Within a year of its debut, the Lexus LBX, Lexus’ entrant into the vastly competitive premium compact crossover segment has been breathed on by the company’s “go-faster” boffins to give us the LBX Morizo RR.
The name Morizo is a reference to the racing nickname given to chairman Akio Toyoda, “Master Driver Morizo,” and the RR refers to “Rookie Racing” which is a racing organisation based at Fuji Speedway and owned by Toyota.
With the Morizo RR treatment, the hottest LBX is 15mm wider than the regular hybrid. You also have a bodykit which gives a more aggressive stance and extra intakes aid in keeping things cool. Body coloured wheel arches and side skirts add to this and the black spindle Lexus grill in company with those frowning LED headlights mean the Morizo RR is dead serious about its sporting image. At the rear you have subtle reverse baseball cap-esque re spoiler, twin sports exhausts and 19-inch gloss black metallic forged alloys housing red sports brake callipers.
There has also been some additional body strengthening courtesy of an additional 469 spot welds and 12.8 metres of structural adhesive along with new rear performance damper and additional bracing in the underbelly. It also sits 10mm lower than the regular LBX hybrid. All in all, the Morizo RR takes the aggressive refinement we have seen with the Lexus F-Sport family and re-brands it for something new and unique.
The $89,990 Morizo RR comes with a choice of five colours. The test car you see here is clad in Nova White, which we accompanied by the black spindle grill and other black detailing does have the faintest whiff of Imperial Stormtrooper about it.
Power for the Morizo RR comes courtesy of a 1.6L turbocharged three-cylinder engine mated to an 8-speed Direct Shift Automatic Transmission. The figures state 206kW and 390Nm of torque and this is sent to all four wheels via an electronically controlled AWD system, but more on how that fares in a bit. Lexus also claim zero to 100kph in 5.2 second and a top whack of 230kph.
Enter via Lexus’ one touch door handles and you are greeted with a cabin filled with semi-aniline leather and something called “Ultrasuede.” Lashings of this and other premium materials are scattered throughout, proving that Lexus certainly haven’t dropped the ball when it comes to premium feeling surroundings. The seats are incredibly plush and the heated steering wheel does feel good to hold. Plus, Lexus continues the Morizo RR theme of sportiness by providing alloy sports pedals.
While I am still not a fan of the current generation touch buttons mounted on the steering wheel, they do allow you to cycle through a number of different display, phone and entertainment functions.
Tech includes a simply lovely 13-speaker Mark Levinson audio system, 5x USB C-ports, dual 12v power outlets, Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, a 12.3 TFT colour display, head up display, wireless phone charging, power boot lid, rain sensing wipers, panoramic rear view camera and Lexus Safety System+ with autonomous engine braking, intersection collision avoidance support, road sign assist, active cornering assist and safe exit assist to name a few.
With boot space of 266 litres, you have enough for the weekly shop, and a couple of overnight bags or light suitcases but not too much else. Rear seat passengers will also find rear legroom somewhat restricted but headroom isn’t too bad. In fact, you do feel rather snug just about everywhere with the Morizo RR.
Get underway and the ride treads that fine line between sporty firmness and luxury comfort. Tyre roar is prevalent on coarse bitumen, but the Morizo RR manages daily commuting rather well. In Sport mode, the instrument cluster changes to depict a rev bar instead of a traditional rev counter and you have a turbo boost gauge depicting, well, your turbo boost.
When you decide to wind it out close to its 7000rpm redline, your surroundings are engulfed by one angry sounding turbo three pot. This baritone bark akin to a junkyard dog on high alert was not what I was initially expecting. Yes, a lot of it is part of Lexus’ Active Sound Control technology, but it still sounds like a performance car and that’s fine by me. It also loves to exhibit whooshing turbo noises when you put the power down or lift off, which let’s be honest, even the most ardent of keen drivers will find a giggle.
The Morizo RR was extensively developed at the Lexus Technical Centre in Shimoyama. The RR spent countless hours at the facility’s bespoke test track. Engage AWD mode and you have an even 50-50 split from the front to rear wheels. There are also front and rear Torsen limited slip differentials and despite this being a compact SUV, its ability to change direction with vigour is rather impressive.
The steering weights up nicely too, allowing you to coax the Morizo RR into corners with considerable ease and offers plenty of feedback. That said, it doesn’t really feel light on its feet and its 1900kg gross weight does make itself known, but it does feel somewhat planted and solid. The 8-speed direct shift auto can be a bit delayed when shifting up but going down, shifts are pretty instantaneous.
The biggest niggle I found about the Morizo RR in terms of the drive was that it does like to drink. When you factor in its combined fuel consumption figures of 10.3L/km and its 50 litre fuel tank, after a mix of driving exuberance and commuting, you will probably find trips to the pump a tad more numerous than you would otherwise expect.
However, if that doesn’t faze you, you will find much to like about the LBX Morizo RR. It’s a fun drive and despite its thirst and some compromises to practicality, it injects a dose of flamboyant character to Lexus’ latest foray into a segment ever growing in popularity.
RATING: 7.5/10
