec which, at the top end, will give powered seats with memory, surround camera and powered tailgate.
Fast facts
LBX Premium Plus
£35,695 (starts £29,995)
1.5 litre 3cyl petrol; 134bhp
0-62mph 9.2secs; 106mph
61.4mpg combined
103g/km. 1st VED £405
Insurance group 24
Boot: 402-994 litres
