Lexus is being dragged kicking and screaming into the electric era of the modern automobile. While they love their hybrids (they even refer to hybrids as self-charging electric cars, which is a stretch/spin the likes of which I’ve rarely seen) and even a few plug-in hybrids, they haven’t fielded a fully electric car until this, the RZ450e. While some automakers are swinging for the fences, this RZ feels more like getting on base with a hit by pitch.
The RZ is a midsized hatchback with a half raised ride height. Yes they call it an SUV, but I guess this could potentially qualify as one of those SUV coupes with the steeply raked rear end. With two rows of seats this shape and profile is essentially the sedan of the future and I don’t think that’s a bad thing. The future part is here with the brand’s first dedicated electric vehicle platform, a 71.4 kWh lithium ion battery and dual motors to provide all-wheel drive in this set up. The RZ450e comes in two trims with the base Premium, starting at $60,000. For that you get the 308 horsepower dual motor system with an estimated 220 miles of range (when equipped with 18″ wheels). While not a ton of power, it will get you to 60 miles per hour in 5 seconds.
As far as current EVs go, those figures aren’t super compelling. A Genesis GV60, priced similarly, achieves a 248-mile estimated range and also provides a faster peak charging rate. The RZ looks worse when you step up to the Luxury trim, priced at just over $65,000, which nets you no added performance, but brings estimated range down under 200 due in part to the move to 20″ wheels. Again, the GV60 offers a Performance trim, a little pricier at $70,000 but offering up a massive lift in power (429 horsepower) and still offering more markedly range than the Lexus, at 235 miles.
Those low range numbers are going to look even worse for customers who adhere to keeping daily charge rates to 80%, and when they turn on the air conditioning or heater, they’ll see another big hit to the expected range in the Lexus. These RZ owners will almost undoubtedly need to have level 2 charging at home or at work as they’ll have to follow the ABCs (Always Be Charging) of EV mantra nearly daily. A new single motor front wheel drive RZ300e was recently announced to bring the price of entry down nearly $5,000 and with it a bump in range to 266 miles (again with 18″ wheels) but also a massive dip in power to just 201 horsepower.
While we’re on the topic of wheels and range, also worth mentioning that our tester Luxury trim was specced with summer performance tires, something we’ve seen on a number of EVs. Not sure if they’re meant to help with ultimate range, but are potentially a significant cost for consumers who do encounter winter and winter-esque weather. Those customer will have to shell out for either a set of all seasons or a set of dedicated winter tires and continually swap them on and off. Yes, that’s no doubt better for the driving experience, but many Americans just aren’t in the habit of doing so. And to have to shell out likely over $1,000 for another set of tires is sure to be a sore point for some.
As an around town mobile for a customer that has another car for longer treks and has the ability to level 2 charge at home or at work, the RZ could make sense. It seems like a conciliatory effort to try to make sure the Lexus faithful (and they are a pretty faithful bunch) have somewhere to dabble in the EV-ness and not completely abandon ship. As an EV, the driving characteristics and manners are something that many luxury vehicles should aspire for, smooth and quiet with a substantive on road feel thanks to the added heft of the battery pack. So at least the Lexus RZ delivers on that front.
Inside you get the latest in Lexus goodies with an absolutely massive for this tidy cabin 14″ Lexus Interface infotainment system, which kind of makes up for the tiny and grainy digital gauge cluster. Panoramic roof is standard, as are comfy NuLuxe trimmed seats which are heated and ventilated. Parking sensors with automatic braking, blind spot detection and a surround view camera as also standard fare on the Premium trim. Moving up to the Luxury trim you get added tech bits like a head up display, the highly touted Mark Levinson audio system, added driver assistance tech like traffic jam assist, acoustic side glass and heated rear seats. Materials are nicer than a Toyota bZ4X, which this is based on, but still a bit questionable at the price point
Space inside is well-proportioned, with good use of the comfortable 2nd row. It’s easy to put the rear facing car seat back there behind even the driver’s seat. There are also vents and the aforementioned heated seats in the 2nd row as equipped. 2 USB-C ports and a 120V outlet are also handy. Cargo area can easily take a big stroller and golf clubs as needed. One parenting thing that I haven’t seen Lexus really grasp is the electronic actuation of the child safety lock on the rear doors, still leaning on the manual little toggle switch. Seems like a miss given that the doors themselves use the new Lexus electronic door buttons, would think that’s just a bit of software that could be deployed.
As you might guess, the Lexus RZ is fine for a certain persona of driver/owner. But from one of the world’s largest and most profitable manufacturers, one with tons of electrified experience, the RZ seems like a pretty half-assed attempt at a product. Slapping Lexus seating and infotainment onto the already middling Toyota/Subaru EV twins and calling it a day comes off a bit lazy. Lexus didn’t shoulder the development costs themselves, so why couldn’t they have put a little more effort into the experience? The market response seems to agree, sales are struggling and we’ve seen upwards of a $15,000 lease cash offer, double what the federal credit is. Even with that 25% discount, we rarely if ever spot one of these around. The RZ is certainly not conquesting anyone into the brand. Am keen to see how the next round of Lexus EVs hopefully better embodies the corporate ethos of “experience amazing,” as this was rather lackluster.
