2025 Lexus UX gets more power thanks to fifth-gen hybrid technology

Although 2024 is still on the horizon, Lexus is already looking ahead to the 2025 model year. The brand detailed the 2025 UX 300h, which inaugurates a new, fifth-generation hybrid system that delivers more power. The crossover also gets new technology features in the cabin.

Built around a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, the hybrid drivetrain features a pair of motor-generators, a continuously variable transmission (CVT), and a lithium-ion battery pack. For context, the UX currently in showrooms (which went hybrid-only for 2023) uses a nickel-metal hybride battery pack. Lexus also fitted a new hybrid transaxle to bump the system's output to 196 horsepower, up from 181 in the 2024 car.

Lexus pegs the 2025 UX 300h's 0-to-60-mph time at 8.0 seconds for the all-wheel-drive model and 7.9 seconds for the front-wheel-drive version. It estimates that fuel economy in a combined cycle will check in at 41 mpg and 43 mpg, respectively, though EPA numbers aren't available yet. For context, the all-wheel-drive 2024 model takes 8.6 seconds to reach 60 mph from a stop and returns 39 mpg combined, while the front-wheel-drive version posts figures of 8.4 and 42, respectively. These changes are small, but they should make a difference.

Copper Crest, an eye-catching color first made available on the RX crossover for the 2023 model year, joins the palette. Inside, the changes include a smaller shifter made possible by shift-by-wire technology, redesigned buttons on the door panels, and additional chrome-finished trim. While the base UX ships with a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster, the Premium and F Sport models receive a new-for-2025 12.3-inch unit. The infotainment system remains displayed on either an 8.0- or 12.3-inch touchscreen depending on the trim level selected.

Pricing for the 2025 Lexus UX 300h will be announced closer to its on-sale date. And while the crossover is the first member of the Lexus range to use the fifth-generation hybrid technology, it's reasonable to assume the system will find its way into other models later on.