Lexus RZ

No other premium luxury brand has more experience in electrification than Lexus.

Which made it all the more surprising that it took until 2020 for the brand to launch its first EV (the compact UX 300e) and a further two years for the marque to introduce one with a dedicated EV platform, this car, the Lexus RZ. To be frank, we were pretty underwhelmed by the original UX 300e with its feeble operating range, but in 2022 the RZ looked far more promising.

As it should have been, given the huge investment poured into the e-TNGA architecture it sat on, a chassis that by then we'd already seen with the Toyota bZ4X and its rebadged cousin the Subaru Solterra.

The similarly-sized RZ was a more driver-orientated, luxurious thing, though it used the same 71.4kWh battery and most of the same engineering.

To begin with, it came only in twin motor 450e Direct4 form.

And there were some clever cabin innovations. All these attributes were needed because the RZ started off somewhat hobbled by its parent company Toyota's policy of incorporating such a massive safety buffer in its batteries that the driving range figures lagged behind those of obvious rivals.

There was also the question of whether what was on offer here was sufficient to justify the premium Lexus wanted over the usual mid-sized executive EV crossover choices in this segment, headlined by strong-selling models like the Tesla Model Y and the Polestar 2. In 2024 a cheaper front-driven 300e version was added to the range.

The earliest 71.4kWh models continued until early 2026, when they were replaced by a substantially updated RZ model line-up with a larger 77kWh battery.

It's the earlier 2022-2025-era 71.4kWh RZ models we look at here.

This RZ's 'Seamless e-Motion' styling approach was apparently an evolution of the brand's 'Next Chapter' visual theme and its objective was to create a more premium take on mid-sized EV crossover design than had been served up by this Lexus's Toyota bZ4X close cousin.

That's broadly what you get in a car sized directly between the two Hybrid Crossovers that back in 2022 the brand was campaigning with in the mid-to-upper SUV segment, the NX and the RX. In profile, that means an overall length of just over 4.8-metres, but the RZ hides its bulk well, its wheels pushed out to all four corners in an attempt to emphasise the wide stance and low centre of gravity.

At the front, gone was the brand's usual trademark spindle grille, though that visual spindle remained as part of a three-dimensional shape more deeply integrated into the frontal design.

The rear features a split-roof spoiler; and an elongated light bar across the width of the car that Lexus said was a hallmark of its current design: perhaps they'd not noticed that back in 2022 it was also a hallmark of just about everybody else's too. The front-of-cabin architecture was designed around Lexus's so-called 'Tazuna' concept, apparently inspired by the way a rider can control a horse by using only small adjustments on the reins, with a driver-focused feel that was a bit more conventional than the futuristic vibe served up by this RZ's Toyota bZ4X close cousin.

Most RZ models got a supplementary head-up display, which works with the steering wheel touch-tracer switches we first saw on the MK2 NX.

These can be customised to operate preferred functions like drive mode, navigation and audio and when you touch a switch, its form and function appear on the head-up display. In a car from this era of this size, prestige and price, you'd expect one of those big, customisable instrument displays with space for selectable full-screen mapping.

There's nothing like that here: just a central Power Meter with Power and Charge sections that arc above a central data area you can populate via steering wheel buttons.

You'll not be afflicted by screen withdrawal symptoms though because the cabin's dominated by one that's simply enormous.

We first saw this car's huge 14-inch HD 'Lexus Link Pro' infotainment display on the NX and then on the RX and it's equally as sophisticated here, benefitting from continual over-the-air updates and a supposedly intuitive 'Dynamic Voice Recognition' system. Enough with screens, what else might you need to know here? Well seats are usually a highlight of any Lexus cabin and so it is here.

The front chairs are superbly comfortable, thanks to a so-called 'deep hung' upholstery design, and if you avoid base trim with your RZ, you'll find that positioned in front of them are what the brand calls its 'Radiant Heaters'.

Working silently, these waft infrared radiation towards you in a way that feels like a warm blanket spread around your legs: lovely. Get comfortable in the back and you'll find that six-footers will be able to stretch out, even when the front seats ahead are pushed right back, though you can't insert your feet below the front seat bases in the way you can in a Tesla Model Y.

The floor's almost completely flat (as it should be in an EV), though the middle occupant this frees up space for may object to the way that the raised centre seat cushion restricts headroom.

Head space for the two outer passengers is much better, thanks to a rearward peak in the roof line that Lexus says freed up an extra 67mm of head space. What about luggage space? Well, unlike some rivals, this Lexus doesn't provide any extra 'frunk' room beneath the bonnet, so all your stowage capacity is in the back.

There is of course a powered tailgate, though it's only gesture-controlled at the very top of the range.

Its wide angle of opening can be adjusted (to suit your garage roof) and once it's raised, a 522-litre space is revealed.

Prices for this earlier RZ start with the earliest 450e Direct4 model, which values with a '22 plate from around £22,100 (around £25,000 retail) for a base-spec 'Premium' model; allow around £3,000 more for top 'Takumi' spec.

The single motor 300e model arrived on a 24-plate and one of those with base 'Premium' trim values from around £23,450 (around £26,500 retail).

All quoted values are sourced through industry experts cap hpi.

Click here for a free valuation.

Most early owners report that the actual EV range they get is well below the official claim.

We've also heard reports of slow or inconsistent DC fast-charging speeds and a relatively weak onboard charger on earlier cars, making home charging slower than it should be.

We've come across software issues, so check the infotainment system for frozen screens and lagging response.

Some owners have reported drivetrain issues like torque vectoring warning messages or strange motor noises.

We've also heard of creaks in the dashboard and doors, excessive tyre noise and troublesome charging port doors.

The wheels can be prone to kerbing, so factor in any refurb costs if they've been dented or scuffed. Obviously, you'll need to check the charging system.

If the car won't charge, it could be a problem with your home electrics (or those at the public charge point you're using).

Check the charge light to make sure that electricity really is going through the charge port.

And make sure there really is charge in the socket you're using to power from - plug something else into it to see - say, your 'phone.

If that charges OK, it could be that your charging cable is demanding too much power, so try another power source.

Another problem could be that the circuit may have tripped due to a circuit overload.

Or perhaps there could be a problem with the charge cable: this needs to be cared for properly.

Repeatedly driving over it (as previous owners may conceivably have done) will damage it eventually.

Make sure you do a charge-up before signing for the car you're looking at.

When you do this, make sure that when you plug in to start the charge cycle you hear the charge port and the cable locking and engaging as they should; that's all part of the charger basically confirming with the car's onboard computer that everything's good to go before releasing power.

But if the charging cable fails to lock as it should, then that won't happen.

If there is a failure to lock, the issue could be actuator failure, caused by a blown fuse.

(approx prices based on a 2023 RZ 450e - ex Vat) Lexus parts aren't that much cheaper than those you'd get from the premium German marques, so don't expect big bargains here.

An air filter is in the £10-£37 bracket.

Wiper blades are in the £6-£26 bracket.

A brake pad set is in the £23-£70 bracket.

A pair of front brake discs is in the £60-£97 bracket.

A pair of rear brake discs is in the £30-£97 bracket.

A shock absorber is in the £47-£105 bracket.

Lexus doesn't really have much of a heritage in pin-sharp driving dynamics, but by 2022 was prioritising handling much more as part of what it called the 'Lexus Driving Signature'.

By then we'd already seen that approach in latest versions of the NX and RX and it continued here as part of what the company called a 'seamless E-motion' concept.

This was pretty important to achieve if the RZ was not to be seen as merely a plushed-up version of the Toyota bZ4X model with which it shared most of its engineering. That car's Subaru-developed 4WD system - called 'Direct4' here - works with Lexus's electric e-Axle system, which on the original RZ 450e model used a pair of compact electric motors, one at the front with 201bhp, the other at the rear with 108bhp, together giving the RZ 450e a combined output of 309bhp.

Under normal driving, the car usually uses the smaller rear-driven motor, which only combines with the front one when you ask for more power and the full 435Nm output of torque.

62mph is just 5.3s away, so you'll rarely be bested away from the lights, but as with most EVs, top speed is governed back, here to 99mph, in order to preserve the 71.4kWh battery's range figure, quoted at 252 miles with the most common 20-inch RZ wheel size but more likely in reality to be 50-60 miles less than that.

The 150kW charging speed means that a 10-80% spell of battery replenishment takes around 25 minutes from a DC rapid charger.

At home, a 7.4kW wallbox will need 10 hours for a full charge. A cheaper front-driven single motor RZ 300e model was added to the line-up in 2024 but Lexus felt that the 'Direct4' set-up of the RZ 450e was integral to the RZ driving experience.

With this, torque vectoring between the axles allows 100% of power to be sent to front or rear at any given time, the distribution governed by sensors monitoring speed, steering angle and G-Forces.

It works too: you can really feel the electronics beneath you shuffling power about as you accelerate out of slower corners.

That sporty approach means a firmer ride than you might expect from a Lexus.

But the excellent refinement will be familiar to brand loyalists; in many ways, it set a new standard for the segment.

Lexus sees itself as a 'design innovator' and it was certainly that when two decades ago, its luxury saloons introduced wealthy executives to the concept of Hybrid power.

That advance owed almost everything to borrowed Toyota technology, as did the engineering behind this RZ.

There was fundamentally nothing here we hadn't seen before, but the combination of elements like the e-Axle set-up and its associated Direct4 all-wheel drive torque control system really work very effectively indeed, back in 2022 creating what in many ways was the most engaging mainstream Lexus driving experience we had tried. There's also plenty else to like; the smartly-trimmed cabin, the exemplary refinement and the long battery warranty.

Not as good were the rather restricted driving range figure and the 400V electrical architecture.

Driving range and charging speed were both improved as part of the early 2026 model update but if you can live with the earlier version's showing in both these areas, a very Lexus-like EV experience awaits here.