Welcoming the new Lexus Gen-RZ

The Lexus RZ was the Japanese company’s second-ever electric car when it was first unveiled in 2022, following on from the UX 300e that seemed to fade out of the price lists before it had a chance to get started. The RZ shares its underpinnings with the Toyota bZ4X and, like that car, it had a rocky start in life. Despite an attractive design and the usual high-quality cabin we’ve come to expect from Lexus, it arrived at a time when there was a lot of talk about the longevity and long-term value of electric cars. It also seemed to take an age to reach Irish shores, by which time the negativity from elsewhere in the world regarding its real-world range had undoubtedly set in.

But rather than give up and focus solely on its more successful hybrids, Lexus has had a second go at the RZ, enhancing the electric powertrain while ramping up the technology and performance. It’s now in Ireland in two distinct formats.

Exterior design and image

Unusually for a midlife update to a car, the new Lexus RZ doesn’t receive any significant exterior changes. Arguably it didn’t need any of course, as this five-door SUV has always been one of the more rakish designs on sale. Other brands would probably refer to it as a coupe-SUV if they were marketing it.

The distinctly sloped rear window is topped by sharp extensions to the roof on either side, which is a stylish flourish, while the full-width LED taillight bar runs under the Lexus wordmark in a classy, understated manner. Up front, there’s no need for the large air inlets of an internal-combustion-engined car, but Lexus has retained its characteristic ‘spindle’ appearance of the nose nonetheless, so the RZ looks very much part of the rest of the Lexus lineup. As it’s not a particularly large car, it never feels like a hulking great SUV no matter where you park it.

Interior and practicality

Nevertheless, you do step up into the RZ and the high-set driving position gives the driver a great view out. In the range-topping RZ 500e model, the view takes a little getting used to, as the traditional steering wheel is replaced by a ‘yoke’ as part of the drive-by-wire steering system. It looks alien in a cabin that has not been designed around it (as the lesser RZ 350e comes with a regular steering wheel), but it feels good to hold and it certainly makes it easy to see the instruments behind.

Elsewhere, the RZ’s interior is a triumph of tactility, comfort, and quality. Our test car featured unusual-looking upholstery referred to as ‘Hazel Ultra Suede’. Its colour won’t suit everyone, but it does have a lovely feel, offering something different to the default leather in a luxury car such as this.

Elsewhere, the RZ’s interior is a triumph of tactility, comfort, and quality

The experience is almost as nice in the rearseats, thanks to generous amounts of legroom and a glass roof overhead.

Driving experience

At first, the ‘One Motion’ steering yoke dominates the driving experience as you get used to its operation. The idea is that you don’t ever remove your hands from it to feed the wheel as you would with a normal steering wheel and this especially feels weird at low speeds and when manoeuvring. Thanks to the steer-by-wire setup, the yoke is never required to turn more than 200 degrees, so it doesn’t rotate as much as a round wheel would for the same manoeuvre.

On the open road, it works better and feels mostly natural to adapt to. We’re just not convinced there’s much of a benefit to it given there is a bit of a learning curve required.

Thankfully, the RZ drives well regardless of that and though we wonder why Lexus hasn’t focused even more on comfort and luxury than it has – in a bid to differentiate itself from the dynamics-obsessed German brands – this car offers up an impressive blend of comfort and control in all conditions. It’s at home on a twisty road, in town, or on a long motorway journey.

On the subject of which, the 77kWh battery pack allows for an official range of up to 558 kilometres in the front-wheel-drive RZ 350e, but that number drops to 457km in the all-wheel-drive RZ 500e – and our time at the wheel suggests it’ll struggle to get close to 400km in reality

, certainly in colder months.

Offsetting all this, most drivers don’t require such long ranges in their daily driving and the 500e’s performance and standing in the lineup are as likely to appeal to buyers. It may not look like a sports car, but its two motors put out up to 381hp and it dispatches with the benchmark sprint in a mere 4.6 seconds.

What else could you spend your money on?

An entry-level price of €66,280 for the RZ in 350e, front-drive specification is not bad at all given the prestige and quality the Lexus badge represents. However, there are plenty of interesting electric SUVs on the market in and around the same price, such as the Polestar 4 and new BMW iX3. The RZ 500e does represent a step up from the basic model in terms of performance and specification, but it also costs €81,490 and you can’t have it without the steer-by-wire system. So yes, the RZ has been usefully improved from its early days, but it’ll remain quite a left-field choice in the market.