One HAL 9000 glitch from Lexus magic
It all started so well. Even before I collected the €39,440 (as tested) Lexus LBX I was excited. Being the most affordable Lexus I even liked how it looked, I knew it in advance it would have a nice interior because it was a Lexus and they make very nice interiors. Immediately after climbing in I grasped the steering wheel and the stubby central gear selector and the smoothness and buttery feel of the materials were a delight. Some very expensive cars don’t get close to this quality.
“I knew it would have a nice interior because it was a Lexus and they make very nice interiors.”
Off I went and the whole experience started as a study of calmness that Lexus somehow or other aces. The steering felt neutral but lacked that last bite of feedback when pushed. That wasn’t a dealbreaker though. This is not a sporting subcompact SUV by any stretch but it does soothe as the miles roll by and you settle in nicely. Lexus claims over 60 mpg and a low CO2 103g/km WLTP which is car speak for being very economical indeed. Being self-charging you never deal with the horror of electric car owners that loiter around charging bays. Those places define the word grim.
On day 1, the car was tested on off-ramps into a motorway. I wanted to see how much stress the tiny 1.5-litre engine could be subjected to and how noisy it is when pushed hard when merging with other traffic. The engine’s ability to recharge the battery was good and as long as I didn’t stamp on the accelerator I was able to utilise the generated battery electric reserves for long periods.
“Lexus claims over 60 mpg which is car speak for being very economical indeed.”
The pert looks confirm this is a small car – quite small in fact with precious little room in the rear (2,580mm wheelbase) as it shares its underpinnings with the Toyota Yaris Cross. The Lexus is a fraction larger at 10mm in length and 60mm wider. If you have a family with two tall teenagers you will need a larger car as the LBX is too small inside for four. Sorry Lexus, that’s just a fact.
“If you have a family with two teenagers you will need a larger car.”
Once I got home I tried the 9.8-inch touchscreen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. Positioned into the dashboard at an angle it displayed everything clearly with no latency issues and all commands activated once pressed. Small things like the heavy counterweight of the physical volume knob was Lexus’s deliberate attempt to mimic the feel of a high-end sound system and sucker me into liking the car more.
“The volume knob was a deliberate attempt to feel like a high-end sound system and sucker me into liking the car.”
I must have spent ages parked up clicking buttons, rotating knobs and exploring the cabin. You won’t do that in a BYD. It appears the people at Lexus know their LBX shares quite a lot with a certain Yaris Cross’s platform and are determined to up the ante. The day ended safe in the knowledge that the LBX would function perfectly in the morning as Lexus does reliability like few others.
“It [touchscreen] reactivated for about 2 minutes of Meat Loaf’s Bat out of Hell.”
Day 2 had different ideas. After I started the car the central touchscreen failed. I switched off the car, got out, locked it and tried it all over again in an effort to reboot the software without success. It did reactivate for about two minutes of Meat Loaf’s Bat out of Hell sometime on Wednesday but it gave up the ghost entirely for the rest of the week. All connected media, ADAS and HVAC controls were rendered invisible. While I’m on about the HVAC or climate controls, it was a broad guess of the cabin temperature when clicking the physical controls perched underneath the screen. Had the climate controls been positioned virtually into the touchscreen the car would have been an utter misery to drive in the warm weather.
Oddly I felt sorry for the Lexus. I’m a fan and like what the company makes but seeing a brand new car fail such a key component so early is a worry. Somehow it reminded me of the fictional artificial intelligence HAL 9000 computer in the Stanley Kubrick movie 2001: A Space Odyssey. Oh how I wanted the touchscreen to jump into life and say “I’m sorry Mark, I’m afraid I can’t do that.”
“Had the climate controls been positioned virtually the car would have been a misery to drive.”
The LBX felt technically premium but flawed in a human way. Had I bought that actual Lexus LBX I would have returned it under warranty, had it repaired, brought it home and called it HAL forever.
“I would have had it repaired, brought it home and called it HAL forever.”
Otherwise, I liked the LBX – well, nearly all of it. Still the touchscreen is one concerning glitch away that keeps it from a being a 4 Star car. But a failure is a failure and a demerit is needed until full confidence is restored in the House of Lexus and all software reliability maladies are fixed.
Verdict: 3.5 Stars
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Mark Gallivan, Motoring Journalist