Lexus LBX review

It certainly feels premium in here, and much more so than your everyday compact crossover. You get the choice of a variety of fabric, leather or vegan finishes to suit all tastes, plus ambient lighting with 64 (sixty-four!) different colours to choose from, and luxury options like a height adjustable head-up display and 13-speaker Mark Levinson sound system.

We particularly liked the mid-range Premium Plus Design trim of our test car, with its fake leather and smart red stitching, and if you’re feeling particularly fancy there’s sand, brown or tan leather options. The air vents also look particularly smart, neatly integrated into the dash much like the Honda Civic.

It’s not perfect: there are a few hard plastics dotted about (notably the lower part of the dash and door bins, which are surprisingly small, even if you do get a large cubby hole in the centre console), while the push-to-open door handles feel over-engineered. Enjoy explaining to anyone and everyone how to use them. We’re nitpicking here, mind.

What's the tech like?

Depending on spec, you get a seven- or 12.3-inch digital dial display (though limited in customisability), while all models get a 9.8-inch infotainment display, which is simple to operate if a little basic in appearance. It isn’t the most responsive OS we’ve ever used, but Apple CarPlay and Android Auto do come as standard, so you'll probably just plug in your phone and leave it. 

There’s also proper physical switchgear to operate certain elements of the climate control, although the heated steering wheel, seats and fan speed are adjusted via the touchscreen. It's not as tiresome as it sounds though: these controls are permanently displayed at the bottom of the screen. Very sensible. 

All trims from mid-spec Premium Plus upwards get touch-sensitive buttons on the steering wheel, in addition to the existing physical ones. This allows you to operate and navigate through additional menus in the head-up display, but they're a little confusing to use and can be very distracting. Perhaps a bit OTT.

Is it spacious?

It’s comfortable enough up front, less so in the rear. Head and legroom is limited and you would probably only want to squeeze two adults in there. Even if the total of five USB ports should keep any Gen Z-ers happy.

The boot offers up to 402 litres of space with the seats up (317 litres in the AWD variant, or 400 litres if you get a subwoofer with your stereo), meaning it's around the same size as the one in the Yaris Cross and Audi Q2. Lexus reckons there's room enough for two 75-litre suitcases to be carried beneath the parcel shelf, which is a flimsy split-folding thing that doesn’t scream quality. Perhaps that was a weight-saving choice…