CARS OF THE WORLD

Lexus UX 2023.

Lexus UX crossover has updated interior and character.

The most compact crossover of the Lexus brand debuted in 2018, and since then it has sold over 240,000 copies in 80 countries.

But the company took an unconventional approach to its planned update.

The Lexus UX retained its original exterior and powertrains, but the interior was redesigned and the company tried to make it more driveable.

To achieve the second goal, shock absorbers and electric power steering are reconfigured.

The body is strengthened by twenty extra welding points in the side door openings and the trunk, and in addition the stiffness of the fifth door is increased.

Cars with the F Sport package now have adaptive dampers and additional steering support.

As for the interior, the UX became the next model, which has a touchscreen media system instead of a passive screen.

The size of the display is increased from seven to eight inches in simple versions and from 10.3 to 12.3 inches in more expensive cars.

And to use the touchscreen more conveniently, it had to be moved 143 mm closer to the driver.

It is important that if sedans LS and ES after transition to touch screen still have a trackpad on the central tunnel, Lexus UX has lost it.

Now instead of trackpad there are buttons of heating and ventilation of seats, which before were on the central console.

The CD player slot is gone, and the vacant space is taken by additional USB-C connectors and… a little bit of emptiness.

The media system itself is new — with voice control, advanced online features, the ability to connect remotely from your smartphone and update «over the air».

The system of round-view cameras can now compose an image of the road section directly under the car (based on the pictures recorded during driving), like in real off-road vehicles.

The Lexus Safety System+ electronic assistant system has been improved.

The range still includes petrol version UX 200 (171 hp) and hybrid UX 250h (184 hp).

The former has a Direct Shift variator with a manual first gear and is only offered with front-wheel drive.

The hybrid has an electro-mechanical variator and can have E-Four all-wheel drive for an extra charge, but the rear wheels are driven by a separate Aisin electric motor that produces only 7 hp and 55 Nm. In fact, it can help only when starting from a place.

The updated crossovers Lexus UX will be in the market already in summer. The electric UX 300e, which debuted later than the internal combustion engine versions, will be updated further.