Lexus UX v Toyota C-HR 2019 Comparison
Two different approaches to the same theme, but which offers the better dealNot your average comparison
Imagine, if you will, that you are thinking about two cars essentially built by the same manufacturer that are identical in more ways than they are different, yet are quite disparate in terms of street status and retail pricing.
Exactly how do you lay down the criteria for mounting, if not an argument, then at least a sensible discussion?
Here, it’s largely about the badge: We are looking at two small SUVs that serve the same basic purpose and spring from identical DNA – yet one, the Lexus UX250h, supposedly belongs to the luxury segment where the other, Toyota’s C-HR, supposedly has more proletarian roots.
There’s a bit of a pauper/prince thing going on here…
The Toyota C-HR (Coupe – High Rider) came in February 2017 to slot below the mid-size RAV4 as a challenger in the emerging sub-$40,000 small-SUV breed. It’s a segment that includes Mazda’s CX-3, Honda’s HR-V, Nissan’s QASHQAI and JUKE and Hyundai’s Kona to name a few.
In September 2018, Lexus took a stab at the higher, $40,000-plus echelons of the same segment with a re-think of the C-HR that it dubbed UX (U for Urban, X for Crossover).
So, how does it compare to the car on which it’s based?
Why are we comparing them?
Our aim here is to determine not just the perceived value of a badge, but also to examine the gains – if any – that can be made by making a bigger spend on a new vehicle that is, to all intents and purposes, pretty much a clone of its Toyota equivalent.
As a Lexus, the new UX – reviewed here as a 250h F SPORT hybrid and tagged at $56,950 before on-road costs – is assumed to bring more of everything to the table and, for this, asks a significant premium.
Even the top-spec Toyota C-HR, the $35,290 AWD Koba as reviewed here, falls well short of the entry-level, front-drive $44,450 Lexus UX200, not to mention the $61,450 UX250h Sport Luxury AWD.
The question is: Does the premium price bring more than just boasting rights?
Who will they appeal to?
The answer here is pretty clear cut: As we’ve been implying, there are people who like to strut their stuff with abandon, and there are those who really couldn’t care what they drive as long as it fulfils their basic requirements.
The thing is, neither the Toyota nor the Lexus lack edgy, style-led appeal although when it comes down to it.
The C-HR takes more extreme steps presenting itself as a youthful defiance of conventional norms. The Lexus has some of this too, but conservatively pares itself back to a level supposedly more acceptable to entry-level luxury segment buyers.
Inside, the Lexus is clearly upbeat with quality materials, power-adjusted front seats and a more appealing dash complete with a decent, tablet-style screen.
The Toyota, with its small touch-screen, less-harmonious architecture and manually-operated seats (although power lumbar adjustment is provided for the driver) is less classy.
Unlike the Lexus, the C-HR lacks gear-shift paddles, but compensates in part with heated front seats (though the Lexus goes one step further by also giving them fan-forced cooling).
Which gets what?
The shared design means a lot of technology is also shared: Both the Koba-spec C-HR and F SPORT grade UX 250h come with autonomous emergency braking, pedestrian avoidance, lane-departure warning and lane-keep assist, blind-spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, rear cross-traffic alert and LED headlights.
But the drivelines are significantly different, even if you choose a non-hybrid Lexus UX.
The Toyota is available only with one engine: A 1.2-litre petrol turbo four-cylinder that produces adequate outputs of 85kW and 185Nm. The Lexus on the other hand uses, in regular and hybrid guise, a new high-compression, normally-aspirated VVT 2.0-litre four-cylinder with both direct and port-injection.
In the former it outputs 126kW and 205Nm and in the latter – with electric assistance – it produces a combined 131kW.
And while the hybrid UX 250h summons up the clever epicyclic CVT power-management system used across Toyota and Lexus hybrids, conventionally-engined Toyota C-HRs and Lexus UXs use a CVT system. Like the new-gen Toyota Corolla, engineers-in a fixed-ratio first gear that is activated on step-off to improve initial acceleration before handing over to the familiar belts and pulleys system once under way.
The AWDs are markedly disparate too.
If you choose the hybrid Lexus UX250h, you get a different system to that used in the conventionally-engined AWD Toyota C-HR. In the Lexus, the rear wheels are powered when necessary by a mechanically-isolated Lexus “E Four” system which incorporates a separate 5.3kW electric motor built into the differential.
AWD Toyota C-HRs use a more conventional on-demand system that operates in front-wheel drive in non-taxing circumstances but brings-in the rear wheels via a propeller shaft when necessary.
What do they do well?
With its conventional 2.0-litre engine and fourth-generation hybrid system working harmoniously together, the Lexus 250h turns-on an impressive surge of seamless, torquey acceleration.
It’s a marked contrast to the quiet and sweet-revving but slightly laggy small-capacity turbo of the Toyota C-HR – hardly surprising given the big difference in power outputs.
Fuel economy presented an interesting conundrum: While the Lexus consistently recorded a pleasing, real-world 5.9L/100km it was nevertheless quite a distance from the official 4.5L/100 claim.
The Toyota, showing 6.7L/100km during our review, was a tad thirstier than the Lexus but a lot closer to its official 6.5L/100km claim.
Both riding on the new Toyota Global Architecture Compact platform (GA C), the Lexus UX and Toyota C-HR are unquestionably well-sorted, quiet and secure on the road.
While the Toyota uses conventional 225/50R18 tyres with a space-saver spare and the Lexus gets 225/50RF18 run-flats, both actually drive similarly. The road grip is consistently strong and it’s only in extreme situations that you’d pick the differences between the AWD Toyota and the front-drive Lexus.
This points to the compact, short-wheelbase SUVs having an easier time with front-rear weight distribution than longer, heavier SUVs.
The F SPORT Lexus, which already gets a tighter suspension setup than other UX models, can be taken a step further via the brand’s optional Adaptive Variable Suspension (not optioned on the review car) which enables a balance between handling stability and ride comfort.
It’s what’s inside that matters
Without the need to allow for under-seat hybrid battery packs (the UX250h’s battery is a lightweight nickel meta-hydride), the Toyota C-HR provides a fractionally bigger 377-litre boot, which just outpoints the UX’s 364 litres, along with slightly more leg space and headroom on a lower-set back seat than the already quite well-served Lexus.
But, especially in the back, the C-HR’s contrivance of small, slit-like windows has occupants feeling as if they’ve been swallowed by a small whale. And the outer rear-door handles tucked into the C-Pillar are a lot fumblier than the conventional handles of the Lexus.
By the way, if you’re pondering the unlikely idea of towing, you’d probably best forget it in the Toyota C-HR which is rated to tote a mere 600kg of braked trailer – and don’t even entertain it if you’re considering the Lexus because no recommendations whatsoever are made concerning its abilities.
What could they do better?
Well, it would be nice if the funky, Koba-spec Toyota C-HR made provision for cooling-down passengers by directing air flow into the back of the cabin (as well as supplying, like the Lexus, a centre armrest or even upper grab handles).
The four-year/100,000km Lexus warranty is trumped by the Toyota’s recently-initiated five-year/unlimited-kilometre deal as well.
And why doesn’t the Lexus come with pockets in the rear doors? The Toyota’s at least offer a couple of cup holders.
Which wins, and why?
In reality, the Toyota C-HR, despite not being available as a hybrid and lacking some of the Lexus UX 250h’s standard amenities, has the same basic nature and overall capabilities as its more prestigious cousin.
And the $21,000-plus price differential between the midget SUVs reviewed here looks big for two cars that spring from the same sources and really do exactly the same thing.
Yes, the front-drive Lexus UX 250h F-SPORT comes across as more upmarket than the AWD Toyota C-HR Koba. But is it $21,660 more upmarket? We think buyers will make up their own minds.
How much does the 2019 Toyota C-HR Koba AWD cost?
Price: $35,290 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 1.2-litre four-cylinder turbo-petrol
Output: 85kW/185Nm
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 6.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 148g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: Five-star ANCAP
How much does the Lexus UX250h F SPORT cost?
Price: $56,950 (plus on-road costs)
Engine: 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol hybrid
Combined Output: 131kW
Transmission: Continuously variable
Fuel: 4.5L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 103g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety Rating: N/A
Please see our Editorial Guidelines & Code of Ethics (including for more information about sponsored content and paid events). The information published on this website is of a general nature only and doesn’t consider your particular circumstances or needs.
If the price does not contain the notation that it is "Drive Away", the price may not include additional costs, such as stamp duty and other government charges.
