Before EVs became all the rage, environmentalists would swear by the Toyota Prius. The Prius had become the symbol of green technology in automobiles and garnered both hate and love from the people. During its heyday, it was probably the most advanced hybrid car. Unfortunately, when it came to performance it left quite a lot to be desired.
The Lexus UX SUV until recently used to be in the same category. A hybrid luxury car that did not give a very punchy performance. However, after the Prius underwent a lot of change, it is now the Lexus that is undergoing changes with its powertrain to give it a more punchy and exciting performance.
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The New Powertrain
The Lexus UX SUV despite its luxury and futuristic appearance was not very fast. In fact, it gave quite a lethargic performance. It was previously called the Lexus UX250h. However, Toyota has put a new engine in their car which not only ups the performance but also shaves some time off in terms of acceleration. So what is this new powertrain?
The latest powertrain fixed in the Lexus UX SUV is taken from the latest Toyota Prius. Now, some of you might be sniggering and thinking oh it is a Toyota Prius, but the new Prius is actually pretty good and exciting. And of course, adding to that is a major appearance change that for the first time ever makes the Prius a cool and desirable car.
The new setup features a brand new set of batteries that have been switched from nickel-metal hydride to a higher voltage lithium-ion battery. Along with this the UX SUV also gets a set of new electric motors. This gives a significant bump in power from 181 horsepower to 196 horsepower. As a result, Lexus has decided to change the name from UX250h to UX300h. What does not change in the Lexus UX is the engine setup which still consists of a 2.0L I-4 engine combined with an electric drive motor. The setup is mated with a CVT transmission and comes with FWD standard and like it was previously, the AWD drivetrain or the “E-Four” is optional and consists of one extra electric motor powering the rear wheels.
What Does This Upgrade Mean?
The entire setup on the 2025 Lexus UX300h is taken from the 2024 Toyota Prius hatchback. Lexus describes the new Lithium-ion setup as the fifth-generation hybrid system and the UX300h is the first Lexus to get the powertrain. While there is a definite addition of power, the fuel consumption stays the same. This means you get a more exciting drive without having to compromise on your hybrid SUV's fuel efficiency.
Moreover, there is the obvious factor that the UX300h will be faster than its predecessor the UX250h with the FWD being 0.4 seconds faster and the AWD being 0.1 seconds faster. If you have been following the present Toyota Prius, then you will know that it is not the dull car it once was and has become pretty cool. So it is an exciting thing to see the Toyota powertrain come into the Lexus UX300h
Final Thoughts
The Lexus UX lineup and the Toyota Prius were always cars that were made for people who preferred luxury and comfort over driving pleasure and performance. While that is fair for them, it did make the cars quite boring and draining for the rest of us.
With Toyota redesigning the Prius from 2023 onwards and adding a new powertrain, the Prius became a much cooler car and added some excitement behind the wheels. Seeing this Toyota-owned marque has decided to make the boring UX300h more peppy and fun as well without the buyer having to compromise on fuel economy or any other aspect by putting the same setup in the SUV. The extra power from the Prius setup has made all the difference.
Lexus has not released the price list of their 2025 models yet and they may still take some to release it given that the 2024 models are just about getting their time in the sun right now. However, you can rest assured that the 2025 Lexus UX300h will be competing with the same cars like the Audi Q3, BMW X1, and Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class. Although the last three are not hybrids, they fall almost within the same price range as the UX300h and compete in various other aspects like luxury and features.
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