The Next Lexus UX Could Grow Up and Plug In

The next Lexus UX could be a taller, roomier crossover offered as both a hybrid and a plug-in hybrid, with as much as 320 horsepower in its strongest form.

None of it is confirmed. The report says the new UX could debut as early as late 2027, ride on the same platform as the European Toyota C-HR, and use a new 1.5-liter four-cylinder engine developed within the Toyota Group, paired with either a hybrid or a plug-in hybrid system. System output would range from about 220 to 320 horsepower depending on the version.

TVBS News in Taiwan reported the details on September 10, citing unnamed Japanese media. Its estimated dimensions for the new UX are 4,500 mm long, 1,840 mm wide and 1,600 mm tall on a 2,700 mm wheelbase, and TVBS stressed that these are predictions rather than official figures. Lexus has not said whether the UX name will continue after the current generation.

Compared with today’s UX, which Kuruma News lists at 4,495 mm long, 1,840 mm wide and 1,540 mm tall, the estimates describe a crossover of about the same length and width that stands 60 mm (2.4 inches) taller. TVBS said the goal is more passenger space and clearer separation from the smaller LBX, with bolder styling in line with Lexus’s newest models. Inside, the report expects Lexus’s driver-focused Tazuna cockpit with a 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster and a 12.3-inch touchscreen, and possibly the Arene software Lexus already uses in the new ES.

The timing lines up with the current car’s exit. Lexus’s Japanese website says UX production will end in February 2027, and Kuruma News noted that the electric UX300e already ended production in November 2025. The TVBS report did not mention a battery-electric version of the next UX.

A plug-in hybrid would be new territory for the UX in the U.S. The 2026 UX 300h is sold only as a conventional hybrid, with a 2.0-liter four-cylinder and 196 total horsepower, and it starts at $38,850. Because the smaller LBX isn’t sold in the U.S., the UX is the entry point to the American Lexus lineup, and whatever replaces it will matter more here than in markets that have the LBX.

The Toyota Report Take

A bigger, more powerful UX with a plug-in option would fix the current car’s biggest weaknesses, its tight cabin and its modest 196 horsepower. The worry is price, because a larger UX with a new engine and a plug-in battery will be hard to sell for under $40,000. Lexus should keep a basic hybrid version priced close to today’s car, or the brand will lose its most affordable doorway in the U.S.