Lexus LBX Review & Prices

The LBX is Lexus’s entrant into the ever-popular small SUV market, channeling the luxury of the larger RX and NX SUV counterparts - but with much dinkier dimensions.

Think of it as leaving Selfridges clutching a teeny-tiny little bag. After all, some of the poshest things come in small packages, and the LBX does its very best to prove that statement true.

It does it well, especially considering that it’s based on the humble Toyota Yaris Cross - winner of the Urban Living category in the 2025 Carwow Car of the Year awards - so it’s safe to say the LBX comes from good stock.

That makes it smaller than alternatives such as the BMW X1 and Mercedes EQA, sitting somewhere between them and the Peugeot 208 or Audi A1 for size and interior space. A Volvo EX30 has a similar footprint, but the interior is less plush.

Though it’s smaller than the rest of the range, Lexus has done a bang-up job of shrinking its familiar styling cues to fit on the LBX. You get the usual pointy nose, tall grille and angular headlights you’d expect from the posh brand, as well as a funky rear light bar.

It looks rather smart, if unexciting. The electric Alfa Romeo Junior and Mini Aceman are more eye-catching and distinctive, but the Lexus has them licked for interior quality. It feels properly luxurious, like a much larger, more expensive car; totally removed from the Yaris Cross.

There are plush materials and soft upholstery almost everywhere you can touch, plentiful standard features and some nifty touches such as the Lexus-typical soft-close electric windows. The uppermost trim levels come with swanky Alcantara upholstery, which feels particularly boujee.

All LBX trim levels come with a 9.8-inch touchscreen infotainment system, and it’s a vast improvement over the woefully clunky previous generation Lexus, with sharp graphics and a responsive interface. You get a 7.0-inch or 12.3-inch driver display, depending on your trim level, and they’re both clear to read.

It’s not hugely spacious; tall drivers might find legroom a bit tight and the rear bench is a bit cramped. Boot space is similar to alternatives in front-wheel drive models, but four-wheel drive cars have disappointingly little cargo space.

Don’t expect any driving thrills from the LBX, but it makes for a smooth, comfortable and refined runabout. Its compact dimensions make it easy to thread through city streets, and if you can live with the slightly annoying driver assistance aids it’s a breeze to drive long distances too.

Check out new Lexus LBX deals on Carwow, or Lexus LBX lease deals to avoid paying a big lump sum outright. You can browse through used Lexus LBXs for sale through our network of trusted dealers, or other used Lexus models for something a bit more spacious. Carwow can also help you sell your car when you’re ready for a change.

The Lexus LBX starts at a fraction under £30,000 for the entry-level, front-wheel drive Urban trim, but it’s rather well equipped for a base-model car. You get 17-inch alloy wheels, front and rear parking sensors, wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto and the 9.8-inch touchscreen as standard.

Premium trim adds heated seats, adjustable lumbar support, blind spot monitoring and heated front seats, while Premium Plus trim comes with all of that as well as 18-inch wheels and a head-up display.

Top-spec all-wheel drive Takumi Design cars have 18-inch diamond-cut alloy wheels, a heated steering wheel, electrically-adjustable front seats and a 12.3-inch driver display. You’ll pay over £42,000 for the top trim level in all-wheel drive though, so you really need to want all of the fancy gizmos to justify the extra spend.

That puts the LBX Urban at just under the price of a range-topping Peugeot 208 hybrid, which is a good option if you can do with a bit less space but you want just as posh an interior - and more bells and whistles - for your money. A Volvo EX30 will be a few thousand pounds more at any trim level but they’re more comfortable, and the long-range cars could be worth considering if you’re considering an EV alternative.

A fantastic companion round town but bigger SUVs are more relaxing on a long journey

In town

The LBX shares its underpinnings with the Toyota Yaris Cross - the car which won the ‘Urban Living’ category in the 2025 Carwow Car of the Year awards. It’s not at all surprising, then, to find that the Lexus is a great car to drive around town.

It uses a 1.5-litre hybrid engine with a continuously variable transmission that provides smooth acceleration and plenty of pep off the line thanks to the low-down response of the electric motor. As a result it feels nippy up to 30mph, even if the overall acceleration stats aren’t overly impressive.

If you do put your foot to the floor, the engine revs quite hard, but thanks to extra sound deadening over its Yaris Cross sibling it’s not too obtrusive. The suspension has also been overhauled, and delivers a softer ride over lumps and bumps than most other small SUVs.

On the motorway

With 136hp on tap the LBX isn’t especially rapid and you will notice there’s not much power in reserve for overtakes or short sliproads. But it’s very quiet when you do reach a cruise, and it doesn’t feel underpowered compared to cars like the Audi Q2.

The LBX has a suite of assisted driving features and they do generally work well, but the cruise control is activated through a multi-functional controller on the wheel which requires you look at the head-up display to figure out what function does what. It’s needlessly complicated.

Other features, such as the highly annoying speed limit warning or overly cautious driver attention alert, are controlled through several layers of menu on the touchscreen. We wish there were shortcuts for this, like you get on most alternatives nowadays.

On a twisty road

An Audi Q2 or BMW X1 are much more involving to drive than the Lexus down a twisty road. It’s not that the LBX lacks competence, it just doesn’t aim for an enjoyable drive - rather a relaxing one.

The steering, though accurate, is quite slow and doesn’t give much feedback to the driver, whereas the CVT transmission means there’s always a disconnect between what the engine is doing and where your right foot is positioned.

There’s also quite a lot of body lean in the bends thanks to the soft suspension. At lower speeds, you’ll find the LBX relaxing, but it feels a bit frantic to drive quickly.

The Lexus LBX is more spacious inside than you might expect of a car this size, but the boot is really small

The Lexus LBX is a small car, so it was never going to be cavernous inside. That being said, it’s not as tight as you might expect, with loads of adjustment in the seat to get the height you need. The steering wheel has a lot of movement for reach, but it’s limited in how much height you can change. All that being said, leg space is fairly cramped, particularly for taller drivers.

The secondary issue this causes is that it’s tricky for the driver to access the cubby hole beneath the dashboard. It’s a usefully spacious area, but you might need to get your passenger to reach in from their side as your leg blocks access and there’s not much room to manoeuvre it out of the way.

There’s a single cupholder ahead of the gear selector, with a slot to place your phone on the wireless charge pad ahead of it, with USB-C charge slots not far away. A second cupholder is hidden beneath the armrest, where you’ll also find some more storage.

Space in the back seats

Much like the front seats, those in the rear won’t be as cramped as they might expect. Knee room isn’t too bad, and you get good under-thigh support to help relax on longer journeys. Headroom is a bit tighter, so tall passengers might rub their hair on the roof lining, while fitting three across the back would be a challenge.

There’s not much storage in the back, with small door bins about the extent of it. There’s a couple of USB-C slots for charging devices between the front passengers, so it’s not completely creature comfort-free.

Fitting a child seat will be pretty tough, though. The rear doors aren’t particularly wide and bulky seats might push up against those in the front. At least the ISOFIX mounting points are really easy to get to.

Boot space

While the LBX is quite spacious inside, the boot isn't quite as impressive. If you go for the front-wheel drive model it's a respectable 402 litres, but in the all-wheel drive version this drops to 317 litres, which is some way off the other alternatives you might consider.

The Audi Q2 is close at 405 litres, but the bigger Mercedes GLA and Mini Countryman have 435 and 480 litres respectively.

Even with the space you do get, accessing it isn’t the easiest. There’s a deep lip, so if you’re loading something heavy you need to reach in, and there’s minimal under-floor storage. The small boot does at least mean you can fold the rear seats down easily by pressing a button by the headrests.

Interior quality is top-notch in the front, but those in the back will notice cheaper plastics

Interior design and quality is where the Lexus LBX really stands out from its alternatives. The soft Alcantara upholstery found on high-spec models feels really luxurious, and everything you see and touch looks and feels expensive. The material atop the dashboard is almost sponge-like in the way you can squash it between your fingers.

Those in the back get the same lovely seats, but there are a few cheaper plastics to be found, particularly on the top of the door, which you notice when you go to rest your arm. Overall, though, this is the most luxurious small car you can buy.

Fortunately, the infotainment system lives up to the rest of the interior – something that’s not been true of Lexus models in recent memory. Gone is the awkward laptop-like trackpad, and in is a high-resolution touchscreen. It’s a 9.8-inch display and the graphics are sharp, though it’s a shame Apple CarPlay gets wireless support while Android Auto is wired-only.

The 12.3-inch digital instrument display looks great, but it’s only included on Premium Plus cars and above, with Urban and Premium cars getting a 7.0-inch screen.

One of the choice upgrades is the 13-speaker Mark Levinson sound system. Lexus has been using this brand for years and they sound brilliant, but you will have to go for the top-spec Takumi grade to enjoy it.

Under the bonnet sits a 1.5-litre petrol-electric hybrid engine that comes with a choice of front- or all-wheel drive, though the latter is only available with the Takumi trim.

It’s essentially the same unit found in the Toyota Yaris Cross, but it’s been updated to be lighter and more efficient. It makes a reasonable 136hp and can go from 0-62mph in 9.6 seconds. Far from thrilling, but it’s the efficiency that’s the real selling point of this engine – it will do up to 65.7mpg according to official tests, and if the Toyota version is anything to go by, that will be pretty achievable.

Its low CO2 emissions mean that road tax will be fairly low, and only Takumi models are at risk of facing the extra charge in years two to six because of their proximity to the £40,000 limit. As for company car tax, it won’t be extortionate, but all-electric and plug-in hybrid models will have more favourable rates.

When safety tested by Euro NCAP the Lexus LBX scored the top five-star rating, with scores of 82% and 83% in adult and child occupant protection particularly impressive for a small car. Every Lexus model Euro NCAP has ever tested has scored the top rating, a remarkable record.

Safety kit levels ramp up as you work up the trim levels. As standard you get front and rear parking sensors with a rear-view camera, but stepping up one grade to Premium adds a pre-collision warning, driver monitor, blind spot monitor and more.

Takumi models add an automatic parking system, 360-degree camera, lane change assistance and an automatic braking system if it senses traffic passing in front of the car.

Much like its impeccable safety record, Lexus is also known for building some of the most reliable cars around. The LBX is yet to go out on the road and prove its reliability, but the Toyota Yaris Cross has been racking up miles without raising any alarms.

To back this up, Lexus offers the longest warranty of any manufacturer in the UK (alongside its sister company Toyota, of course). All new cars come with a three-year warranty, and this can then be extended by 12 months annually up to 10 years or 100,000 miles by servicing the car at an official Lexus Centre. This is fully transferable between owners, so you can continue to benefit from this up to the time/mileage limit even when buying a used LBX.