If reliability is what you care about, this is the shortest conversation in car leasing. Lexus came first in the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey with a score of 98.3% across 32 brands and 178 models, and it was the seventh time the brand had topped that survey. Very little else in the premium market comes close to that kind of consistency.
The other thing Lexus has is experience. It has been building hybrids since long before the rest of the industry took them seriously, and that shows in how unobtrusive they are to live with. Most of the range needs nothing from you beyond fuel, which is why Lexus suits people who want the running costs of a hybrid without rearranging their life around a charging cable.
Mostly SUVs, plus a saloon and one genuine outlier.
The LBX is the smallest and the easiest way into the brand, using a 1.5 litre three cylinder hybrid. The UX sits just above it.
The NX is the mid sized one and available as a plug-in hybrid. The RX is the larger, quieter flagship SUV and the car most people picture when they think Lexus.
The RZ is Lexus's fully electric SUV. The ES now offers a fully electric version too, which is new.
The ES is in its eighth generation, larger than before, with a 14 inch screen and a choice of hybrid or electric power. A quietly excellent alternative to a German saloon.
The LM is a luxury MPV built around rear seat comfort, aimed at chauffeur work and anyone who would rather be driven. There is very little else like it on sale.
Most of the Lexus range is what the brand calls a self-charging hybrid, and it is worth being clear on what that does and does not mean, because the three types of hybrid get muddled constantly.
The thing a self-charging hybrid genuinely gives you is simplicity. No cable, no charger installation, no planning, and markedly better fuel consumption than a petrol car in town. The thing it does not give you is the very low company car tax of a plug-in hybrid or an electric car, so if you are a company car driver the sums are worth doing properly. Benefit in kind rates change each tax year, so take the current figures from your accountant rather than last year's.
Lexus calls its trims grades, and they broadly run from the standard car up through Premium, Premium Plus and Takumi, with Design variants of the upper grades adding styling changes. F Sport appears on some models but not all, so check which grades exist on the specific car you are quoting rather than assuming the ladder is the same across the range.
Even the entry grades are well equipped by class standards, so there is less pressure here to climb the range than with some rivals. Takumi is the one to look at if you want the full treatment, and it is worth asking what each step actually adds on the model you want, because it varies more between Lexus models than it does at most brands.
Three reasons come up again and again. The reliability record, which is the best in the premium market. The quality of the interiors, which are built and finished to a standard that makes some far more expensive cars look careless. And the calm, which is a genuine engineering achievement rather than a marketing line: these are among the quietest cars you can lease at the money.
One thing worth checking on the test drive. A Lexus hybrid uses a continuously variable transmission, so under hard acceleration the engine revs rise and hold rather than stepping through gears the way a conventional automatic does. It is a trade off: you get exceptional smoothness in normal driving in return for that engine note when you ask for everything at once. Most owners stop noticing inside a week and many prefer it, but drive one up a slip road rather than round a car park and you will know within ten minutes which camp you are in. Our leasing guides cover setting mileage and contract length, and business leasing explains the company position.
Compare the latest Lexus lease offers with fixed monthly payments, flexible contracts and one consultant from enquiry through to delivery.
Exceptionally so. Lexus came first in the 2023 What Car? Reliability Survey with a score of 98.3%, assessed across 32 brands and 178 models up to five years old, and it was the seventh time the brand had topped that survey. Reliability is the single strongest reason people choose Lexus over a German alternative.
It means a petrol engine paired with an electric motor and a small battery that recharges itself as you drive and brake, so you never plug it in. The car runs on electricity at low speeds and in traffic, which is where it saves the most fuel. It is not the same as a plug-in hybrid, which has a bigger battery you charge from a socket.
Not for most of the range. The self-charging hybrids need nothing but fuel. The NX plug-in hybrid and the fully electric RZ and ES do need charging, and the plug-in hybrid only makes financial sense if you can charge regularly.
The LBX is normally the most affordable way into the brand, using a 1.5 litre three cylinder self-charging hybrid. The UX sits just above it. Both give you the same reliability record as the larger models.
Yes. The RZ is the fully electric SUV, and the latest ES is now offered as a fully electric saloon as well as a hybrid, which is a recent addition to the range.
It is a luxury MPV designed around rear seat comfort rather than driver involvement, aimed at chauffeur use and at people who spend more time being driven than driving. There is almost nothing else like it available in the UK.
Slightly, yes. They use a continuously variable transmission, so under hard acceleration the revs rise and hold rather than stepping through gears. Most people stop noticing quickly and many prefer the smoothness, but it is a distinctive character, so it is worth a proper test drive including a slip road rather than just a short loop.
LetsLease is a credit broker rather than the lender. We arrange the agreement and place it with a funder such as Lex Autolease, Novuna, Ayvens or Santander, and that funder owns the vehicle and holds the agreement with you. Because we work across several funders rather than one, we can compare how each prices the same car.