It’s starting to feel as though I’m reviewing an SUV every other week as more manufacturers plump out their model range with more of the high-riding family-friendly cars.

This week I’m looking at the Lexus UX – where UX stands for Urban Crossover – which is designed to sit below the firm’s RX and NX in size but above them in sales numbers.

It is unmistakeably a Lexus with bold, angular creases, sharp lines and a front end that’s dominated by the huge signature grille. Despite its compact dimensions the UX manages to strike an imposing pose.

Like other models in the manufacturer’s line-up, it also relies on hybrid power, mating a 2.0-litre engine with a small battery pack. It’s up against some stiff competition, not just from petrol- and diesel-fuelled rivals, but also from the growing legions of hybrid SUVs, which includes the Kia Niro, Toyota CH-R and Mini Countryman SE.

Climb inside and, unlike a typical SUV, you’re greeted with a surprisingly low driving position. It means that all-round visibility is poor for a car of this ilk and it’s made worse by a rapidly-rising windowline that impairs your view out of the rear three-quarters.

If one of the reasons you’re looking at buying an SUV is for the commanding driving position that gives you an unrivalled view of the road then, well, the UX is most definitely not going to make it onto your shopping shortlist.

The entry-level UX comes with six-manual front-seat adjustment, but eight-way adjustable electric seats are available as an option. They are standard on F-Sport and Takumi versions. The seats are snug – for me, anyway – but they don’t do a particularly good job of holding you in place through corners.

The UX reviewed here was equipped with the Premium Plus option pack which replaces the standard 17in alloys with 18in rims, adds privacy glass, front and rear parking sensors, an auto-dimming rear-view mirror, heated leather front seats and steering wheel, smart entry, a powered tailgate and LED cornering lights.

The interior is as distinctive as the outside with a blend of strong lines, sharp corners and geometric shapes. It won’t be to everyone’s tastes but, if you’ve got this far, chances are that you’ll enjoy the slightly left-field approach to the dashboard design. Attention to detail is excellent, as it usually the case in a Lexus, and it feels robustly built with some plush fabrics and soft-touch materials across the dash and on the doors but, delve a little deeper and you’ll find some harder, scratchy plastics that are out of place in a premium-priced motor car.

The infotainment system uses a seven-inch display that sits on top of the dash. That’s quite small compared to some of its rivals and, to make matters worse, the resolution is quite poor, meaning you don’t get the pin-sharp images that you’ll find elsewhere.

Lexus fit their cars with a clickable touchpad – much like you would find on a laptop – to help you navigate their infotainment system. It does take some getting used to and, even when you do, it can feel a little unwieldy at times.

There are some welcome shortcut buttons adjacent to the touchpad that make flicking between functions easier. Neither Apple CarPlay nor Android Auto are available. That’s a strange omission at any price point but on a premium product like the UX it’s inexcusable. The 13-speaker Mark Levinson sound system that comes as part of the optional Tech and Sound pack is excellent. The pack also includes a wireless charging pad for your mobile and a head-up display.

Front-seat passengers enjoy a generous amount of both head and legroom but the same can’t be said for anyone riding in the back, where it can even be a bit of a struggle to get in and out, thanks to the narrow door openings and cramped footwells.

The middle seat is higher than the outer two, meaning that the already limited headroom is further reduced and there’s precious little room for three pairs of feet beneath the front seats.

The glovebox is on the small side, as are the door bins, but there’s a decent cubby beneath the armrest and a pair of cup holders. There are no door bins in the rear, just a couple of map pockets.

The boot is a decent shape with a good opening and no lip but, and there’s no getting away from this, it is a tad on the small side. At just 438 litres with the rear seats in place and 1,231 with them stowed away, a practical SUV this ain’t.

The UX’s hybrid system combines a 2.0-litre petrol engine with a battery pack to produce 182bhp. It’s a self-charging hybrid, so there’s no need to plug it in overnight when you get home, but in stop-start traffic and with gentle application of the accelerator, it can be encouraged to pootle around on battery-power alone. That makes it very quiet, of course.

There’s very little unwelcome noise in the cabin even when you’re cruising at speed with the petrol engine running. However, things can get a little fraught under heavy acceleration and that’s in no small part thanks to the car’s CVT. Gearboxes of this design cause the engine to rev harder than if you were using a multi-geared automatic and hang on to those revs longer, so when you press the pedal to metal you’ll hear the petrol unit spin up noisily.

The brakes can feel a little sensitive, too, but that’s a trait common to all hybrids and is down to the regenerative braking system recovering energy to top up the battery as you slow. It means you don’t get the smooth and progressive braking that you’d enjoy in a normal car, but the UX’s system isn’t too bad in that respect, but you’ll still find yourself making some adjustments to your braking style in order to compensate.

The UX is comfortable on motorways but it can get fidgety over high-frequency imperfections while it doesn’t handle sharper-edged potholes as well as some of its rivals.

The steering is light and linear, but at higher speeds that lack of weight and feedback can be a drain on driver confidence. Body roll is well controlled, helped by the relatively low centre of gravity, but the front end will quickly run out of grip if pressed. Front wheel-drive is standard on the UX but it is available with E-Four four wheel-drive right across the range, although you shouldn’t expect stellar off-road performance should you tick that particular option box.

If good fuel economy, low company car tax, excellent reliability and build quality and stand-out looks are high on your list of priorities than the UX comfortably ticks all those boxes. The driving experience isn’t bad and, in truth, is about on a par with many of its rivals. It isn’t without its flaws however and, chief among them is the disappointing rear-passenger space but, depending on your tastes, you could possibly add the infotainment system to that list.

Lexus UX

Price: £29,905

As tested: £33,505

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylinder petrol

Transmission: CVT automatic

Max power (engine): 150bhp

Max torque (engine): 190Nm

Max power (motor): 107bhp

Max torque (motor): 202Nm

Max power (combined): 181bhp

Max speed: 110mph

0-62mph: 8.5sec

WLTP combined: 49.5 – 53.2mpg

Emissions (CO2): 97g/km

For more information visit www.lexus.co.uk