First EV from Japanese prestige brand undercuts small luxury electric SUV rivals and will be backed by a five-year warranty
Lexus Australia has revealed pricing for the new Lexus UX 300e, the company’s first electric vehicle, which joins existing hybrid and conventional variants in the small SUV range.
At $74,000 plus on-road costs, the Lexus UX 300e Luxury undercuts the Mercedes-Benz EQA 250 by nearly $4000 and comes generously equipped, as we previously reported.
The range-topping small electric SUV rides on 17-inch alloy wheels and features keyless entry/start, a power-adjustable steering column, heated steering wheel, eight-way power adjustable front seats with heating and ventilation, rear-seat heating, a 10.3-inch infotainment screen, wireless smartphone charging, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, digital radio and a 13-speaker Mark Levinson audio system.
The flagship UX 300e Sports Luxury is priced higher at $81,000, but also provides added equipment including 18-inch alloys, a sunroof, head-up display, panoramic view monitor, leather-accented seat trim with ‘Washi’ upholstery finish and 3D look for climate control vents.
The big news is that the UX 300e will be offered with a five-year/unlimited-kilometre warranty, with up to 10 years or 160,000km of coverage for the vehicle’s 54.3kWh battery. In Europe and China, the battery is covered for up to a million kilometres.
Lexus plans to roll out this warranty right through the local range from January 1 next year. And it will apply retrospectively to vehicles purchased this year as well.
The UX 300e will also be offered with capped-price servicing at $295 a service, scheduled for every 12 months or 15,000km.
Further sweetening the deal, Lexus is throwing in free home charger installation and complimentary public fast-charging for three years.
“Lexus listened closely to our loyal owners, ensuring that luxury compact SUV customers are put first with an all-encompassing ownership package designed to make the UX 300e both great to own and fun to drive,” said Lexus Australia chief executive Scott Thompson.
Lexus says the new UX 300e, which offers an NEDC driving range of 360km, will be the fastest and most powerful variant in the UX range thanks to combined outputs of 150kW of power and 300Nm of torque.
That will enable the small electric SUV to cover the 0-100km/h sprint in a claimed 7.5 seconds, making it quicker than its petrol and hybrid-powered siblings including the front-drive Lexus UX 250h (8.5sec), the AWD UX 250h (8.7sec) and the base UX 200 (9.2sec), but slower than larger electric luxury SUVs like the Audi e-tron (6.8sec) and the Jaguar I-PACE (4.8sec).
Watch this space for our first local drive review on November 26.
How much does the 2021 Lexus UX 300e cost?UX 300e Luxury – $74,000UX 300e Sports Luxury – $81,000
* Prices exclude on-road costs
Keyword: Lexus UX 300e pricing announced