Lexus LBX 2025: Where compact luxury meets affordability and economy

The Lexus LBX is a compact all-rounder for the city and the country that ticks almost all of the right boxes.

What do you think when you read or hear the word Lexus? For me, it’s often been long elegant saloon cars, adored by fancy executives the world over as they go from deal to deal, squawking on their carphones. Lots of beige leather and bad sunglasses.

My friend’s mother also used to own an RX450h, which had the distinction of being one of the first hybrid SUVs on the road all the way back in 2010. It also had beige leather, and I enjoyed riding in the back of it on our way to football practice.

Big, elegant, and luxurious would be the three words I would choose if pushed. Cars to be driven around in, rather than driven in. But that is an outdated view of Lexus, the luxury arm of our dear friends at Toyota. They now make lots of different cars and some of them you might even describe as affordable and small. Step forward the Lexus LBX.

A stiff suspension set-up and a well-aligned hybrid power train produce a surprisingly fun driving experience.

As cars, and specifically SUVs, have gotten bigger, a literal gap has opened in the market. That gap has been filled by what some would call the ‘compact SUV’. Things such as the Range Rover Evoque, the Audi Q2, and the Porsche Macan if you have a bit more money to burn. People liked the elevated driving position of the SUV, but also people live in cities and want to parallel park on their first try. A compromise was reached.

Lexus’s foray into compromise territory is the LBX, an adorable little car that looks a bit like a big car, and costs a fraction under £30,000. It is a hybrid with a big front grille that makes it look a bit like a cross goldfish. It fits in very small parking spaces. So far, so good.

‘Grrr I’m an angry goldfish’

There is much to like about the LBX. For a start, it looks good. I like the styling and I like the dimensions. It looks more purpose built than a lot of other compact SUVs, which can be miniature versions of their larger cousins (the Evoque looks like a tiny Range Rover, for example). It gives the impression that Lexus took the time to design this car, rather than just shrink one of their other models. There might have even been temptation in the design department to just put a different dress on the Toyota Yaris Cross, but the LBX offers a bespoke interior and a longer wheelbase. It’s a good-looking car, is what I’m trying to say.

The good looks continue on the inside, where that bespoke interior is extremely impressive and the luxurious side of Lexus comes to the fore. The driving position is excellent and the seats are astoundingly comfortable. The infotainment system is run through a 9.8in touchscreen on the centre console, which does everything you want it to do extremely simply. Everything feels luxurious and is arranged in a way that pleases the eye. A lot of car interiors these days can feel overwhelming, like the dashboard of a 747; the LBX by contrast is simple and ergonomic.

The interior. Lots of buttons, which I always like, and even the touchscreen icons are big and simple, making things easy to find and press.

Under the ‘hood, the LBX is powered by a three-cylinder 1.5-litre petrol engine that, when combined with the self-charging electric motor, makes a very economical car surprisingly speedy. Lexus says that the LBX will do around 60mpg; we never got close to that level, but even with some careless accelerating and braking, were never in danger of going below 50mpg.

The electric motor is ideal for silently gliding around cities, and even more helpful for filling in the power gaps when the petrol motor needs to catch up. The LBX is undeniably zippy — 0-30mph is taken care of in 3.5 seconds. The suspension is also surprisingly stiff, which can make speedbumps a bit more exciting than they should be, but means you get a very smooth ride along the motorway and even more confidence when zooming around the small back roads of Kent, which is where I took it for the weekend. The whole thing feels surprisingly sporty.

There are, however, a few things not to like about the LBX. I understand that not everyone in the world is two metres tall, but I am, and there was not a huge amount of room in the driver’s seat for my legs. As for the back row of seats, there was even less, and you wouldn’t be able to drive five full-size adults in the car for more than an hour without some kind of bloody revolution occurring. The boot, however, is a good size and is nice and square, which makes packing as simple as playing Tetris.

A big boot in a little car.

So who is it for? I suppose that is the question that has long haunted the makers of the compact SUV. It’s not a people mover, although you could easily fit two children in the back should you so desire. It’s a car for those who split their time between the country and the city, I would suggest — easy to park and drive in town, and easy to drive through the narrow lanes of rural England. The LBX is also offered in a four-wheel drive version, further enhancing its countryside credentials, although you will pay a penalty in boot space, mpg and performance if you go down that route.

I have long been sceptical of the crossover or compact SUV. I was worried that by trying to offer something for everyone, cars such as the LBX, Evoque or Macan would do nothing well. But the LBX is a proper all-rounder: fun to drive, comfortable to ride in and, if driven correctly, very affordable to run. It’s a shame that the lovely interior (Lexus have long been the masters of comfort in cars) is a little small. But that was the only blemish I could find. And I am not alone in my praise of the LBX — WhatCar? named it their Car of the Year for 2024.