Review: The 2025 Lexus 300h F SPORT Handling Is A Corolla Hatchback Cosplaying As An SUV

The current market trend to “SUV all the things” is a curious one. On one hand, I get it: building SUVs is profitable. They’re popular with buyers, and compared to most sedans, they’re generally more cost-efficient to build. On the other hand, manufacturers are really stretching the definition of what makes an SUV. I mean, Subaru calls its Crosstrek an SUV. And while I think the Crosstrek is cool, it’s literally just an Impreza wagon with some ground clearance.

That brings us to the ride you see here: the 2025 Lexus UX 300h F SPORT Handling AWD. It, too, is classified as an SUV, but look past that fancy badge and you’ll find a Toyota Corolla hatchback. But Lexus is changing things up a bit this year. The UX is now available as a hybrid only, with power coming from a version of the new Prius powertrain. And while this specific UX features an all-wheel drive system that uses an electric motor to give a little power to the rear wheels, it remains, essentially, a front-wheel drive vehicle.

So tell me again why this is considered to be an SUV?

2025 Lexus UX 300h F SPORT Handling First Impressions

The Lexus UX is one of those vehicles where color choice really makes or breaks its design. For best results, the trick is to choose muted colors, like a simple white, black, or gray tone. This particular F SPORT, as you can tell, ain’t subtle, and its Ultrasonic Blue hue just exaggerates the sheetmetal’s mishmash of curves and creases.

This is the F SPORT Handling version of the UX, meaning it’s the more street-oriented version. So it tries to up its attitude with color-matched over fenders, a slightly more-aggressive front fascia, some black-out trim, and unique 18-inch wheels. I know this next statement may sound a bit odd, but when I look at this UX, I long for the elegance of the Toyota Corolla hatchback.

And to restate, the UX is essentially the Corolla hatch in a fancy suit. The cars share the same wheelbase and approximate track width. That need to be an “SUV” has the UX sitting slightly higher, with sheet metal that technically gives it a larger exterior footprint, but in terms of total passenger room and cargo space, these Toyota-built siblings are near identical.

Exterior Dimensions

Driving Impressions And Performance

I know I shouldn’t continue to compare a luxury car to a basic hatch, but I’m going to anyway, if only to give the UX some wins. And the biggest win comes in the form of its Prius-sourced hybrid powertrain. The gas-fired side of this powertrain is a 2.0-liter inline four-cylinder rated at 150 horsepower and 139 lb-ft of torque. For the electric stuff, it’s got 222V lithium-ion battery sending electrons to an 83 kW Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motor up front, plus a 30 kW version in the rear.

Legal complexities mean that a special sort of math is needed to generate an official power number, which here is a hot-hatch-worthy 196 total system horsepower. Official 0-60 numbers state that this AWD UX can run from 0-60 in a respectable 7.9 seconds. And if this official Lexus-supplied data is accurate, it can run all the way up to 177 mph.

Yeah… either Toyota has invented its own version of math, or that 177 mph top speed is the terminal velocity of a UX when dropped from a C-130 Hercules, because there’s nothing about this drive that suggests it can get anywhere near that number.

Lay on the throttle and it just groans, adding more noise than speed as it gets up to pace with traffic. Though this specific UX F SPORT Handling model features a sport-tuned adaptive variable suspension, any sportiness simply isn’t felt as this car simply does not want to be flung toward anything resembling a corner. A dedicated Sport mode? The UX has one, and it’s easily accessed via a dash-mounted physical knob. But again, all it does is add noise and sadness.

But if you can handle the disappointment that comes with the F SPORT badge not living up to its promise, or if you simply just get a standard UX 300h hybrid, you’ll find that it’s an agreeable city car. Its ride is comfortable, and all that Lexus-added luxury includes sound deadening to make for a relatively quiet cabin. The ride is soft and compliant—for a hatch—and that short wheelbase means that this Lexus is supremely maneuverable in tight urban spaces. While I spent a bunch of time describing how fast the UX isn’t, the instant torque from those electric motors makes it easy to point-and-shoot its way through low-speed city traffic. And despite my knowing better, I’d dare say this gives an EV-like one-pedal driving experience thanks to its standard Proactive Driving Assist, which automatically applies some braking when you let off the throttle—though you do need to be behind another vehicle for it to work.

Performance Specifications

Lexus UX 300H F-Sport AWD Fuel Economy

Format rules have me devoting a section to one of the best parts about the Lexus UX 300h: the fuel economy. It’s a hybrid, using the parts from a Prius, so everything here is a known quantity. Officially, this all-wheel drive UX hybrid gets an EPA-estimated 44 mpg in the city, 40 mpg on the highway, and 42 mpg combined. In my own mixed driving, which admittedly is a lot of city or gridlocked-freeway driving, the onboard computer showed I was averaging approximately 40 mpg after seven days of driving.

Interior Design And Comfort

Let’s be real: despite that F SPORT badge, no one is looking to get into a UX thinking it’s a hardcore sports machine. Rather, they’re buying into that main Lexus badge, and all it represents. Which is to say, these people want a luxury car with Toyota reliability, and the interior of the UX is rather nice indeed—provided you stay in the front seat.

All 2025 UX models benefit from a refresh, which sees a new door panel and, crucially, a touchscreen display removes that weird trackpad-thing that used to live by the center armrest. Core functions are still controlled by physical buttons and switches, thankfully, each of which is easy to find and use, with satisfying tactile feedback. I’m also grateful that this UX gets the “old” Lexus interior design language that places the drive mode controls right by the gauge cluster. While placement is a bit odd, it’s much nicer to reach out and twist a knob to set things to Sport mode, rather than dive through several menu screens to turn it on or off.

And as this is the F SPORT Handling model, the cabin gets a sport-inspired interior with features like aggressively bolstered front seats, a leather-wrapped steering wheel and red contrast stitching. For the driver, it’s a nice place to sit. Plenty of power adjustability means that the driving position and overall ergonomics simply work. Those F SPORT seats are supportive and comfortable, and every surface feels nice to the touch. It is, in other words, the typical Lexus cabin. Things aren’t so great in the back, however. Again, this is a fancy Corolla hatchback, so that rear bench is tight. Best to think of it as a fancy parcel shelf.

Interior Dimensions

Technology And Ease Of Use

All UX models now feature the touchscreen-based Lexus Interface system, which is a suite of subscription-based connected technologies that give this infotainment system the kind of features you’d find on your smartphone, like voice control or real-time navigation. In most Lexus press vehicles, this system is activated, but requires an owner’s PIN number to access. Neither Lexus PR nor the fleet managers seem to know this PIN, so no one in the greater Los Angeles area has been able to really try this system.

This specific UX, on the other hand, didn’t even have a trial account activated, so I got to spend my entire loan looking at the “SIGN UP AND SUBSCRIBE” splash. Maybe the system works great in the UX, but I have no idea. Not that it matters much, though, as I just stuck with Apple CarPlay for the duration of my time with this Lexus. That 12.3-inch high-res touchscreen does look nice, though.

Cargo And Storage Space

Here’s where we come back to that “is this an SUV?” question from the top of this article. While people love the commanding ride height and perceived capability that most SUVs promise, they’re really buying into their versatility. SUVs are supposed to be a no-compromise vehicle: you can bring your entire family and all their stuff—and still have room for more.

You can see where this is going.

Take another look at the gallery above and marvel at the UX’s 17.1 cubic feet of cargo area. Behold the sight of a regular backpack and child’s booster seat occupying a majority of the space. Sarcasm aside, the rear seatbacks do fold down for added cargo-carrying capabilities, but Lexus doesn’t provide an official seats-down cargo number. You do get a power liftgate with a kick sensor, though, which is nice. If only I didn’t keep hitting my head on the low height of the open rear door…

2025 Lexus UX 300h Vs. Its Competitors

There’s no real apples-to-apples competitive set for the Lexus UX. If we’re going by size or dimension, it’d be best to look at other luxury hatchbacks. Problem is, those simply don’t exist, and it would be disingenuous to compare a luxury vehicle to something entry-level. Other established luxury brands do offer vehicles that are technically considered compact crossover SUVs, but none as small as the UX. For simplicity’s sake, I’ll put on my marketer hat and look at some of the vehicles Lexus wants the UX to compete with: the Audi Q3 and Mercedes-Benz GLA.

How The Lexus UX 300h Compares To The Audi Q3

If we’re taking a behind-the-scenes sort of view at things, Audi’s Q3 is probably the closest thing to a true UX competitor. As Lexus is the fancy version of Toyota, Audi is the fancy arm of Volkswagen. And as the UX is to the Corolla, the Q3 is to Audi’s own A3. Both of these compact luxury crossover SUVs are based on a small, front-wheel drive hatchback (though the A3 is now sold only as a sedan). What the Audi Q3 has going for it, however, is that it’s based on Volkswagen’s MQB architecture. Overall driving characteristics feel a lot like the stanard A3, Volkswagen Golf, or, well, pretty much every other mainstream VW product. In other words, the Q3 delivers a more engaging drive.

Taste is always subjective, but most would argue that the Q3 is nicer to look at both inside and out. Audi consistently does a good job of balancing that line between timeless and modern, and the brand continues to lean into that idea of restraint that made classic German sedans so desirable. Where the Audi truly bests the UX, however, is its interior space. Despite a near-identical exterior footprint, the Audi’s more “traditional” SUV shape gives it an additional 6.5 cubic feet of cargo volume behind the rear seats, and an extra 3 inches of legroom in the rear. Doesn’t sound like much, but I’d bet the next time you’re crammed in an Economy airline seat, an extra 3 inches of space would sound mighty nice.

But at the end of the day, though, the lack of a hybrid option means the Audi will cost a lot more to run per mile—and that’s before you factor in the cost of Audi maintenance. All UX models are now hybrid, and the base model carries a similar starting MSRP to the Audi, so if cost (and nothing else) is what drives you, the advantage goes to the UX.

How The Lexus UX 300h Compares To The Mercedes-Benz GLA

I’m a huge fan of the original Mercedes-Benz GLA 45. It is, in my mind, what an F SPORT-badged Lexus UX should be. It was a rally-inspired, rip-snorting hot hatch that was called an SUV because reasons. It’s the best luxury sport SUV/hatch/whatever ever created, and the only reason I don’t have one parked in my garage is because I can’t afford to either buy or maintain one.

The current GLA is larger, softer, heavier on tech, and the cheapest new Mercedes you can buy in 2024. Like other AMG products, the new GLA AMG is a personal disappointment, and it’s $11k more than the Lexus UX 300h F SPORT Handling AWD. Even when comparing base-spec models, the Benz carries a large premium.

It doesn’t matter if it’s the base or the sporty version, people are buying the badge. And telling people you drive a Benz is a flex, even if it is a front-wheel drive, base-model compact SUV. The GLA’s exterior, admittedly, isn’t the most attractive—it just further drives home the notion that the crossover SUV is little more than an appliance. But as your mother always told you, it’s what’s on the inside that counts.

The cabin of the GLA gives entry-level luxury buyers that “wow” feeling with a dash clearly inspired by Mercedes’ flagship sedans. As a professional auto reviewer, I feel it’s my duty to state that the materials are cheaper, and the high-resolution MBUX touchscreen display isn’t the most intuitive, but the cabin is still built to the quality you’d expect from Mercedes. As for the performance, it’s a 2.0-liter turbocharged FWD with a mild hybrid system and lacks anything in the way of sporting pretentions. It’s comfortable and gets not-terrible fuel efficiency, but it certainly won’t excite you. Then again, neither would the sporty Lexus UX.

Final Thoughts

I’m someone who firmly lives in the “small-cars-good” camp, as their agility and general ease of use perfectly fits my own automotive tastes, but I can’t quite get into the Lexus UX 300h F SPORT Handling. It provides none of the benefits one associates with a crossover SUV, and it completely fails to live up to the promise of that “F SPORT” badge. But perhaps most troubling of all, it starts at $47,525.

That’s a lot of money to ask for a vehicle that doesn’t know what it wants to be. Want a hybrid Lexus crossover? You can get a larger, more versatile Lexus NX hybrid for less. If you want a Lexus that feels genuinely sporty, you can get a rear-wheel drive IS sedan or RC coupe, both of which also start at a lower MSRP than this particular UX.

Personally, I’d love to see Lexus simply define what this vehicle should be and go all-in. The sensible choice would be Lexus delivering us a next-generation UX based on the practical Corolla Cross. But what I’d really love to see from Lexus is a sleeker luxury hatch, something as stunning as the Mazda3, with a true F SPORT model powered by a more refined version of the GR powertrain. Something like the just-announced Yaris-based LBX Morizo Edition that will be sold overseas. It’s still “technically” an SUV, but it drives like a GR Yaris. And if Lexus can sprinkle a bit of that GR magic in its Corolla-based UX, it would fix almost every issue I have with the UX F SPORT. And I wouldn’t even be mad if they still insisted on calling it an SUV.