Lexus UX Shows Up Early

Want to get into a new Lexus? The CT used to be your point of entry… until Lexus realized people weren’t so interested in spending over $30k on a hybrid hatchback. So it made the NX crossover as its new entry-level model. Now it’s preparing to slot an even smaller, more accessible model in underneath it – and here it is.

Set to debut at the Geneva Motor Show next week, the new Lexus UX is shown here for the first time in a solitary image and video clip.

Billed as an “urban compact crossover,” the UX is set to take on domestic rivals like the Infiniti QX30 and possibly the Acura CDX in some markets – to say nothing of German targets like the Audi Q3, BMW X1, and Mercedes GLA.

Those are some small crossovers, and for its entry into the segment, Lexus has evidently adapted its now-characteristic, sharply angular design language into that tiny footprint – from the signature “spindle” grille on rearwards. The automaker also declares that its “an all-new platform gives the UX exceptional body rigidity and a low centre of gravity for the agile handling of a hatchback.” A slightly taller hatchback, is all.

It’s not showing us much more than that for the time being, but the video below provides a glimpse inside the cabin that would appear to pack a typically Lexus upscale environment into its smaller form. Note the wide but short infotainment display mounted level with the instrument cluster, instead of protruding higher or mounted lower in the center stack as it is on other models from the same manufacturer.

Given the “User Experience” nameplate, and the expectations of the younger clientele Lexus will be going after here, we’d anticipate the UX to put a clear emphasis on the onboard infotainment technologies.

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