2023 Lexus rz 450e electric SUV
Lexus is lagging behind in the electric car space. Since Lexus and its parent company, Toyota, sell hundreds of thousands of hybrids a year, although you’d think these automakers would be on all-electric vehicles, that hasn’t happened until now. Toyota’s bZ4X broke cover at the end of last year, turning it into the car’s more posh sibling. Meet the 2023 Lexus RZ 450e,
Though the RZ 450e runs on the same e-TNGA platform that underpins the Toyota bZ4X and the Subaru Solterra, in true Lexus fashion, it aims to raise the level of comfort and luxury offered by both of them. And unlike Toyota and Subaru, whose exterior and cabin designs are very different from other vehicles in their respective automakers’ lineups, the RZ looks like a typical Lexus SUV – all electric. Talking about the same, it gets an hourglass-shaped grille, squinty headlights, and proportions that are similar to the recently redesigned NX,
However, Lexus is clearly taking on the Tesla Model Y with its new premium EV crossover. But it will also face the Ford Mustang Mach-E, Audi Q4 e-Tron, Volvo XC40 Recharge, and the upcoming electric Porsche Macan in the battle for small luxury EV supremacy.
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What is the RZ’s car range?
The company’s RZ 450e is powered by two electric motors, one on each axle, which is powered by a 71.4-kWh battery pack. Lexus says that the front motor of the RZ will produce 201 horsepower, with the rear motor producing 107 hp. However, this is a big step up from the bZ4X and Solterra, which use twin 107-hp motors in their all-wheel-drive configuration.
As for the range of this car, Lexus says the RZ can easily cover a range of 225 miles on a single charge, as long as you opt for the smaller 18-inch wheels. The big 20s will likely have more range and bring that figure down a touch. If a range of 225 miles on a single charge in 2022 sounds like a moderate figure, you’d be right.
However, in this electric car, as our real-world EV range tests have proven time and again, EVs often go farther than their EPA estimates, and so perhaps the RZ450e will be an overachiever.
How’s the RZ’s car interior?
While the RX 450e is similar to the NX on the outside of an electric car, you might be impressed with the déj SUV on the inside. And the cabin of the RZ is almost a carbon copy of the NX, with the same instrument cluster and 14-inch infotainment screen. The biggest difference between the two crossovers in this electric car will arrive later this year at some unspecified date, and that’s the RZ’s new optional steering wheel.
Although like the Tesla Model S and Model X, the RZ will be available with a yoke – a steering wheel without an upper part – but Lexus says its approach may be different from that of the Tesla. There will be a lot of steering speed in the yoke, made possible by the steer-by-wire system in this car. This essentially means, smaller inputs will result in larger movement from the front tires, hopefully eliminating the hand-over-hand flagging experienced in the new Model S. While this is the second time an automaker has actually tried to reinvent the wheel, the company has
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