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Pros: smart styling, high-quality interior, increased range, refined drive
Cons: odd steering yoke, narrow Irish model line-up
Lexus RZ Design
Lexus hasn’t changed the look of the RZ during this technical update, which comes two years after the model initially launched, and so it proves a familiar shape. Edgy, angular detailing is a Lexus hallmark, while the RZ has nice coupe-SUV proportionality and a clear, distinct identity, so it’s a handsome thing in and of itself. Wheel sizes are either 18-inch alloys or 20-inch items but beware of the latter as they do sap some of the range out of the RZ.
Lexus RZ Interior
Again, Lexus hasn’t changed much inside, so there’s a high-quality 14-inch touchscreen handling the main infotainment, a fine but not spectacular digital instrument cluster for the driver and a head-up display projected onto the windscreen above that. Material quality in the Lexus RZ is generally superb across the board and it’s ergonomically sound within too, while there’s acres of head- and legroom for passengers sitting in row two of the vehicle. A 522-litre boot with all seats in place is also capacious for this sort of EV, so it’s a solid showing from the Lexus in this department.
Lexus RZ Performance & Drive
There will be two variants of the revised RZ to choose from, one called the 350e and the other the 500e. Both have gained bigger, 77kWh battery packs for an extended, official driving range, while tweaks to the suspension, steering and body structure all aim to make the SUV more rewarding to drive while also more comfortable and quieter to travel in.
Much of what Lexus has done here is most worthwhile and addresses the few shortcomings the RZ had from launch, but the big talking point is that the RZ 500e we’re testing here is fitted with a system called steer by wire. This removes any physical link between the driver in the car’s cabin and the vehicle’s front wheels, and it is signified by the fitment of something called a steering yoke.
This is a small, oblong item in place of the traditional round steering wheel and it’s going to be a divisive evolution. It doesn’t feel natural or particularly intuitive to use, and while the 500e handles just as well in the corners with the yoke fitted as any RZ with a regular steering wheel does, the squashed rectangle in your hands always feels alien and odd. Some will love its novelty, but we’d be happier if steer by wire and the yoke were an option rather than standard-fit on the superior, dual-motor, all-wheel-drive RZ 500e flagship.
Otherwise, the 500e is a rather brilliant thing. It’s notably quick to accelerate (0-100km/h is done with in just 4.6 seconds), with a beautiful, linear delivery of power, and it’s also surprisingly spry in the corners for a 2.1-tonne beast like this. Yet the supple ride comfort and exceptional rolling refinement, where the Lexus stays whisper-quiet inside even at motorway pace, is what makes the RZ 500e so desirable. Factor in a range of up to 500km and you have a strong all-round premium package here.
Lexus Pricing
The RZ 350e will be sold in Executive specification in Ireland, while the RZ 500e will be offered as the One Motion with the steering yoke and steer-by-wire as standard. We don’t know the prices as yet, and the outgoing range starts from €65,150 as it is. We’d expect a strong level of standard specification to mitigate likely higher purchase prices for the improved RZ, but the vehicle’s overall success will depend entirely on it proving a great-value alternative to some of the heavier hitters in the premium SUV marketplace.
Carzone Verdict
On the one hand, Lexus – with this technical update – has dealt with the few criticisms many people levelled at the original RZ but has also saddled its likeable and classy electric SUV with something of a gimmick in the form of the steer-by-wire system. It’s not bad and you might well be able to get on with the steering yoke fitted as a key part of this technology, yet we can’t help but feel the RZ 500e would be immeasurably improved if only it had a round steering wheel instead. That said, the 500e is a muscular on-road performer with good handling, a smooth and comfortable ride, and impeccable rolling refinement, and if you don’t like the yoke then there’s always the excellent RZ 350e to go for instead – with its ability to go up to 568km in one hit proving a suitably alluring draw.