2025 Lexus UX gets more power thanks to fifth-gen hybrid technology

Although 2024 is still on the horizon, Lexus is already looking ahead to the 2025 model year. The brand detailed the 2025 UX 300h, which inaugurates a new, fifth-generation hybrid system that delivers more power. The crossover also gets new technology features in the cabin.

Built around a 2.0-liter four-cylinder engine, the hybrid drivetrain features a pair of motor-generators, a continuously variable transmission (CVT), and a lithium-ion battery pack. For context, the UX currently in showrooms (which went hybrid-only for 2023) uses a nickel-metal hybride battery pack. Lexus also fitted a new hybrid transaxle to bump the system's output to 196 horsepower, up from 181 in the 2024 car.

Lexus pegs the 2025 UX 300h's 0-to-60-mph time at 8.0 seconds for the all-wheel-drive model and 7.9 seconds for the front-wheel-drive version. It estimates that fuel economy in a combined cycle will check in at 41 mpg and 43 mpg, respectively, though EPA numbers aren't available yet. For context, the all-wheel-drive 2024 model takes 8.6 seconds to reach 60 mph from a stop and returns 39 mpg combined, while the front-wheel-drive version posts figures of 8.4 and 42, respectively. These changes are small, but they should make a difference.