Lexus UX300e long term review

Baffled Ben

We like to spread the love at Electrifying, so when our money man Ben came to a film shoot he was keen to try some of the cars we had there – including my Lexus. He hadn’t got further than a few hundred yards before I got a baffled call asking why it had a fuel gauge. 

I had to explain that it didn’t, and if you looked carefully it has a plug attached to the pump in the picture on the instrument panel. It is unusual, but it must cost Lexus more than something electronic so I’m saying it’s posher. 

Ben wasn’t so convinced and said some unkind things comparing it to 1980s stereo systems.That got me looking around the rest of the controls, and noticing there are proper buttons for the heated (and cooled) seats and even a big stalk for the drive modes. Perhaps it is old fashioned, but it's great not having to delve into a touchscreen menu to get a warm bottom. 

There is one thing I can’t fathom though – the cruise control. I just figure out how it works and I realise I’m going to have to read the owner’s manual. Besides being against my religion to read instructions, I also forget by the time I reach my destination and don’t remember until I’m driving again - and need the cruise control. Bah. 

While I’m reading up on that, I also need to see how to disable an annoying warning which bongs and flashes up a warning message whenever you have a full battery. It tells me I won’t have any regen braking available until there is capacity in the battery to take the energy and that I’ll have to use the old-fashioned brakes for a while. That’s fine, but it doesn’t need to remind me at random times for the rest of the journey.