A little slice of Japanese luxury from Lexus

Step into its new LBX (it stands for Lexus Breakthrough Crossover) and even in the second-tier Premium trim line of a seven grade range line-up the cabin design and material quality clearly stand out in a hatchback-sized vehicle.

Prices start at £29,995 – roughly the same as the slightly larger Toyota C-HR – with the Premium trim tested here coming in at £32,505.

All right, the Premium trim goes without the Mark Levinson sound system, head-up instrument display, keyless entry and the 360-degree reversing camera of higher grade LBXs, but there is no sense that this is anything other than a genuinely premium model.

Premium spec features super-soft synthetic leather heated front seats and steering wheel, a six-speaker sound system, 9.8-inch infotainment system with sat-nav and reversing camera, LED headlights with automatic high beam and wireless phone charging.

Also included is adaptive cruise control and a full gamut of safety systems. Sadly, Toyota/Lexus’s arsenal of safety tech includes speed limit and driver attention warnings which cannot be permanently deactivated and prove a regular irritation.

There are few distractions from what is an easy-going, luxury hybrid crossover experience, though.

The 1.5-litre, three-cylinder petrol hybrid drivetrain drives the front wheels via a seamless CVT gearbox.

The electric element of the 136PS (and 185Nm of torque) drivetrain ensures strong low-down torque, making 9.2-second acceleration to 62mph possible.

That three-cylinder engine can grow coarse if required to sustain high-performance driving, but progress is generally refined.

Very impressive fuel economy is another major gain of driving the LBX less briskly.

A conservative-looking 61.4-62.7mpg, and 102 to 108g/km CO2 emissions, are recorded on the WLTP test cycle. On our test, we saw over 70mpg.

Only slightly firm suspension detracts from an otherwise relaxed and supremely frugal drive.

Overall, it is the standout polish of the LBX that sticks in the memory.

This is the first time that Lexus has served up its appealingly luxurious offering to this part of the market.

The result is a new flavour of compact crossover should win many fans.