Lexus’ first electric car has premiered. The Lexus RZ is a crossover with a lot of technology and a good range. This is the new Lexus RZ. It is the first pure electric car that Lexus has built. It’s packed with tech, including an all-new steer-by-wire system.
- New Lexus RZ unveiled
- First purpose-built Lexus electric car
- Optional handlebar
- 71.4 kWh battery
- 400 km range
- Two engines, 313 hp, all-wheel drive
- Acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds
- First deliveries in January 2023
This is the all-new Lexus RZ. It’s the first Lexus to be designed from the ground up as a pure electric car, although it inherits many parts from the new Toyota bZ4X.
Design
Big grilles are all the rage right now, but does the new Lexus RZ even have one?
There’s a small air intake under the license plate, but the rest of the bumper is completely hidden – a bit like a Tesla Model Y. From the side, however, the Lexus RZ looks much more dramatic than this car. There’s a strong crease connecting the front wheel to the rear doors and a crease under the rear windows that may have been inspired by the Lexus LC coupe.
The RZ comes standard with 18-inch alloy wheels, while the top trim includes 20-inch alloy wheels.
The RZ is designed with straight edges and pointed corners at the rear. The two fins on the roof look like those on a Lotus Eletre , but the rest of the RZ looks pretty much like the facelifted Lexus NX.
New Lexus RZ Interior
Lexus removed as many unnecessary buttons from the RZ’s interior as possible. The result is that the interior looks far more streamlined than any other Lexus you can currently buy. That’s a good thing.
You can get the Lexus RZ with an all-new steering bar instead of a regular steering wheel – just like the Tesla Model S.
It’s designed to give you a better view of the instruments and the road than a regular steering wheel. The big news, however, is that this new system has no mechanical connection between the handlebar and the front wheels. It’s electronically connected instead.
That means Lexus can make the steering much more sensitive than normal at slow speeds, so you don’t have to turn the rectangular yoke in circles like a regular steering wheel.
Thankfully, the all-new 14-inch touchscreen is available across the Lexus RZ range. It features cloud-based navigation, Apple CarPlay, Android Auto, and “Hey Lexus” voice control, which should make it easier to use than the cumbersome infotainment systems found on many current Lexus vehicles.
You can also get a dimmable panoramic glass roof with a special coating that retains heat in winter and reflects it in summer. This way you don’t have to use the air conditioner as often, which helps the car use less electrical energy.
Battery and range
The Lexus RZ shares the same electrical system as the new Toyota bZ4X. This means that it is equipped with a 71.4 kWh battery that allows a range of 400 kilometers. That’s about 55 kilometers less than the Toyota bZ4X with two engines and almost 112 kilometers less than the bZ4X with one engine.
However, the Lexus also has a special ‘Range’ mode to help you rack up a few extra miles at the end of a long drive. It turns off the air conditioning and limits the power of the engines so you can reach the nearest charging station.
Lexus hasn’t announced how quickly you’ll be able to charge the RZ if you can find an outlet. But it should be similar to the Toyota bZ4X.
The car has a 150 kW fast charging function that can charge the battery from empty to 80% in about half an hour. Lexus also says the RZ’s battery should still have about 90% of its total capacity after 10 years.
Engines and handling
The Lexus RZ comes standard with two engines. A 204 hp motor on the front axle and a 109 hp motor on the rear axle generate a total of 313 hp and give the new RZ all-wheel drive. This means that the RZ has almost 100 hp more than a Toyota bZ4X with all-wheel drive in the top equipment.
This means that the Lexus is much faster than the Toyota. The RZ can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds – more than two seconds faster than the Toyota, but almost a second slower than a Tesla Model Y. This car can sprint from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.8 seconds.
Lexus RZ Price
You can already reserve a new Lexus RZ, although Lexus hasn’t yet confirmed exactly how much it will cost. The entry-level model will likely cost more than 60,000 euros, and the top equipment could cost more than 70,000 euros. The first deliveries are scheduled to begin in January 2023.
