2025 Lexus LBX Morizo RR Review

Racy is not how you’d describe your average Lexus. But now there’s a hot-shot AWD compact Lexus crossover that’s track ready. Meet LBX Morizo RR.

Toyota has unleashed four GR variants and now Lexus has taken the smallest and turned it into the top LBX model. Naturally it isn’t called a GR but an RR variant of its compact LBX crossover line-up. And unusually it has Morizo in the name. That’s because this particular LBX was developed in part by ‘Master Driver’ Akio Toyoda, Chairman of Toyota Motor Corporation. On track, Toyoda’s nickname is Morizo, so that’s why the RR is known thus. Morizo was also one of the mascots of the 2025 World Expo held in Japan. Who knew? The RR in the nameplate refers to Rookie Racing as opposed to Gazoo Racing.

Differences from the LBX

Anyhow, the RR is closely related to the GR Yaris, just like LBX is related to Yaris Cross. For they utilise the same platform. However, the RR Morizo is somewhat wilder, more athletic. It’s 15mm wider and rides 10mm lower than the others in the range. The driver’s hip point is also 10mm lower for that sense of oneness with the vehicle. Its body kit is nicely restrained, and features body-coloured wheel arches and side skirts. It’s full of purpose but not too ostentatious. This is a Lexus, after all. It’s all very smooth too, in that aero-inspired way. 

Powering the RR is a 206kW/390Nm three-cylinder 1.6L turbopetrol, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission.

Evidently the bodywork, suspension (multilink instead of torsion beam rear), brakes and tyres were uprated for optimal performance. 

The car’s head designer, Kunihiko Endo, said the concept was about bringing a smile to the face of the true enthusiast while offering the refinement of a Lexus. And indeed in the right circumstances this will make some smile while others might find themselves laughing maniacally. Contributing to those special moments is an electronically controlled All-Wheel Drive system, and front and rear Torsen limited slip diffs.

Also enhancing athletic ability is significantly enhanced body rigidity thanks to almost 500 extra spot welds and an additional 13m of structural adhesives. There are special underbody stability braces and a rear performance damper as well. 

Active Sound Control amplifies driving sounds through the audio speakers. This involves synchronising engine and exhaust resonances as the vehicle accelerates and slows.

The RR is evidently Morizo’s weekend drive. He believes it will “redefine expectations in the luxury small SUV market”. And he is right about that, except for one pesky rival with a similar aim.

Out of the frypan

Purely coincidental it was that we drove the facelifted Cupra Formentor VZ just before hopping into the Lexus LBX Morizo RR. I hadn’t at that stage cottoned on to the fact that both of these sell for just under $90k. And while the Formentor is larger (4451mm vs 4190mm) with a bigger four-pot 2.0 engine, they’re both five-door sporty compact crossovers. Each features a warmed over turbocharged engine and both have AWD to help them stick. 

Each looks absolutely up for it in the styling department too, with bulging body work, big wheels, and proper attitude, especially up front. Both go hard but the Spaniard with its bigger, more potent (245kW/420Nm) 2.0L IL4T has the performance edge. The slightly smaller LBX with its tricky diffs is a bit more of a corner terrier than the Formentor but it’s otherwise Cupra all the way. It looks more aggressive, is half a second quicker on the sprint and doesn’t really put too much of a foot wrong. Okay, there’s not a whole lot of legroom in the rear, but the LBX is worse off on that front, as it is for luggage space (315 vs 345L).

Where the Formentor truly nails it is in the ride and refinement stakes. The RR is simply loud over coarse chip surfaces – 78dB is so un-Lexus like – where the Cupra’s worst is a more acceptable 72dB. And the Formentor ride is a decent cut above with its adaptive dampers – literally you can go from soft to hard in 15 steps –  where the LBX has fixed suspension. Not that the LBX is as firm riding as its GR progenitor but it cannot compete with the user-adjustable adaptive damping of the Cupra.

The final arbiter to my mind is that the LBX is based on the GA-B small car platform underpinning the Yaris Cross. And it shows, despite efforts to cover this up. Yes, there’s lots of alluring Alcantara but there are hard plastics where there really shouldn’t be on a car costing this much, the central screen is slow and old fashioned and Lexus still seems fixated with control systems that obfuscate. Try changing the data you see in the instrument panel. It took me several days of mussing before stumbling on how to do it. Yes, the information is there but it isn’t that easy to manipulate. It reminds of the Lexus answer to iDrive which was tricky to use for left handers and was eventually ditched. This latest effort is almost as annoying. 

Simplicity

Okay, so changing the trip data can be a bit of a mission but then no more so than most of the controlling touchscreens that blight many of the new energy cars we drive nowadays. And in many ways the basic nature of the core car makes this otherwise simple to operate. To your left and in front of where the centre bin isn’t (no room for that) are three buttons, one of which is for the Sport mode. The default is Normal. An AWD button changes things from variable to 50-50 fixed. We rather liked the even more tied down feel of the latter. 

Not quite so straightforward though is the manual shift mechanism. You pull back on the lever to select manual, all good but you don’t then pull back again to return to Drive. You must push across diagonally to the right while pulling down or else you’ll select Neutral on the go. Weird.

And annoyingly this won’t run in eighth gear at 100km/h. Or it least it won’t most of the time. You need to be doing at least 105 before it flicks into eighth and holds it there. So generally on the open road, you’re in seventh. Which may explain why the best fuel use figure prior was 13.3L/100km. A bit much, especially given the claimed figure of 9.5L/100km (rightcar agrees). Perhaps the previous driver became intoxicated by the yowl of the hot 1.6T triple on the boil. 

This is meant to run 0-100 in 5.2sec but we fell a bit short on that front, with a best of 5.4sec (Formentor 4.8sec). The 80-120 overtake of 3.3sec was also a little down on the three sec run of the Cupra. Enough for bragging rights.

As to our fuel use, we managed to halve the previous best figure for a time – it uses about 6.5L/100km on cruise control during motorway running. Expect eights when you’re not hitting it, just cruising (similar to Formentor) and roughly around 10L/100km when having a little fun. Going mental will net you into the teens and likely a ticket or two. But it does turn the hydrocarbons into a musical warble in Sport mode or with ESP off. That’s thanks in part to Engine Sound Enhancement. The rest of the time the music from the 13-speaker Mark Levinson sound system will just have to suffice.

Overall then?

Those even contemplating this car will know what they’re in for. It’s essentially for couples with nothing more than a dog, or maybe grandkids on occasion to transport, given limited room in the rear and the luggage compartment. While this may be based on a compact Toyota, you’d not know it from the way it drives. It’s genuine fun under the right conditions but is just too intrusive on our coarse chip surfaces, detracting from its otherwise gentler side compared with GR Yaris. You should also drive the like-priced Formentor VZ if you’re after something just as fun, but if anything more premium in feel and refinement, quicker, roomier and just as menacing to behold.  

Lexus LBX Morizo RR

$89,900  /  9.5L/100km  /  215g/km
0-100 km/h 5.43s
80-120 km/h 3.33s (94.22m)
100-0 km/h 34.89m
Speedo error  97 at an indicated 100km/h
Ambient cabin noise  78.3dB@100km/h
Engine  1618cc / IL3 / T / DI
Max power  206kW@6500rpm
Max torque  390Nm@3250-4600rpm
Drivetrain  8-speed auto / AWD
Front suspension  Mac strut / swaybar
Rear suspension  Wishbones / swaybar
Turning circle  10.8m (2.3 turns)
Front brakes  Ventilated discs (356mm)
Rear brakes  Discs (281mm)
Stability systems  ABS, ESP, TV
Safety  AEB, ACC, BSM, LDW, RCTA, ALK, AHB
Tyre size  f/r-235/45R19
Wheelbase  2580mm
L/W/H  4190 / 1840 / 1535mm
Track f-1580mm  r-1585mm
Fuel capacity  50L
Luggage capacity  317L
Tow rating  Not rated to tow
Service intervals  12 months / 15,000km
Scheduled servicing  4yrs / unlimited km
Warranty  4yrs / unlimited km
ANCAP rating  Not yet rated
Weight (claimed)  1485kg