Seven-day test: Living with the Lexus UX300e
Lexus launched the UX300e, its first full electric vehicle, in November 2021. It competes in the luxury small SUV segment with chief rivals the Mercedes-Benz EQA and Volvo XC40 Recharge Pure Electric.
We lived with the entry-level Luxury – priced from around $80,000 drive-away – for one week to discover how well it fits into family life.
Day 1: Introduction
Good. It’s about time. Of all the brands that should embrace, champion and dedicate a future to electric vehicles, it’s Lexus.
Why? We associate Lexus with a smooth, quiet and luxurious drive, much as we do with Rolls-Royce, Range Rover or Genesis. Sure, these brands can do performance sporty offerings too, but they’re at their best when sticking to their raison d’etre.
Peering into the Lexus UX300e it’s a rich, comfy and leathery-filled welcome. But climbing aboard I slam my shin into a (pointless) pointy lower plastic part of the dashboard.
As blood runs down my leg I think it’s probably my own fault. Perhaps I enter cars in a stupid manner? I then recall never doing such a thing before, and when I bash the same shin on Day 4 (on the same bit of dashboard) I scream curses at the mad folk who’ve designed this plastic dash hazard.
Anyway. I’m greeted by a dashboard indicating 239 kilometres of range with air conditioning on, or 263 kilometres with it turned off. I’m in the city, it’s 31 degrees outside, so we’ll be using those blowers.
Interestingly, the electric UX has a traditional analogue fuel gauge just as you’d find in a petrol or diesel car. Most EVs have a fancy digital effort with a bar decreasing as you drain the battery. Lexus has done away with ‘battery percentage remaining’ and given a needle that moves between F and E. It helps see the tank as half full rather than half empty.
The UX300e does traditional very well. Its layout is incredibly familiar with your gear shifter, buttons, stalks and controls as you’d find them in the equivalent petrol or hybrid version. It’s therefore not as ideally packaged as dedicated electric cars (vehicles where no petrol/diesel version had to be factored into the design), but if this is your first move to an electric car the Lexus’ familiarity will ease the transition.
I settle in for a 140 kilometre drive home, mainly on the highway. I can already tell this is where the electric Lexus shines. Faux leather seats are exceptionally sink-in comfortable – ventilated too on this hot day – it cruises beautifully (albeit with a dash of road noise) and little luxuries like deep carpet floor mats remind why this little SUV is a chunky $80k on the road.
I make it home with 119km range still showing – better than it forecast despite much of the journey being at 110km/h. Consumption is 16.6kWh/100km, a bit over the claimed 15kWh/100km average.
Day 2: Family duties
There’s general family approval for its looks. Wifey likes the “edgy design” and vibrant orange colour; I’m a fan of the light strip running the length of the rear. I’m also grateful the giant front grille is black and not chrome to dial down the bling.
The kids hop in the back for the ride to school and credit the Lexus for a couple of USB-C charge points, rear vents and two heated seats.
It’s still a small SUV though, and while the kids are reasonably well accommodated, it’s more testing for adults sitting in the back. Headroom is acceptable but legroom’s cramped when tall adults are in the front. The middle seat you’d only want to save for very occasional use.
The drive is surprisingly lively. I floor it out of our street onto the main road, there’s a bit of torque steer and the front wheels spin as the motor’s 300Nm is unleashed. There’s even a nice weighty feel to the steering as we tackle a few roundabouts on the school run.
We quickly forget it’s electric car, such is the ‘normalness’ here. The stubby gear shifter (a lovely little leather thing, by the way) can be pulled back into ‘B’ mode for regeneration when lifting off the throttle. The level of regen is adjustable through steering wheel paddles, but even at the maximum level it’s mild-mannered.
So far, so smooth.
Day 3: Public charging
A bonus of owning a prestige brand EV is they chuck free public charging at you. The UX300e comes with three years complimentary charging using the Chargefox network, which is ideal if there’s a charge point near your house.
No such luck for me. My closest one is 30 kilometres away. I’m off for an early swim at Noosa and there’s a Smart Charge 50kW charger at a hotel 1km walk from the beach. It’s not on the Chargefox network so won’t be free, but I give it a whirl. 50kW, by the way, is the maximum charge rate this Lexus can accept, so ultra rapid chargers are pointless.
I have the Smart Charge app on my phone with credit card linked, so it’s a simple case of plugging in the CHAdeMO plug (yes, it’s a bit of an antique when Australia has mostly shifted to CCS combo), starting the session on my phone and pressing start on the Tritium charger.
There’s 35 percent charge and 102km range showing when it begins, I head off, have a swim, and when enjoying a coffee afterwards I use the app to remotely cancel the charging.
In just over an hour I buy 29.5kW for $8.88 (seems reasonable) and I return to a car with 94 percent charge and a range of 296km with air con on. I love it when public charging fits in to everyday life rather than making a dedicated trip just to charge.
Day 4: Work errands and home charging
Bit of a workout for the Lexus today. I’m on the road on work duties most of the day, but before leaving I venture into the attic and dust off an old box I never thought I’d need again. My CD collection from the 90s!
Yes, the UX300e has wired CarPlay and Android Auto, but there’s also a hidden away CD player as part of the banging 13-speaker Mark Levinson audio setup. I’m on the road with some 90s grunge classic albums and it sounds incredible.
Out of interest, I play the same song I’ve just heard on the CD through Spotify/Apple CarPlay to see which sounds better. Sorry to break it to you, but CDs rule.
The UX300e chews through the kilometres with ease, but I notice for the first time its limitations on not-so-great roads. It’s limo-like on the smooth stuff, but feels quite crashy on rougher sections, especially country road undulations.
I cover some 200km today, and start thinking the UX300e’s range is about 100km too few to keep me comfortable. At least the readout is accurate enough. If it says the range is 150km, that’s what I’m getting.
We’re off on a 400km round-trip tomorrow, so it’s back to the Smart Charge charger to boost the batteries. Horror! After 30 minutes of trying there’s some sort of charging problem. The Tritium charger just won’t start. After chatting to Smart Charge on the phone a local chap at the hotel (where the charger is) resets it all.
Still no joy. I cut my losses, it’s half an hour wasted and I’m back at my garage with only 36km range remaining. Not ideal.
I plug in the home Type 2 AC charger to my 10 amp socket (no wallbox at my house) and a lowly 2.3kW starts filing into the battery.
This won’t be a problem for owners. If you buy a UX300e you score a complimentary three-year Encore Platinum subscription plus a free home wallbox (7kW ABB Terra AC model). Platinum membership also brings the likes of valet parking and four eight-day loans of other Lexus vehicles, such as an LS limousine or LX off-roader. Tasty perk, that.
Back to my non-Encore journalist life. The car tells me the time to full charge in my garage is 22 hours and 10 minutes. We’re leaving for Hervey Bay in 12 hours, so I start re-planning our charge stops.
Day 5: Family road trip
Typical of families getting ready, we’re late to leave so I end up with 13.5 hours of home charging. The car has received 31.5kWh overnight and our range is 214km with air con on.
We make a tactical charging stop at Gympie, the first chance I get to use a free Chargefox charger. The UX300e starts with 60 percent charge (160km range indicated) and I want to brim the 54.3kWh battery for our journey.
Lexus provides owners with a Chargefox card to access that three years of free charging. I simply plug the car in, tap the card on the charger’s sensor and press start.
Despite Gympie having a gorgeous (and tourist hot spot) old station, the Chargefox 50kW charger is in a large, open carpark in not the best part of town. Graffiti’d lockup garages and the back of residential units overlook the charge point, and access to the town centre is down a dodgy-looking pathway.
“I would not feel safe charging here late at night on my own,” the better half suggests. “It’s so exposed and we totally stand out in a bright orange electric Lexus in the centre of a barely-lit carpark.”
Fair point. The UX300e has a My Room mode where the air conditioning and audio stays on while you charge, but even with the doors locked it’s not the most relaxing place to refill.
After browsing the vape shops and dollar stores of Gympie’s glitzy main strip, some 42 minutes later we’re back at the Lexus and find 96 percent charge after 17.5kWh has been gifted. Our range is 262km with air-con on. For our trip, that means we need to factor in another charge on our way home. Bugger.
We spend four hours in Hervey Bay, and criminally, there’s no fast charger here despite it being a popular holiday spot. While having lunch it would have been ideal to recharge the Lexus.
Instead, we pull into Maryborough on our return journey with 89km range (30 percent charge) remaining. The 50kW Chargefox charger is right by a busy main road overlooking car dealerships. Again, not your ideal location to take in the sights.
With tired kids and no nearby coffee shop or park, we sit and endure half an hour of boring charging. Not great when you just want to get home, but at least the charging is free. My son (age nine) tells me petrol cars fill up waaay quicker. I can’t argue.
This final ‘wasted’ 30 minutes convinces me the Lexus’ range isn’t best suited for family road trips. Town use? Most definitely. But if I was making this 400km round trip again, I’d take our petrol car.
Day 6: The weekly shop
It’s still just a small SUV so the boot’s not huge. As I’ve recently tested a Hyundai Ioniq 5 (classed a medium SUV, but equivalent price to the Lexus UX300e) I appreciate how much better packaged dedicated EVs are.
The Hyundai’s 524L boot trounces the Lexus’ 414L. I try fitting my push bike into the Lexus’ rear with the seats down, but a wheel has to come off to allow it. No such problem in the Hyundai.
Rear visibility also isn’t a UX300e strong point. A rear camera is decent to help reversing into tricky spots, but no front camera is an oversight.
Day 7: Last fling and summing up
After over 1000km you get to know a vehicle pretty well.
After trips around town and one lengthy road trip it’s clear the approximate 300km range of the Lexus UX300e makes it better suited to shorter, suburban journeys.
And that’s just fine with me. I’d hazard most UX300e buyers would have access to a second car, so those longer journeys could be done with it. For our humdrum school run/shopping/short work trips – a typical week for us and many others – the Lexus has ample range and proves a sublime local cruiser.
With a free home wallbox charger as a sweetener, plugging in overnight in your garage or driveway should maintain high battery percentages. If not, slinging some electron juice in at a free 50kW Chargefox fast charger when the opportunity arises is a sound plan. If you have one close to your house it’s a real boon.
The leap from a combustion car to this UX300e would be simple. In most cases it drives, feels and behaves very much like a normal Lexus. Luxurious and quiet with a well-appointed and well-finished cabin, plus some lovely ownership perks.
Its problem is the increasingly excellent competition at this circa $80,000 price point. Dedicated EVs with smarter packaging and longer range I feel are better products – the Hyundai Ioniq 5, Kia EV6, Polestar 2 and Tesla Model 3 included – albeit not quite matching Lexus’ badge cachet.
In isolation it’s a beautiful and classy small SUV that’s a delight to pilot around town. It’s a good Lexus, but not a great electric vehicle.
EV 7-day logbook: Lexus UX300e Luxury
The car: Lexus UX 300e Luxury
Price: $74,000 plus on-road costs
Price as tested: About $80,000 drive-away
Options fitted: Carnelian premium paint ($1750)
Claimed EV consumption: 15kWh/100km
Actual EV consumption: 16.9kWh/100km
Kilometres travelled: 1134km
Lexus UX300e Luxury specifications
Basics: EV, 5 seats, 5 doors, compact SUV, FWD
Power/torque: 150kW/300Nm
Acceleration: 0-100km/h in 7.5 seconds
Range: 315km (WLTP)
Battery capacity: 54.3kWh
Battery warranty: 10 years/160,000km
Motors: 1 front
AC charging: 6.6kW, Type 2 plug
DC charging: 50kW, CHAdeMO plug
