Ask Me Anything: 2020 Lexus UX 200 F-Sport

[William Maley]

This week marks my first review vehicle for 2020 - the Lexus UX 200 F-Sport. This one comes equipped with such items as F-Sport exterior package, 18-inch wheels, Lexus Enform with Apple CarPlay  compatibility;  Wi-Fi connectivity, and a 10-way power driver's seat. Options on this vehicle include blind spot monitoring, heated front seats, heated steering wheel, heads-up display, navigation, and a windhield de-icer - the last one being quite important as we had an ice storm roll through last night.

Power comes from a 2.0L DOHC four-cylinder with 169 horsepower. This is likely the same engine I had in my 2019 Toyota Corolla SE hatchback I reviewed last month. This is paired with a CVT and front-wheel drive. Disappointingly, Lexus isn't offering all-wheel drive on the UX 200. To get that, you need to climb up the UX 250h. 

For the day and a half I had the UX, I found to be quite nippy around town. Though on the freeway, the engine becomes quite buzzy and you do need to step on it to get some forward momentum. It is also surprising how maneuverable the vehicle is. I was able to snatch a narrow parking space at a popular restaurant with no issue.

The price-tag on this tester is $42,285 with destination. This surprised me considering how much stuff this vehicle is equipped with.

So while I put some more miles on and grab some photos, drop off any questions you have for Lexus' smallest crossover.

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[riviera74]

How does it compare to the Cadillac XT4?

[David]

WOW, Such an ugly ass.

I would love to know how you feel it compares to other luxury especially the XT4.

[Robert Hall]

$42k for a 2.0 4cyl, FWD and CVT....beyond mediocre..that's the kind of hardware I'd expect in a $20k econobox....

[ccap41]

Good lord... Nothing with a luxury brand should have ANYTHING with 169hp. 

[USA-1]

Is it kick start?

[surreal1272]

Amazing how GM gets kicked in the head for alleged rebadge jobs by some folks yet this re-skinned RAV4 doesn't even register a blip by those same folks. I'm with ccap on this one and will that 169HP on ANY luxury brand is downright criminal. 

[Robert Hall]

7 minutes ago, surreal1272 said:

Amazing how GM gets kicked in the head for alleged rebadge jobs by some folks yet this re-skinned RAV4 doesn't even register a blip by those same folks. I'm with ccap on this one and will that 169HP on ANY luxury brand is downright criminal. 

As far as domestic competition, the Cadillac XT4 has a 2.0 4 with 237hp, and a 9-spd auto, and the Lincoln Corsair 2.0 is 250hp w/ an 8-spd auto.   Lexus definitely comes up short. 

Edited January 13, 2020 by Robert Hall

[ccap41]

19 minutes ago, Robert Hall said:

As far as domestic competition, the Cadillac XT4 has a 2.0 4 with 237hp, and a 9-spd auto, and the Lincoln Corsair 2.0 is 250hp w/ an 8-spd auto.   Lexus definitely comes up short. 

You can also get a 2.3T with 295hp and a plug-in hybrid with 25 miles of EV range and 266hp in the Corsair.

 

[Robert Hall]

12 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

You can also get a 2.3T with 295hp and a plug-in hybrid with 25 miles of EV range and 266hp in the Corsair.

 

Saw that..was just comparing the 2.0 versions.

[William Maley]

20 hours ago, riviera74 said:

How does it compare to the Cadillac XT4?

 

15 hours ago, dfelt said:

WOW, Such an ugly ass.

I would love to know how you feel it compares to other luxury especially the XT4.

I haven't spent any time behind the wheel of the XT4, so I can only express what it is like to sit in it. The XT4 has a slightly larger back seat than the UX, especially in legroom. I was getting photos of the interior yesterday and my knees were in the back of the front passenger seat. I also would say the infotainment system is better because you don't have to use that stupid touchpad controller.

But I think the UX has a nicer interior both in terms of design and material quality. I also like the looks the UX better.

For what I have been reading, the XT4 does have a slightly more uncomfortable ride, along with a fair amount of road noise. Also a number of features such as adaptive cruise control are optional on the XT4.

The closest vehicle I have driven to the UX is the XC40 I drove last year. I think the Volvo is more luxurious, slightly better looking, and offers better performance. But the UX feels more lively in terms of handling and is more maneuverable in tight spaces.

[William Maley]

8 hours ago, ccap41 said:

Good lord... Nothing with a luxury brand should have ANYTHING with 169hp. 

Man you should avoid going to Europe then where there a number of luxury vehicles with similar outputs to this.

 

1 hour ago, surreal1272 said:

Amazing how GM gets kicked in the head for alleged rebadge jobs by some folks yet this re-skinned RAV4 doesn't even register a blip by those same folks. I'm with ccap on this one and will that 169HP on ANY luxury brand is downright criminal. 

I mean we could say the same thing with BMW and the X1 - shared architecture with the MINI or the Cadillac XT4 which shares the same E2XX as the outgoing Buick Regal and Chevrolet Malibu. Just because it shares a platform with the RAV4 and the CH-R, doesn't mean it feels or drives cheap. That platform happens to be one my favorites as it how blends comfort and sport.

4 hours ago, USA-1 said:

Is it kick start?

Possibly in other markets 😛

[oldshurst442]

14 minutes ago, William Maley said:

Man you should avoid going to Europe then where there a number of luxury vehicles with similar outputs to this.

In all fairness, that would be a different market and the rules been played with are waaaaay different than what rules we play with. 

And  moreso to it than that our luxury rules are pretty much bigger is better, which not only lends itself to mean bigger engines and more power, but it also means huge, large, heavy vehicles to go with those bigger engines, and those huge vehicles actually do require bigger engines and bigger outputs BECAUSE they got bigger. And we still play by those rules somewhat today.

In Europe though, old cities exist, and when I mean old cities, I really do mean old. Quebec City is as old as it gets in North America, but by European standards, Quebec City is STILL in its infancy...

With that being said,  there arent many wide and open spaces in Europe to accomodate EVERYONE to own our kind of luxury for cars.  And after 2 devastating wars on that continent, petrol rations and taxes on said petrol to rebuild have made their mark as to why in Europe, small cars and small engines continue to be.

So...

Yeah...I also agree with CCAP's statement.  In OUR market for OUR market.  Thankfully, I dont live in Europe, nor do I ever plan to live in Europe.  Europe, could kiss my Greek ass...   (great history Europe has, but the political hypocrisy is so much more unbearable there than here.  California and Hollyweird times a thousand to give you a clue)

I do see myself visiting Greece often though... its not so bad there.  Really.  Plus Im...Greek.

 

 

 

[ocnblu]

Took a 6-hour round trip in the Kia Forte over the weekend.  Coming out of my truck and into the Kia, I was annoyed with the amount of road noise.  I am wondering if the UX suffers from road noise... which should be banished in all luxe makes.

[smk4565]

169 hp in a Lexus, much less a car that is $41k.  They must be outside their minds!  
This car should have a turbo 4 standard at that price, CVT’s are awful, it is awful in a Corolla’s segment, it is more awful here.  I think FWD only isn’t terrible for the segment because no one is going off road and in light snow, FWD is plenty fine.

 

[balthazar]

I believe mercedes is selling a vehicle with only 188HP- that's the same level as lexus here. Sad.

[USA-1]

4 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

As far as domestic competition, the Cadillac XT4 has a 2.0 4 with 237hp, and a 9-spd auto, and the Lincoln Corsair 2.0 is 250hp w/ an 8-spd auto.   Lexus definitely comes up short. 

Parents recently bought an XT4 AWD for one of their rides (hers) and love it. It's super quiet and smooth with plenty of power from the 2.0T and the 9 speed is super smooth as well. They looked at the XT5 as well and being on the C1XX platform they said it was louder on road and the ride wasn't as smooth.

Edited January 14, 2020 by USA-1

[William Maley]

1 hour ago, oldshurst442 said:

In all fairness, that would be a different market and the rules been played with are waaaaay different than what rules we play with. 

And  moreso to it than that our luxury rules are pretty much bigger is better, which not only lends itself to mean bigger engines and more power, but it also means huge, large, heavy vehicles to go with those bigger engines, and those huge vehicles actually do require bigger engines and bigger outputs BECAUSE they got bigger. And we still play by those rules somewhat today.

In Europe though, old cities exist, and when I mean old cities, I really do mean old. Quebec City is as old as it gets in North America, but by European standards, Quebec City is STILL in its infancy...

With that being said,  there arent many wide and open spaces in Europe to accomodate EVERYONE to own our kind of luxury for cars.  And after 2 devastating wars on that continent, petrol rations and taxes on said petrol to rebuild have made their mark as to why in Europe, small cars and small engines continue to be.

So...

Yeah...I also agree with CCAP's statement.  In OUR market for OUR market.  Thankfully, I dont live in Europe, nor do I ever plan to live in Europe.  Europe, could kiss my Greek ass...   (great history Europe has, but the political hypocrisy is so much more unbearable there than here.  California and Hollyweird times a thousand to give you a clue)

I do see myself visiting Greece often though... its not so bad there.  Really.  Plus Im...Greek.

Point taken, but many people that are buying this type of vehicle in the U.S. don't really care about performance. Its about the badge. See the number of GLAs and X1s that are sold to see that.

Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing this downsizing trend happen in the U.S. more and more. I mean who would have through we would be seeing a turbo 2.0L four-cylinder sold in a truck. For this type of vehicle, 169 horsepower is plenty.

Also on the bigger and better: I argue that its our regulations on safety and other items that are causing vehicles to get heavier, hence requiring more power.  Yes we want more features and technology, but I think all of the safety and advanced active safety stuff is adding more weight overall.

[USA-1]

169hp and a CVT is ridiculous for the lux CUV segment. Toyota/Lexus, who are still resting on their laurels from the 90's and 00's must think their new car buyers are clueless and in some ways they're right, especially if they buy one of these $41K RAV4/UX "F Sport" crossovers. Same with MB in many ways. If the L or 3 pointed star badge is all they want for $40K+ then let them suffer.

Edited January 14, 2020 by USA-1

[oldshurst442]

15 minutes ago, William Maley said:

Point taken, but many people that are buying this type of vehicle in the U.S. don't really care about performance. Its about the badge. See the number of GLAs and X1s that are sold to see that.

Plus, I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing this downsizing trend happen in the U.S. more and more. I mean who would have through we would be seeing a turbo 2.0L four-cylinder sold in a truck. For this type of vehicle, 169 horsepower is plenty.

Point(s) also taken on my part on your rebuttal. 

 

15 minutes ago, William Maley said:

Also on the bigger and better: I argue that its our regulations on safety and other items that are causing vehicles to get heavier, hence requiring more power.  Yes we want more features and technology, but I think all of the safety and advanced active safety stuff is adding more weight overall.

True, but I was more talking about how we went from normal sized cars from the end of WW2 to the excess craze that happened from the mid-1950s that lasted all the way to the mid-1970s and each year in that time period, chrome got more utilized, wheelbases increased, cars got longer and wider, etc.  

Granted, 1920s and 1930s luxury cars were huge too, but that is for another discussion another day. 

Yes, todays cars are heavier, but they arent bigger or wider.  

Ill secede some of my rant, its true that us too, in North America, we are heading to a more European and Asian trend of going smaller. Some reasoning is that of what I said about Europe.   But more of the polluting side of petrol cars rather than rationing it.  But...its the governmental push worldwide that is forcing us North Americans to go that route.  

At least we still have our wide open spaces though...       And our 2500 and 3500 heavy duty pick-up trucks as a last middle finger salute to all opposed of our excessive way of life!!!  

Edited January 14, 2020 by oldshurst442

[USA-1]

20 minutes ago, William Maley said:

I mean who would have through we would be seeing a turbo 2.0L four-cylinder sold in a truck. For this type of vehicle, 169 horsepower is plenty.

2.7T I4 in the Silverado? Yeah, that's ridiculous as well...CAFE regulations be damned. 

Edited January 14, 2020 by USA-1

[smk4565]

1 hour ago, balthazar said:

I believe mercedes is selling a vehicle with only 188HP- that's the same level as lexus here. Sad.

That Mercedes has over 200 lb-ft of torque and weighs less.  Although I think that A220 is sad, they should make the 221 hp turbo 4 in the CLA 250 standard.  Mercedes also makes a vehicle the size of the UX with 400 hp.

[smk4565]

36 minutes ago, USA-1 said:

2.7T I4 in the Silverado? Yeah, that's ridiculous as well...CAFE regulations be damned. 

I would not be surprised if post 2025 the Silverado HD and Ford Super Duty have base engines that are 4-cylinder engines.  

Back to the Lexus 33 mpg combined is nice, but 169 hp is not how to "Experience Amazing"

[USA-1]

1 minute ago, smk4565 said:

I would not be surprised if post 2025 the Silverado HD and Ford Super Duty have base engines that are 4-cylinder engines.  

Back to the Lexus 33 mpg combined is nice, but 169 hp is not how to "Experience Amazing"

Maybe if they have the bed full of battery packs as an EREV truck with the I4 as a backup generator on the Voltec next gen. setup or a full BEV like the 1500's on the way. V8 gas and diesel engines will be in the HD's for many years to come. 

VIA Motors uses a Voltec setup in Silverado 1500 trucks and Express vans. I'd take the 800hp VIA XTRUX Silverado if it's still around. https://www.greencarreports.com/news/1081727_via-motors-xtrux-electric-truck-2013-detroit-auto-show-live-photos

 

33 mpg isn't all that good for that small of an engine with that low of output, shows that it has to work pretty hard much like the 2.7T in the Silverado 1500.

[balthazar]

3 hours ago, William Maley said:

..I think all of the safety and advanced active safety stuff is adding more weight overall.

Yeah; probably.
A BMW 1-series has an overall length of 172" and a base curb weight of 3252.
A Chevy Vega has an overall length of 170", and a base curb weight of 2190.

Imagine what the BMW would weigh if it had as thick of sheet metal and as little of plastics & aluminum as the Vega did. It'd be 4000 lbs.

Edited January 14, 2020 by balthazar

[riviera74]

3 hours ago, USA-1 said:

2.7T I4 in the Silverado? Yeah, that's ridiculous as well...CAFE regulations be damned. 

I hate CAFE too, but Europe and China are leading the charge in raising fuel economy standards now.  The entire industry is forced to comply with foreign regs and higher fuel taxes, hence the likes of the UX200 and the X1 and the GLA and the XT4 etc.  SAD.

[surreal1272]

16 hours ago, Robert Hall said:

As far as domestic competition, the Cadillac XT4 has a 2.0 4 with 237hp, and a 9-spd auto, and the Lincoln Corsair 2.0 is 250hp w/ an 8-spd auto.   Lexus definitely comes up short. 

Having a craptastic CVT doesn’t help the capsule either. $42K for that is a joke. 

[ccap41]

12 hours ago, William Maley said:

Point taken, but many people that are buying this type of vehicle in the U.S. don't really care about performance. Its about the badge. See the number of GLAs and X1s that are sold to see that.

I get that and agree the people buying them aren't looking to race them but 169hp from a n/a motor(meaning it also has dogsh!t for torque) matched to a CVT is a combo to reads passing problems. Those GLAs and X1s atleast produce some torque. They also make a considerable amount more horsepower and probably around 100 lb-ft more torque. 

GLA produces 208hp/258tq

X1 produces 228hp/258tq

14 hours ago, William Maley said:

Man you should avoid going to Europe then where there a number of luxury vehicles with similar outputs to this.

It is a completely different landscape there with much different driving circumstances. 

[David]

12 hours ago, oldshurst442 said:

Point(s) also taken on my part on your rebuttal. 

 

True, but I was more talking about how we went from normal sized cars from the end of WW2 to the excess craze that happened from the mid-1950s that lasted all the way to the mid-1970s and each year in that time period, chrome got more utilized, wheelbases increased, cars got longer and wider, etc.  

Granted, 1920s and 1930s luxury cars were huge too, but that is for another discussion another day. 

Yes, todays cars are heavier, but they arent bigger or wider.  

Ill secede some of my rant, its true that us too, in North America, we are heading to a more European and Asian trend of going smaller. Some reasoning is that of what I said about Europe.   But more of the polluting side of petrol cars rather than rationing it.  But...its the governmental push worldwide that is forcing us North Americans to go that route.  

At least we still have our wide open spaces though...       And our 2500 and 3500 heavy duty pick-up trucks as a last middle finger salute to all opposed of our excessive way of life!!!  

Hell, they better never take my full size Trucks/SUVs as I will never fit in anything. I will stop my rant now before I go off the deep end of my soap box about all the Shitty Little Subcompacts / compacts that companies think the world should pay luxury prices for that are not worth it.

18 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

I get that and agree the people buying them aren't looking to race them but 169hp from a n/a motor(meaning it also has dogsh!t for torque) matched to a CVT is a combo to reads passing problems. Those GLAs and X1s atleast produce some torque. They also make a considerable amount more horsepower and probably around 100 lb-ft more torque. 

GLA produces 208hp/258tq

X1 produces 228hp/258tq

It is a completely different landscape there with much different driving circumstances. 

Totally agree, so tired of gutless auto's that cannot merge at highway speed or move when a semi or bus is coming and they force them to brake hard and cause congestion. Europe can keep their worthless powerless auto's.

[ccap41]

22 minutes ago, ccap41 said:

combo THAT reads passing problems.

Typo.

[surreal1272]

1 hour ago, surreal1272 said:

Having a craptastic CVT doesn’t help the capsule either. $42K for that is a joke. 

Good grief autocorrect. "Capsule" instead of "cause"? Way to go Skynet.

[daves87rs]

ONLY a 169 horses?

[William Maley]

Some final thoughts before the UX 200 F-Sport returns home tomorrow.

• Someone asked about road noise in the UX (forgot who it was) and I'm slightly disappointed. There is a fair amount that comes inside when driving on the freeway. Some of this can be drowned out by the radio, but I have to wonder if switching the tires would help dampen some of the noise.
• Getting cargo into the rear can be troublesome due to the tall lift-over
• Fuel economy is ok, currently sitting at 28.4 MPG with a 60/40 mix of highway/city
• Surprisingly good in the corners with body motions decently controlled and steering providing decent response.