2025 Lexus UX 300h AWD hybrid earns 42 mpg, starts around $40,000

The updated 2025 Lexus UX 300h has been given official EPA ratings, and for the popular all-wheel-drive version they’re a bit better than what the Toyota luxury brand estimated months ago. 

Although this U.S. version of the UX looks mostly the same as it did for 2024 and in previous model years, it’s now a hybrid-only model. And as such, it gets new badging for 2025: UX 300h instead of UX 350h. 

EPA ratings are up, too. The UX 300h AWD now gets 42 mpg, up from 39 mpg, and the UX 300h in front-wheel-drive form gets 43 mpg, up 1 mpg. 

The new hybrid emphasis brings with it an updated fifth-generation version of Toyota’s planetary-gear-based hybrid system, pairing a 2.0-liter inline-4 gasoline engine with more powerful electric motors. The front traction motor now pitches in up to 111 hp and 152 lb-ft of torque—more on the latter front than the gasoline engine’s 150 hp and 139 lb-ft—while in all-wheel-drive versions there’s an additional motor for the rear wheels delivering up to 40 lb-ft of torque. 

Either way, total system power is at 196 hp, up from 181 hp for 2024. That drops the 0-60 mph times slightly, to 7.9 seconds with AWD and 8.0 seconds with front-wheel drive. 

The UX family is the most affordable model in the Lexus lineup, starting at $38,640 in base 300h form, or $40,210 with AWD. The Premium trim costs $3,200 more and gets heated and cooled front seats, a sunroof, rain-sensing wipers, and a kick-sensor power tailgate. F Sport versions top out at $48,675 with a Handling package that adds adaptive dampers that respond to inputs from steering, g-sensors, and more. 

It’s also small, at 177.0 inches long, 72.4 inches wide, and 59.8 inches high overall, riding on a wheelbase of 103.9 inches. Don’t expect to fit tall passengers in the back seat of this model or attempt to fit three across, although it’s officially good for five. 

Up front, the shift lever has gone shift-by-wire. The door-panel layout has been revised, trim has been revised in top F Sport models, and top Premium and F Sport versions get a 12.3-inch touchscreen infotainment system versus the standard 7.0-inch one. 

Although this shift of the UX to hybrid-only may seem minor, it’s part of a seismic shift toward EVs. In recent years, Lexus has been positioned to be more bullish on future EVs than Toyota, and the company has tipped Green Car Reports that an 800-volt EV architecture is all set for some future models. The Lexus RZ 450e is the only fully electric Lexus model at present, but more are on the way. The luxury brand has teased an LF-ZL concept that it said previews a production EV due in 2026. It also may debut the steer-by-wire system that the RZ already gets in other markets.