Dropping pure petrol creates price gap between this car and newly-introduced LBX.

REFINING the second-smallest Lexus sports utility to purely offer as a battery-involved product has come with an update also raising the buy-in level.

When the nameplate came here in 2019, the range was led by a small petrol-pure UX200, for $60,000, with hybrid and full electric models in higher price bands.

Now the UX choice is pure electrified and fully electric, and the hybrid line has also adjusted.

It starts with a hybrid UX300h Premium, at $67,300, with four more grades with that drivetrain, all progressively more expensive, topping with a Limited at $81,900.

Above those is the fully electric 300e, in Premium and Limited grades, those for $84,900 and $91,900. Prices exclude on-roads.

With the 2024 models come updates to technology, safety features and the hybrid models’ drive system. Some previous optional feature are now standard, some prices have adjusted.

Losing the UX200 means the newly-introduced, smaller LBX city SUV becomes the company's least expensive model. It starts at $58,900. Also, with the hybrid choice, the UX250h has been replaced - now everything is with the UX300h badging, and the drivetrain is more powerful and more efficient than before.

The UX300e, which first landed in 2011, is unchanged as it underwent a major update last year, with a larger battery and a 50 percent increase in driving range.

From now on, the UX300h develops 146kW, up 11kW, from a 2.0-litre four-cylinder petrol engine, one or two electric motors, and a new lithium-ion battery pack with a claimed 15 percent higher output from each cell than the previous nickel-metal hydride battery.

Contributing to the power boost is a 5kW increase from the 2.0-litre engine – now quoting 112kW/188Nm, through changes to the intake and exhaust – and a more powerful front electric motor, with 83kW/206Nm, up from 80kW.

In all-wheel-drive models, the rear electric motor has been boosted to 30kW/84Nm – up from 5kW/55Nm – while being lighter than before.

Fuel consumption has decreased from 4.3 to 4.2 litres per 100 kilometres for the UX300h front-wheel drive, and from 4.6 to 4.5L/100km for the all-wheel drive.

Other changes for the UX300h include a shift-by-wire gear selector, with a new shift knob and the 12.3-inch infotainment touchscreen now supports wireless Android Auto (previously wired) in addition to carry-over wireless Apple CarPlay. A larger 12.3-inch digital instrument cluster is standard across the range.

Safety has seen an upgrade with the addition of safe exit assist, which alerts occupants if they are about to open the side doors into the path of oncoming vehicles or cyclists.

The autonomous emergency braking system can now detect motorcycles in the daytime, and cyclists at all hours, while also avoiding collisions with vehicles crossing at an intersection.

A driver monitoring camera has been added on top of the steering column to ensure the driver is watching the road, the low-speed parking AEB system is said to have been improved.