Who’d use up a precious weekend driving 400+ miles with their two phone-addicted teenage kids in torrential rain? That’d be me, having been lured away from my sofa by the mighty incentive of road-testing the Lexus LBX Self-Charging Hybrid. 

Lexus’ compact SUV launched in March this year and has already won Car of the Year at the What Car? Awards 2024. The smallest car in the Lexus range, the LBX (short for the rather unexotic ‘Lexus Breakthrough Crossover’) is aimed primarily at women. Ideal for the work commute, school run or general zip around, with great visibility, and an intuitive, easy-to-use display panel, there’s a large boot for whatever life throws at you (suitcases, school sports, weekend shopping?) and best of all – and I know this is shallow – it looks very slick. And you know what? A 400-mile adventure across 5 Muddy counties suddenly seems like an excellent idea.

DAY ONE

1. MK TO WEST MIDLANDS

First stop? To pick up the car – a Premium Plus Lexus LBX in elegant Sonic Grey (pretty much the mid-range model, with prices from from £33,439). Not only did the charming Lexus team give me a tour of the showroom and rundown on the car’s features, but they could see I was woefully under caffeinated and made me a flat white before I set off. After a tentative granny-drive out of the showroom while my daughter synched the satnav to my phone in nanoseconds, we were off on the first leg of my road trip and heading towards the West Midlands. Once the beating heart of the industrial revolution, this area offers much chichi charms these days with its vibrant cities (hello buzzy Birmingham and Coventry), but it also has its fair share of rolling countryside.

Where we stopped

The National Trust’s moated, medieval manor house Baddesley Clinton, is a secluded, stunning 500-year-old estate in the Forest of Arden. There’s plenty to thrill children here, especially the priest hole that’s now visible from the kitchen (it once hid around nine priests at once for four hours in October 1591), and a lakeside path which we power walked our way around to avoid the showers. The grounds are lovely, and if you visit during May you’ll catch over 3,000 mixed tulips, hyacinths and narcissi planted in the borders, and the wisteria in the courtyard. There’s also a picnic area in front of the house for drier days. Apparently, we may have a couple in the next year.

2. WEST MIDLANDS TO CAMBRIDGE

It was 100 miles from Baddesley Clinton to Cambridge, so plenty of opportunity to put the foot down on the motorway (not too hard though – the car gently beeped at me when I was driving too fast). Meanwhile, my daughter took control of the music in the front and played the How Loud Can I Play Taylor Swift game. With 13 speakers as standard (and 21 if you’re going for the sports models). The answer was VERY VERY LOUD. Meanwhile, my 15-year-old son, very much not a Swifty, minded his own businesses in the back. At 5ft 10 – almost all of it legs – he did me a favour by inadvertently testing out the backseat roomage. His knees didn’t touch the seat in front which was a result, and he was pretty comfy, although the sweet spot for this car on a long trip is probably slightly less gangly rear passengers.

Where we stopped

Cambridge, what a city! Easier to navigate around the centre than brutal, car-free Oxford, we arrived in good time. It’s a place made for punting, so we headed straight to the river, hired a chauffeur at Scudamores (recommended, they were great) and floated down the Cam with a gaggle of tourists from the Gold Coast, Boston and Cork, all of us gawking at beauty of The Backs – the university college buildings that face the river.

Afterwards it was a walk around the city (surprisingly compact, it can be done in a day), with a stop off at the famous coffee house Fitzbillies for a cinnamon bun, before crashing at the hotel. The next morning, before the world woke up, I drove around the city to see it at its most elegant and peaceful and quiet. It was beautiful, I’d totally recommend it.

Where we stayed

The Graduate Hotel is bang in the middle of the city, with views out over the river and, handily, is 30 seconds from Scudamore’s punting station. The family room was small for three of us but you can’t fault the location with parking onsite, and there’s a gorgeous cocktail bar in the hotel too, below.

 DAY 2

1. CAMBRIDGE TO BEDFORDSHIRE

We packed up the boot with plenty of room to spare – the 402-litre capacity made light work of a full size suitcase, two smaller suitcases and my rucksack, as we headed off for the next leg of our trip.

Where we stopped

I’d been eyeing up a morning in the pretty Georgian village of Woburn in Bedfordshire (gorgeous indie shops and some great places to eat if you’re looking for a day out), but the teens weren’t having that. Instead, I found myself outvoted and driving to Whipsnade Zoo in Dunstable, Bedfordshire, a regular haunt when they were younger that I thought they’d outgrown. Er, nope, turns out they were still into the Birds of the World display, the miniature railway, wolf enclosure and the hippos. Even as an adult I have to say there’s plenty to love here, plus there’s a new baby rhino at the zoo that’s incredibly cute, and a Monkey Forest pathway where little ones can get excited about the Sulawesi crested macaques. It’s windy so dress for the conditions and prepare to spend the whole day here, it’s vast.

2. BEDFORDSHIRE TO HERTFORDSHIRE

By this point I’d driven over 200 miles but the petrol was still showing more than half full. The Lexus LBX is a self-charging hybrid, meaning that when the petrol is being used the electric battery is powering up – even when you brake. Don’t ask me how it all happens, all I can tell you is it’s extremely cost efficient with a full tank of 36 gallons lasting 486 miles (my Mini, by way of comparison, is more like 380) and the technology chooses the most effective way to use the energy, based on your driving. Magic.

Where we stopped

My turn to put my foot down (not literally – I’d started behaving myself with the speeding, because a projection of my mph on the windscreen was also now reminding me to slow down). Anything vaguely cultural seems to send my children into mouth-foaming fits of revulsion, but any beleaguered fellow parents will know that sometimes the kids just need to take their goddam eyes off TikTok and look up – so I insisted that we visit the Henry Moore Studios and Gardens in the sleepy hamlet of Much Hadham, Hertfordshire. Over 70 acres of stunning grounds, peppered with some of Moore’s most iconic sculptures just about made it through my kids’ protective anti-art shield. You’ll be pleased to know that Large Reclining Figure is regarded by Gen Z as “quite good”.

3. HERTFORDSHIRE TO KENT

From Henry Moore’s country idyll we were now on our final county of the day – across to the north coast of Kent for our own nature retreat, via a zip across the not-very-rural Dartford Crossing.

Where we stopped

I live in landlocked Buckinghamshire so if there’s a chance to reach the sea I take it! We headed straight to Whitstable (well, the outskirts with the best access to the beach) and grabbed an ice cream as blue finally broke through the clouds.

After that it was a lovely meander down the Whitstable main street where you’ll find plenty of indie shops and restaurants, that I imagine will be heaving in the next few months as the tourists descend.

Where we stayed

We drove to our glamping pod on the award-winning Mount Ephraim Gardens, close to the lovely village of Faversham and within a 10-minute drive of Whitstable. It was quite a long, rough, skittish driveway to the pods, all pebbles and rough pathways, but the car made light of it – it had been a smooth, easy drive all the way in truth.

Our pod was one of two, positioned a respectful distance from the other. Well thought out and attractive, each includes a small kitchen, modern bathroom and large outdoor terrace with open fire and views across the fields and the cherry tree crops. They’re ideal for couples in the main though the sofa bed allowed for our extra body count.

Handily there are two pubs that are easily walkable from the pods, but we drove for 10 minutes for a meal at The Dove, below, (a Destination Pub finalist in the Muddy Awards) and it was a great call. It’s a lovely atmosphere at this small, pretty pub, and the food was excellent.

DAY THREE

1. FAVERSHAM TO CANTERBURY

I’d wanted to see Ann Boleyn’s beautiful moated home of Hever Castle but, knowing we had a big drive back, I decided to head into Canterbury instead, about 10 miles away, to see the medieval cathedral and walk the cobbled streets for an hour or so. We picked up some coffees en route, I refilled my water bottle and for the first day actually needed to access the handy storage shelf under the central console for my sunglasses. My own pictures of this area are rubbish (quite awks on the angle!) so I’m using an official pic below. There’s a handy extra lower shelf, a slot for your phone, wireless charger, two drinks holders and various easy-access compartments. To be honest, the whole area is really well thought out, so you don’t find yourself fumbling around.

Anyway back to the Cathedral which is, of course, spectacular. Founded by St Augustine in 597 AD, it’s now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and is very much worth much longer than we were able to give it. Children 17 and under can enter for free with their parents or guardians until 30 September – definitely put it on your list for a day trip.

2. CANTERBURY TO MK

I’d driven 340 miles to reach Canterbury over the last few days and it was now a final 120 miles to get home. And even after that final two-and-a-half-hour drive to return the car to Milton Keynes, I hadn’t had to fill the car once. Very impressive! The Lexus LBX is really good value when you take into consideration the build quality, luxe interiors and styling. It’s also a smart halfway house between throwing your hat into the all-electric club and having the insurance of a petrol back up. It had been a lovely weekend. The weather had lifted, I’d had a couple of ‘bankable’ moments with my kids and I hadn’t been given a speeding ticket. That’s the magic of the Lexus LBX.