Top environmental students test drive Lexus UX 300e

Written/Photographed by David Vision

Coincidentally, in April this year when Lexus UX 300e was launched in the Chinese market, FAW Toyota and GAC Toyota also launched their respective models at almost the same time period. The prices of Yize E Jin Qing and C-HR EV were announced. I believe many people have guessed that the UX 300e in front of you has the same wheelbase as the Yize E Jinqing and C-HR EV, and the three electric systems are almost identical. However, today, when the entry price of Tesla Model 3 has been as low as 269,700 yuan, does the Lexus UX 300e, which sells for 362,000 to 385,000 yuan, still have a chance?

In terms of appearance, the UX?300e in front of you is basically the same as the fuel version UX that I have tested before. The sharp lamp design and exaggerated spindle-shaped front grille are still typical Lexus style. Electrification does not bring it the appearance features that meet the functional needs of pure electric vehicles, such as an integrated front face and a more optimized aerodynamic design. This may be because the original appearance design of the UX has its own aerodynamic optimization attributes. Lexus believes that the drag coefficient of 0.33cd is fully able to meet the needs of pure electric models. It does not seem to make much sense just to change the look and feel. At the rear of the car, the through-type taillight design is still highly recognizable, and the sharp-edged design also makes the rear of the car full of visual impact.

However, this does not mean that it is really impossible to tell the difference between it and the fuel version from its appearance. The word "ELECTRIC" on the rear door panel can very intuitively indicate its identity, and the wheels are also made of Semi-enclosed design, which more or less optimizes aerodynamics near the wheels. ENASAVE? EC30 tires from Dunlop have a size of 215/60? R17. For a luxury brand product, this rim size seems a bit small. Leaning down, you can easily see the bulge under the chassis, which is the battery pack with a capacity of 54.35 kWh. Compared with the fuel version, the minimum ground clearance of the UX?300e is further compressed by the battery pack under the chassis.

Open the door, and a whole Japanese paper texture decorative panel above the center console highlights the unique sense of class and luxury of the Lexus brand. This is also the implementation of Lexus's environmental protection concept. The 7-inch LCD instrument panel is decorated with lines to enhance a certain sense of technology. The knobs on the left and right sides above the LCD instrument panel are also Lexus's iconic designs and have been widely used in almost all Lexus models. However, the 7-inch central control display above the center console is a bit shabby. In terms of functionality and visual experience, it has no advantage when facing various opponents.

The key point to distinguish it from the fuel version in the interior is the gear lever. The rounder and shorter gear lever is exclusive to the UX?300e, which makes it look younger and more mature. With a sense of design. In addition, the wireless charging function that is missing in all fuel-powered models has finally appeared on the UX?300e, but this is exclusive to the top-of-the-line model.

Interestingly, the UX?300e is also equipped with a seat heating function in the rear row. Many people may wonder why a car with a long range is not very advantageous in the first place. The installation of so many high-power electrical equipment may be to make up for the shortcomings of pure electric models that cannot be heated as timely as fuel models in winter. It is worth mentioning that compared with the fuel version UX, the trunk space of UX?300e is slightly larger than that of UX?200 and UX?260h, which adds some convenience to daily use.

In terms of power system, UX?300e uses a permanent magnet synchronous motor with a maximum output power of 204 horsepower and a maximum torque of 300 N·m. Both of these data are significantly better than UX?200 and UX?260h, so the model name "UX?300e" came into being. This kind of power reserve can bring the UX?300e an acceleration capability of 0-100 km/h in 7.5 seconds, but its top speed is only 160 km/h.

UX?300e is equipped with a 54.35 kWh ternary lithium battery pack, with a power consumption of approximately 13.1 kWh per 100 kilometers. The Ministry of Industry and Information Technology’s pure electric cruising range is 400 kilometers. It is undeniable that in an era where 500-kilometer cruising ranges are everywhere, a 400-kilometer cruising range will still bring more or less range anxiety to drivers, but fortunately, the real cruising range performance is pretty good and it is relatively durable. DC fast charging charging ports and AC slow charging charging ports are located on both sides of the car body. The officially announced fast charging and slow charging times are 0.83 hours and 6.5 hours respectively.

Compared with the fuel version, the UX?300e adds a B gear, which is an energy recovery gear. The intensity of energy recovery can be adjusted in four gears through the paddles behind the steering wheel. However, even if the energy recovery is adjusted to the strongest, one-pedal driving cannot be achieved, and braking is still required through the brake pedal, which is a slight pity for many people who like electric vehicles.

Going back to the question at the beginning of the article, does the Lexus UX?300e, which sells for 362,000 to 385,000 yuan, still have a chance? If the UX?300e was unique in the luxury brand compact pure electric SUV market before and had certain advantages, now after the launch of the Volvo XC40 pure electric model, the UX?300e is a bit weak in terms of parameters and configuration. However, it should be noted that the Lexus car owner group is a very special existence. They have special emotions for Lexus-style luxury and can surpass other existences. Therefore, the conventional method is not suitable for the models produced by Lexus. Therefore, for the UX?300e In other words, existence means reasonableness.

This article comes from the author of Autohome Chejiahao and does not represent the views and positions of Autohome.