Hybrid cars are pleased to present:2023 lexus rz 450e release date | 2023 lexus rz 450e suv | 2023 lexus rz450e range | All new 2023!
2023 lexus rz first look can you tell this is lex’s first ev expect a smooth stress-free experience from lex’s first electric suv is that enough for as close an appearance as the new toyota bz4x and suberu soltera electric crossovers are you might not realize the lexus rz is their triplet all three suvs share toyota’s etnga electric vehicle architecture but while
The toyota and subi are readily identifiable as sharing a body interior and well nearly everything the 2023 lexus rz stands apart with less awkward styling and an entirely unique and luxurious interior to be honest lexus probably would prefer we play down any associations between the rz and its mechanical siblings but the reality is that a host of upcoming evs
From a variety of automakers will spread a relatively small number of components batteries motors platforms beneath a flotilla of different cars trucks and suvs spanning the mainstream and luxury segments in short don’t read too much into the lexus links to the lesser bz4x and soltera hey at least the lexus gets a somewhat normal name one that sounds vaguely in
Line with those of the luxury automaker’s other products take that toyota cat walked across the keyboard z4x a simpler f suv in an amusing twist lexus has taken the basic approachability of the bz4x and by extension the soltera that we highlighted in our first drive of that f and copies it over to nearly every other aspect of the rz that means while the bz4x
Offers up a fairly normal in-car experience beneath its bizarre styling without funky testibating tech weirdness or much nerd rabbit hole options for tracking various f performance metrics like you might get from some competitors the rz does the same but with a normal outward appearance too this is a luxury electric crossover in the same vein as audi’s e-tron
Which aims to deliver an electrified but otherwise utterly conventional experience that won’t turn off buyers coming out of internal combustion vehicles heck the wildest features inside are the touch sensitive door openers like those on the nx where you push a little button to exit the car and the available panoramic sunroof’s dimmable glass from the exterior
The rz450e looks a lot like lexus’s latest gas and hybrid nx compact crossovers only with slightly more angular detailing and fewer intakes on the front end sure if you really step back and study the rz’s arcing roof profile you can trace hints of the bz4x and soltera but thanks to the puffed out fenders the pronounced hourglass shape to the nose that echoes
Lexus’s signature grille design and those full width tail lamps the lexus stands on its own dimensionally the rz is also slightly massaged the 112.2 inch wheelbase is shared with the toyota but the lexus sits more than half an inch lower and is 1.4 inches wider and 4.5 inches longer while we don’t have final specifications for the interior it seems likely that
The lexus will be roomier than its siblings the cabin similarly takes after the nx adopting that suv’s new generation 14.0 inch touchscreen interface and thankfully it’s volume and hvac knobs and a similar digital gauge cluster and steering wheel a starter button lives up high right in the driver’s field of view to the right of the steering wheel and there are
Normal control stalks sprouting from the column window and mirror controls where you’d expect them and an elegant rotary knob for selecting drive park and reverse everything is arranged in an utterly conventional manner just like in the toyota and suberu again reinforcing the notion that this rz will be easy for non-fanatics to slide into and drive without any
Kind of in-depth training lexus says the interior will be quieted by extra seals around the hood acoustic glass front and rear and even a new cross section designed specifically for the rz’s weatherstripping all of this is critical stuff given the rz’s lack of an engine most evs battle wind and road noise in the absence of the white noise generated by internal
Combustion or maybe not the rz will feature expressive in-cabin sounds to convey the exhilaration of driving this presumably artificial sound will be piped into the interior in sync with the speed of the drive motors and could mask some unwanted noises while providing a feedback loop for the driver just yoking try not to read this like too much of a record scratch
But the rz will add an unspecified future date offer a feature that will undo this nothing to see here take that feature is a steer-by-wire setup in which there is no mechanical connection between the steering wheel and the front wheels which will enable not only computerized variations to the steering behavior sharper control for the on-board driver assists such
As lane centering and someday evasive maneuvers but also for lexus to introduce a steering yoke like the one it’s already shown off and promised to rz customers in china that yoke which lacks a full steering wheel rim is a lot like tesla’s unit recently introduced on the model s and model x albeit with one key difference that steer-by-wire capability means rz
Drivers won’t need to flail around with hand-over-hand steering inputs lexus says rz’s with the feature will have 150 degree steering range but doesn’t specify whether that means the yoke will only turn 150 degrees in either direction or 150 degrees lock to lock so 75 degrees in each direction either range would eliminate the need to go hand over hand and lexus
Says the system enables nearly wrist flick u-turns at low speeds and stability at higher speeds so what’s under the uh where are the motors again underneath all of the rz’s layers of lexus nest sit the dual electric motors from the all-wheel drive toyota bz4 x lexus only lists their outputs in kw with the front motor delivering 150 kilowatts and the rear doling
Out 80. those figures match those listed for various toyota components and convert to 201 and 107 hp if torque holds true as we expect it will look for 196 lb ft from the front motor and 124 lbft outback and for a combined system total of around 300 hp and 300 lbft a decent jump over the awd bz4x which delivers 214 hp and 248 lbft total why the discrepancy toyota
Fits the bz4x with the same 80kw motor front and rear whereas the lexus gets the larger front motor used by the front-wheel-drive bz-4x the front to rear power split is variable 100 given the motors share no mechanical connection and lexus has dubbed this awd setup direct4 that said those remain estimates given how lexus has so far only provided a battery capacity
For an rz prototype overseas curiously that capacity is listed at 71.4 kilowatt hour the same as the front-wheel drive bz-4x no front-drive rz will be offered at least not at launch all-wheel drive bz4xs get a higher capacity 72.8 kilowatt hour battery when asked about the oddity of the rz using the smaller of the toyota’s two batteries with its available higher
Power draw awd setup lexus told us the batteries are still undergoing testing and could change before the rz goes on sale later this year don’t be surprised if the rz ultimately ends up with the bigger pack especially given lexus’s claim that its ev will be good for 225 miles of range a few more than the awd bz-4x manages at least when equipped with the smaller
Of its two wheel sizes 18 inchers instead of 20s this increase in range is partially attributed to a higher efficiency rear inverter which utilizes silicon carbide power semiconductor elements in acclaimed toyota lexus first the rz will need small advances like that to stand apart because unless lexus finds a way to stuff a significantly greater number of battery
Cells into the rz’s floor than toyota did the bz-4x expect similar performance and range to the toyota regardless of what the final specifications end up as the ride could be smoother however as lexus fits the rz with frequency reactive dampers a type of shock that firms up as the force of a wheel impact goes up and soften for less aggressive actions slowing the
Suspension’s movement at the limits of its travel translated that means that if you bottom out the suspension at least the dampers firmed up as that event neared minimizing the thud helping avoid even bigger thuds is the standard lexus safety system plus 3.0 active safety suite which includes collision warning automated emergency braking adaptive cruise control
Lane departure warning lane keep assist and a bunch of driver monitors those monitors can tell if the driver is fatigued or having an emergency of some kind or simply stops paying attention while using the self-steering and adaptive cruise functions in which case the emergency driving stop system will safely slow and stop the car in its lane is it enough lexus
Is hoping to have a full lineup of electric vehicles for sale by 2030 and five years beyond that to transition its entire lineup to ev-only offerings the rz450e is the tip of that spear and an inauspicious one at that this is not exactly a flashy attention-grabbing envy causing electric luxury suv its range and power are spanked by a variety of other suvs and
Not just luxury offerings such as tesla’s model y on the other hand if the rz turns out to be relatively affordable and can deliver the traditional lexus experience of simple operation a quiet and smooth ride and supreme refinement maybe it can carve out a lane for other electric lexuses to follow we’ll find out later this year when it goes on sale
Transcribed from video
2023 lexus rz 450e release date | 2023 lexus rz 450e suv | 2023 lexus rz450e range | All new 2023! By Hybrid CarsliveBroadcastDetails{isLiveNowfalsestartTimestamp2022-07-02T033903+0000endTimestamp2022-07-02T035217+0000}