Lexus Manila celebrates 10th anniversary, UX compact crossover launched

MANILA: Lexus Manila has been in operation in the country since January 14, 2009. Hence, in order to celebrate its 10th anniversary, the company has launched a new compact SUV crossover, the UX. The company’s product portfolio has bulged significantly over the span of these 10 years.

The Lexus UX SUV crossover is the third crossover in the range, which was pioneered by the RX300 20 years back. The UX crossover was first previewed in the 2018 Paris Motor show and was officially launched in Thailand a couple of months ago. It was also displayed in Singapore during the motor fair last week.

There will be two variants available for Philippines-spec UX crossover - a standard trim and an F Sport. The standard variant will come with 17-inch, five-spoke alloy wheels, diamond-pattern grille, and standard comfort seats inside.

On the other hand, the F-sport trim will have a low-slung front apron, 18-inch multi-spoke alloy wheels, sports-tuned adaptive suspension with different modes, mesh grille, and seats with much thicker bolsters.

There will be no hybrid variant of the UX compact crossover. Instead, a turbocharged gas engine will be offered. Dubbed as the UX200, this model will get a 2.0-litre engine that churns out 168 PS of power and 205 Nm of highest torque. The power will be channelled through a CVT gearbox, which is the only available option offered with this vehicle.

The Lexus UX200 crossover will be the first vehicle from the company to be designed on the new Global Architecture Compact(GA-C) platform, which gives the vehicle high structural integrity, low centre of gravity, and a good ride with excellent stability. Its has MacPherson Struts at the front and a trailing wishbone at the rear that is specially tuned to be more agile. With a 5.2-meter turning radius, the vehicle requires less space to turn.

With the launch of this crossover, Lexus aims to compete with the Audi Q2, Mercedes-Benz GLC, and the BMW X2. Price of the standard UX200 variant will be started from Php 2,478,000, while the UX200 F Sport variant will be available from Php 3,048,000.