- Doors and Seats
5 doors, 5 seats
- Engine
2.0i, 4 cyl.
- Engine Power
126kW, 205Nm
- Fuel
Petrol (91) 5.8L/100KM
- Manufacturer
FWD
- Transmission
Auto (CVT)
- Warranty
5 Yr, Unltd KMs
- Ancap Safety
5/5 star (2019)
2021 Lexus UX200 F Sport review
Small luxury SUVs need to make a big impact without costing the earth. Is the Lexus UX200 F Sport the right mix of practicality and premium?
- Interior is full of nice materials and appointments
- Good, quiet ride quality around town
- Efficient, unobtrusive powertrain
- Noticeable amount of road noise on the highway
- Dated, awkward infotainment experience
- F Sport by name, but not particularly by nature
Introduction
As buyers continue to flock to SUVs as town cars instead of hatchbacks and sedans, the 2021 Lexus UX200 F Sport will be on the consideration list for those who want something small and refined.
One could argue the merits and shortcomings of the modern-day SUV until they are blue in the face. But in a way, it doesn't matter: buyers have clearly made up their minds. They're voting with their wallets and feet every day, opting for something like this Lexus UX instead of a small car or hatch.
And in that climate, Lexus's cheapest and smallest offering has a pivotal role to play for Toyota's luxury arm. It's the third most popular model, and will be looking to introduce many new buyers into the brand.
Like every other SUV segment, competition is both fierce and plentiful in this neck of the woods. The big three have two entrants each: BMW has the X1 and X2, Audi the Q2 and Q3, and Mercedes has the GLA and electric EQA.
Amongst the UX range, F Sport rates as the most expensive and sportiest. It's got unique bumpers and 18-inch wheels, along with a unique interior and a handful of other changes.
F Sport also indicates something of a sporting edge, but this is more around show than go. The '200' part for the UX indicates a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine mated to a CVT automatic gearbox and making 126kW and 205Nm.
The other powertrain option – UX250 – is a closed-loop hybrid using an Atkinson-cycle 2.0-litre engine and electric motor/generator powered by a nickel metal hydride battery.
There's also an electric variant of the UX coming called the UX300e, which should arrive by the end of 2021.
But enough about that, back to the job at hand: around $57,000 worth of small luxury SUV. No small amount of money, does it stack up in the real world?
Key details | 2021 Lexus UX200 F Sport |
Price (MSRP) | $53,450 |
Colour of test car | Titanium ($1500) |
Options | Moon roof: $2500 |
Price as tested | $57,450 (before on-road costs) |
Rivals | Audi Q3 | BMW X1 | Volvo XC40 |
Inside
This is the strongest part of the UX's game. Our tester has a stark and resplendant white interior trimming, which caused me to have a stern word with the kids before loading them in. But overall, the interior of the UX200 F Sport looks and feels of high quality.
The sporting-style seats here are an F Sport thing, which also have electric adjustment and memory functions, as well as heating and venting up front.
Storage is decent, with cupholders behind a wireless charging pad that can also store bits and bobs quite well. The centre console isn't huge, but would fit a larger wallet or clutch. You'll also find a couple of USB power outlets in here.
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Air-conditioning controls are easily manipulated and everything falls to hand easily. There are some classic Lexus ingredients here, like a CD player and analogue clock.
There is good space in the second row for adults to get in and ride comfortably, with solid legroom and headroom on offer. It's not capacious, but no small SUV is. Kids don't seem to be as well-treated, with the high hip line and small window aperture offering little visibility for little tikes. Hard seat backs in the front seem to handle the wrath of restless feet well enough, however.
The second row of the UX200 F Sport also has important additions like air vents and USB power outlets. Plus, some cupholders are hiding in the fold-down armrest.
The boot of the UX – measuring in at 371L – offers enough space for day-to-day usage and shows the pragmatic usage of space across the 4495mm length. Lexus doesn't seem to be robbing Peter to pay Paul, in terms of the split between second row and boot space.
2021 Lexus UX200 F Sport | |
Seats | Five |
Boot volume | 371L |
Length | 4495mm |
Width | 1840mm |
Height | 1520mm |
Wheelbase | 2640mm |
Infotainment and Connectivity
While the latest examples of Lexus design have started to move away from the much-maligned touchpad infotainment control system, this 2021 UX200 is unfortunately still stuck with it. And to make matters worse, the UX hasn't yet managed to pick up touchscreen functionality like the larger RX.
Maybe it's just me, but I found it challenging to use and not intuitive. I often overshot my mark on the touchpad, with the cursor in the wrong area and frustration creeping in. This is especially the case when driving, and a touchscreen within reach is no doubt easier to use.
With a little bit of persistence, the touchpad is usable, and you start to use the menu buttons more so for getting around the operating system.
The infotainment display, with 10.3 inches of size and seemingly good processing speeds, is otherwise good. There is Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, as well as digital radio and native navigation. And, of course, you can dig out the old CD collection and put it to use in this UX200 – an increasingly rare feature these days.
Safety and Technology
As one would expect, the Lexus UX range pulls no punches in terms of standard safety equipment. Along with a five-star ANCAP safety rating from 2019 (when this car originally launched), there is a gamut of safety acronyms to dig through.
There is autonomous emergency braking (AEB) with pedestrian and daytime cyclist detection, but this technology is yet to pick up intersection detection like later models. There's also traffic sign recognition (TSR), automatic high beams, lane-trace assist semi-autonomous driving and all-speed active cruise control, blind-spot monitoring (BSM), rear cross-traffic alert (RCTA) and parking sensors front and rear.
Tyre pressure monitoring is a nice touch, and a total of eight airbags throughout the cabin is more than your average.
2021 Lexus UX200 F Sport | |
ANCAP rating | Five stars (tested 2019) |
Safety report | Link to ANCAP |
Value for Money
At $53,450 before on-road costs, the F Sport represents the pointy end of the range for Lexus's smallest SUV. More money can be spent on a hybrid powertrain and all-wheel drive, but one could argue that the Lexus UX makes more sense in another specification.
The extra spend over a more mainstream small SUV is evident, especially when you consider the inclusions in this specifcation and the quality of materials in the cabin. Things like adaptive damping and sporty driving modes also increase the cost, but I wonder if going for another specification with an improved sound system or a 360-degree camera would make for a better car overall.
With four years and 100,000km of factory coverage, the Lexus warranty offering sits in between the best and the worst for luxury cars. Somewhat ironically, these more expensive and premium brands have been slower to adopt more comprehensive coverage that is common amongst the mainstream manufacturers.
Some brands – Jaguar and Land Rover for example – have bumped up their own warranty offerings to five years and unlimited kilometres, which is better than Lexus.
Servicing is set at $495 per visit, with 15,000km intervals (or 12 months) in between visits. This totals $1485 for three years, or $2475 for five years of ownership and servicing.
While a more efficient hybrid powertrain is available, along with miserly diesel powerplants in competitive vehicles, the 7.7 litres per hundred kilometres we logged is quite decent. That included a fair amount of around-town driving, so it would likely improve if you were to spend more time on the highway.
At a glance | 2021 Lexus UX200 F Sport |
Warranty | Four years/100,000km |
Service intervals | 12 months/15,000km |
Servicing costs | $1485 (3 years) | $2475 (5 years) |
Fuel cons. (claimed) | 5.8L/100km |
Fuel cons. (on test) | 7.7L/100km |
Fuel type | 91-octane petrol |
Fuel tank size | 47L |
Driving
As one can probably gather from reading the spec sheet down below, the driving experience isn't one that you'd call sporting. While certainly adequate for the general job at hand, the combination of a 2.0-litre naturally aspirated petrol engine and continuously variable automatic transmission is more run-of-the-mill than racy.
It's far from a bad powertrain, just don't let the whole 'F Sport' thing cloud your expectations too much. The engine is mostly very quiet, except for when working hard. The CVT transmission, even though it's stepped in its general nature, lets the engine rev hard and long near redline under hard acceleration. It gets the UX moving along at a respectable enough clip when needed.
The ride quality of the UX is quite good, particularly around town where it will spend most of its time.
We did note a bit of highway noise translating its way into the cabin, which put it at odds with an otherwise serene experience around town. Noise insulation for bumps and rough surfaces seems good, so I'm guessing the tyres seem to hum a little more than normal in this UX.
This specification UX (F Sport) gets adaptive dampers and a variety of driving modes to select, which does set it apart from the rest of the range. These different modes are available through the hammerhead-shark-style controls atop the instrument binnacle.
Considering the not-so-sporting nature of the powertrain, however, there isn't much call to get outside of anything beyond Eco or Comfort. In these modes, the UX200 offers supple bump absorption while also managing good body control and steering response.
The coolest thing about the instruments, in fact, is the sliding gauge for additional digital real estate. It jumps across to allow room for additional readouts like trip computers and tyre pressure monitoring, and is a small and tenuous link to Lexus's incredible LFA supercar. Cool.
Being so small, and with a 2640mm wheelbase, the UX200 is nicely manoeuvrable around town and can slide easily into smaller parking spots. This is helped by the front and rear parking sensors and reversing camera; a 360-degree camera is an optional extra.
Key details | 2021 Lexus UX200 F Sport |
Engine | 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol |
Power | 126kW @ 6600rpm |
Torque | 205Nm @ 4800rpm |
Drive type | Front-wheel drive |
Transmission | Torque convertor automatic |
Power to weight ratio | 82.0kW/t |
Weight | 1540kg |
Tow rating | 750kg braked / 750kg unbraked |
Turning circle | 5.2m |
Conclusion
The Lexus UX200 F Sport does a lot of things right. Firstly, it looks and feels like a quality and luxury car from the inside. The general deportment and ride quality around town are very good, and it does manage to carry a unique style in comparison to many other small SUVs out there.
Some elements aren't so good, however. The infotainment is a sore point for me, and would benefit most from including touchscreen functionality.
The unfortunate thing about this specification is that F Sport doesn't really carry enough of the sporting schtick to justify its location in the range. Things like adaptive damping and extra driving modes don't particularly help the cause over other specifications, even if it does look different from the rest of the range.
And considering a specification like Sports Luxury costs similar money – but has nicer inclusions that are optional extras in this specification – it seems to be a smarter choice.
Buyers might be better off spending a little extra on the more efficient and more powerful hybrid powertrain as well, for the $3500 expense.
And, of course, there are some well-polished competitors to also consider. Volvo's XC40 takes some beating in particular, as well as the usual suspects from Germany.