New Lexus LBX is big on quality, small in size, with a clean contemporary design language
Lexus downscales luxury with the new LBX crossover, a compact hybrid that’s the Japanese premium brand’s smallest product to date

Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Thank you for signing up to Wallpaper. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Luxury is shrinking. The new Lexus LBX is a very similar width and height to a rival such as the Mini Countryman but is considerably shorter, at 4,190mm, resulting in pleasingly compact proportions. The Lexus front face sees significant change on the LBX too, with slim front headlights joined together by a thin aperture under the bonnet, while the spindle-shaped grille below is no longer clearly framed by chrome, but instead appears to merge into the coloured bodywork.
It’s probably the car’s most distinctive feature and is set to be used on other new Lexus models in time. ‘This is the step towards the next step,’ global head of Lexus design Simon Humphries explains. ‘We’re going to make the body equal the spindle. So even if that graphic is lost in terms of its holes, you will still feel it.’
Simon Humphries, global head of Lexus Design
From the side, the exterior surfacing is smooth, clean and simple – in contrast to the brand’s previous decade of dramatic origami-style angular cuts and curves – and its window line is high to accentuate the car body’s visual chunkiness. This move translates to slimmer windows – especially at the back – but that aesthetic proportion is functionally offset by a higher rear seating position, relative to the front, so passengers in the back can still have a good view outward.
Inside the cabin, Lexus designers have sought to create a premium-feeling interior using pared-back shapes covered in high-quality materials. You won’t find much chrome, but many of the trim levels feature suede, leather – either real or synthetic and Vegan – and subtle and different use of contrast stitching.
Depending on the market, more customer personalisation will be offered on the LBX than is normal for the vehicle segment size too, from stitch style to seatbelt colour. New electric push-button door openers replace conventional handles and the square 9.8in centre screen is activated by touch – no more fiddly trackpads or computer mouse-like controls.
A few physical buttons remain for key features like aircon, windscreen de-mist and volume, plus a few more that are clustered around the steering wheel hub, adding to the LBX’s ergonomic ease of use.
A new, more powerful, compact and lightweight bi-polar nickel-metal hydride battery promises EV-like acceleration, despite the powertrain’s overall petrol-electric full hybrid status. Lexus top management say no all-electric LBX is in the plan yet, but such a vehicle has not been ruled out either. The Europe-focused model – LBX won’t go on sale in China or the US – will be orderable from October 2023, with prices set to start from around £35,000.
Lexus LBX, Lexus.co.uk
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
Guy Bird is a London-based writer, editor and consultant specialising in cars and car design, but also covers aviation, architecture, street art, sneakers and music. His journalistic experience spans more than 25 years in the UK and global industry. See more at www.guybird.com
-
Brooklyn furniture studio Stillmade unveils its first collaborative design series
Stillmade brings to life the designs of four New Yorkers – Pat Kim, Danny Kaplan, Michele Quan and Mignogna Studio
By Pei-Ru Keh Published
-
Toyota and Jun Takahashi create a limited edition Aygo X
Toyota Aygo X Undercover edition is a city car spliced with a high-end streetwear brand
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Daniel Arsham debuts new work in Paris and New York
Daniel Arsham and Perrotin mark 20 years of collaboration with New York and Paris exhibitions
By Hannah Silver Published
-
The Lexus UX 300E leaps from hybrid to pure EV
Unlike many current EVs, the Lexus UX 300e has a very welcome feeling of lightness
By Jonathan Bell Last updated
-
What we learned from Tokyo Motor Show 2019
With the axis of Asian automotive show influence long since moved from Japan to China in commercial terms — China is the biggest vehicle sales market in the world — the role of Tokyo’s biennial Motor Show has increasingly been to push Japanese vehicle makers’ high-tech creativity and advanced design skills
By Guy Bird Last updated
-
Understanding the subtleties of Japanese artistry in Lexus’ 30th year
By Jens Jensen Last updated
-
Lexus LY 650 Luxury Yacht marries Japanese performance with Italian aesthetics
By Rebecca Pearson Last updated
-
Lexus RX L features genuinely useful technologies
By Jonathan Bell Last updated
-
Car marques aim to master the art of subtlety in Milan
By Guy Bird Last updated
-
Lexus UX 250h drives the marque’s sustainable ethos forwards
By Nargess Shahmanesh Banks Last updated
-
New Lexus hub offers food, tech and culture in New York’s Meatpacking District
By Elly Parsons Last updated