Lexus UX 300e EV Charging Cable

Two flaps, and only one of them takes this cable

Read this before you measure anything. The UX 300e has two separate charging flaps, one on each rear flank. The Type 2 socket that your home cable plugs into is on the OFFSIDE, the right hand side of the car. The flap on the nearside is the CHAdeMO socket for DC rapid charging and your cable will not fit it.

Lexus UK uses those exact words, offside and nearside, in its own material, so there is no ambiguity about it. Measuring to the wrong flap is the single easiest mistake to make on this car, and it is the difference between a 5 metre cable that reaches and one that does not.

A rare car that is not derated by a British supply

The 2021 car holds 54.3 kWh gross, roughly 45 usable, for 190 to 196 miles WLTP. The 2023 update grew to 72.8 kWh gross, around 64 usable, for up to 279 miles on 17 inch wheels. Both use the same 6.6 kW onboard charger, and crucially that charger is SINGLE PHASE.

Unless three phases reach the wall box, and at a house they rarely do, the number that matters is 7.4 kW. The UX 300e is one of the few cars on this site where that paragraph does not apply: 6.6 kW is what it draws from one phase, so a British home supply hands it everything it can take. A 32A cable carries 6.6 kW comfortably. There is nothing lost to the supply here, which is unusual and worth knowing.

How long a full charge takes

The calculation is the battery over the delivered kW, uplifted 13 per cent for charging losses, quarter hour rounded. The range column is deliberately cautious, at 3.5 miles per kWh. Columns are the 2021 car and the 2023 update, using estimated usable capacities because Lexus publishes gross figures only. Lexus's own number for the larger battery is nine and a half hours, which is a little optimistic against the arithmetic; we would plan for eleven.

DC rapid charging is CHAdeMO at up to 50 kW, 0 to 80 per cent in about 80 minutes on the later car. UK cars kept CHAdeMO across both generations and never moved to CCS, which is worth knowing if you are buying used and planning long trips, because CHAdeMO posts are thinning out.

Which length for a UX 300e

Working from the offside rear flap: reverse onto a drive with the charge point on the right and 5 metres is comfortable on a 4.5 metre car. Nose in, or a wall box on the nearside, and the lead has to come the length of the car and across it, which is 10 metres.

The honest way to choose is to measure the real parking position and allow two metres spare. And measure to the right hand flap, not the left one.

How these cables are built

It is made to IEC 62196-2, CE marked, and sealed to IP55 across a -30C to +50C temperature range.

On the three pin side the standard is IEC 62752, with CE marking, IP67 sealing and a -30C to +60C range. Two years of manufacturer warranty, free next working day shipping anywhere in the UK, and a month to change your mind.

Also from Lexus: Lexus NX 450h+ EV Charging Cable. The full range of Lexus charging cables is on one page. For a wall box or public post the lead is the Type 2 to Type 2 charging cable.

Lexus UX 300e charging cable questions

Which flap does the Type 2 cable go into?

The offside one, on the right hand rear flank. The flap on the nearside is the CHAdeMO socket for rapid charging and takes a different connector entirely.

What cable does a UX 300e need?

A Type 2 to Type 2 lead at 32A. The onboard charger is 6.6 kW single phase, so a British home supply gives the car its full rated speed rather than derating it.

How long does a UX 300e take to charge?

Lexus quotes eight and a quarter hours for the 54.3 kWh car and nine and a half for the 72.8 kWh one. The larger figure is optimistic; allow eleven hours from genuinely empty.

Does the UX 300e use CCS?

No. UK cars use CHAdeMO for DC rapid charging across both generations, and Lexus never switched them to CCS. The AC socket is standard Type 2, which is what this cable is.