ENCINITAS, California — My Florida friends call the Lexus RX SUV their official state vehicle because so many retirees drive them around the streets of Naples, Tampa, Orlando and so on. That could be fertile ground for Lexus’s first electric vehicle, the RZ.
Virtually identical to the RX in size and operation, the battery-driven RZ would make a smooth commuter in the metro confines where EVs excel.
And the RZ would get noticed even in the sea of Florida RXs. The Lexus’s L-shaped headlamps, scalloped body panels and horizontal taillight signature are unmistakably Lexus, but RZ design differs in one important way from its RX (and smaller NX) siblings: the giant grille is gone.
Darth Vader mask, bug zapper, spindle grille, hourglass. Lexus's signature mouth goes by many nicknames, but it’s unnecessary without an air-hungry gas-engine behind it to feed. So Lexus has cleverly painted the nose, giving it a friendlier, anamorphic look — think raccoon eyes on the base $59,650 Premium model, and an optional German Shepherd look on the $65,150 Luxury trim.
It’s very effective, at once making the nose less severe but also instantly recognizable as an EV. The car got noticed here in California, where Silicon Valley-birthed Tesla dominates the electric car segment. The blunt noses of Model Y and Model 3 EVs are a common sight in tony suburbs like Encinitas north of San Diego.
Indeed, the Tesla twins were the best-selling vehicles in California last year, staking out the moral green high ground that the Toyota Prius occupied 20 years ago.
The Prius — aka Pious — was the first vehicle to mine upscale greens’ desire for battery-powered vehicles. All the cool kids had them, and Leo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz drove them to the Oscars. Since then, hybrids have become more mainstream (today, the Toyota RAV4 hybrid outsells the Prius) and Tesla is the new darling of the chic crowd.
Unlike Prius (and the RX hybrid that soon followed in 2003), Lexus-Toyota has been less aggressive about entering the EV market. EVs are a very different animal from hybrids, which simply extend the range of gas-engines using the same, ubiquitous gas infrastructure.
Unlike Prius, Toyota-Lexus (and its brand competitors) sees EVs as a luxury purchase. A second or third car in the household used for local commutes. RZ is built on the same battery platform as the Toyota bZ4x and Subaru Solterra — and like those carriages, Lexus believes the RZ will appeal to green hybrid customers already loyal to the brand and willing to pay a few bucks more for the latest green fashion. The same goes for Toyota’s hybrid buyers and for Subaru’s environmentally-conscious base.
I like the RZ’s chances.
Whereas the Toyota (which I tested on the same roads here last fall) and the Subie are significantly different than their family lineup in operation and price, RZ is a natural extension of the brand’s popular RX and NX gas SUVs.
And RZ has an electronic yoke steering wheel. Ooooh.
While inferior to their gas counterparts in utility, EVs in the luxe class have proved alluring when they have paired innovation with electric power. Much of my Tesla Model 3’s range shortcomings are made up for by its innovation: over-the-air updates, automated driving, big touchscreen, voice commands, Summon, self-park and so on. Other EVs have followed.
Innovation makes the 10-grand price premium and range anxiety easier to swallow. RZ and Model Y competitors in the $60K range like the Cadillac Lyriq (jumbotron screen & light show), Genesis GV60 (Summon-like, remote self-park), Kia EV6 GT (gobsmacking acceleration) and Ford F-150 Lightning (mega-frunk) have all wowed with their own gizmos.
The yoke steering wheel is hardly new to the segment (see Tesla), but Lexus advances the idea in RZ by making it electric. Where conventional steering wheels (including Tesla’s yoke) require 540-degree rotation to maneuver a car, RZ’s e-steering does the trick with 140 degrees.
This is a variable steering wheel that adapts to your speed. I maneuvered through a Carlsbad parking lot with smaller inputs than a regular wheel. No arm-crossing, no muscle required. At speed over SoCal’s twisty secondary byways, the wheel required familiar inputs while giving me an unobstructed view of the instrument display and road beyond.
Lexus hasn’t put a date to when the yoke will go on sale, but journalist guinea pigs got extensive time with the system here. Like Tesla’s Full Self-Driving system, I’d recommend it to the adventurous.
The Lexus also has a sense of humor like Tesla (whoopie cushions, Plaid mode, etc.). “Hey, Lexus, tell me a joke,” I said to the SUV as if talking to a buddy in the locker room.
“Why can’t you trust trees?” said a voice from the screen. “Because they are shady.”
New toys and nose aside, RZ is similar to the RX, adapting the latter’s latest (and much improved) touchscreen and climate knobs. There are standard features galore. Wireless Apple CarPlay/Android Auto, wireless charging, interior mood lighting, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot assist, all-wheel drive, panoramic roof, the works. Step up to the Luxury trim and the pano roof goes opaque with the touch of a button. Alas, no frunk or glovebox for added storage. And no wood or leather so as not to offend green morals.
To let you know it’s a Lexus, RZ gets a rotary shifter and a bigger front motor than its Toyota sibling. It makes for brisk acceleration, if not the face-flattening torque of a Mercedes EQE or Tesla.
Perhaps most impressive, my RZ tester promises better range than advertised. Most EVs disappoint their owners by getting (I’ll use my Tesla as an example) 80% of range unless driven in perfect, 55-mph conditions. I flogged RZ around SoCal for 27 miles and took just 19 miles off the battery in 50-degree temps.
That made for a potential 250 miles of range rather than the advertised 196. That’s still a shadow of the RX Hybrid’s 600-mile capability, but it’s Lexus’s way of saying: electric vehicles are for plugging in at your house and driving locally.
If you’re one of the 25% of Lexus RX buyers who choose a hybrid and drive to Florida every winter in your RX, you might stick with the gas model. But if you fly back and forth and keep a car at your second home for trips to Naples beaches, consider an RZ.
Install a charger, charge at night, glide along the Tamiami strip. And when your lease is up? Trade it in for the yoke steering wheel.
2023 Lexus RZ
Vehicle type: Battery-powered, all-wheel-drive five-passenger SUV
Price: $59,650, including $1,150 destination fee ($63,415 Premium and $67,300 Luxury models as tested)
Powerplant: 71.4 kWh lithium-ion battery with dual electric-motors
Power: 309 horsepower, 435 pound-feet torque
Transmission: Single-speed direct drive
Performance: 0-60 mph, 5.1 seconds (mfr. est.); top speed, 99 mph
Weight: 4,662 pounds (Luxury model as tested)
Fuel economy: EPA MPGe NA; range, 220 miles (18-inch wheels), 196 miles (20-inch wheels as tested)
Report card
Highs: More pleasing Lexus styling; standard tech features galore
Lows: No date on yoke steering wheel yet; lacks faster-charging capability of competitors
Overall: 3 stars
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