Here’s a bit of RZ with razzmatazz from Lexus.  Their latest vehicle to run purely on electron movement is a great-looking SUV, and I’m glad to see that the designers have kept the rather iconic and artistically styled big wave-like front nose theme going.  Let’s take a look at this rather suave electric SUV. 

Inside the Lexus RZ’s cabin, you’ll find seats that are very comfortable; in fact, I think they will be some of the best around.  You can adjust for reach and height, and all the movements are done via power buttons.  Memory functions have you able to set your own favourite driving position in a jiffy.  The interior is elegant in a typical Lexus way, and everything inside the cabin is of a high quality and standard.  Lovely faux leather, faux suede, and premium black plastics add even more class to the new RZ, particularly with the nice silver trim that outlines the dashboard and centre console areas, giving an air of sophistication. 

Very noticeable on entry, and a thing that gives you great first impression vibes, is that all the main surfaces on a Lexus RZ are soft to touch, and all the switchgear is exquisitely built.  As you glide into the seats, you feel like you really are about to be driving a genuinely luxurious and special vehicle.  Other vehicles like to make out they are all luxury and high-end, but in a 2024 Lexus, it definitely is the case!

Centre stage in the dash is a massive 14.0-inch central touchscreen that is nicely tilted towards the driver.  This has lovely bright graphics, and is simple to navigate through, especially when stationary.  That said, you really ought to be doing most of the infotainment adjustments before you start your drive anyway (in a Lexus RZ or not) so that all your attention is on the task of driving.  Adjustments for cabin temperature and audio volumes have their own physical knobs, so the climate control system is separate from a menu in the infotainment screen.  Like in music, sometimes simplicity and function win every time over fancy and complicated all over the shop.  The Lexus RZ is easy to live with and easy to use.  Why should you have to use fiddly screens to adjust temperature and volume while you’re on the move?  A digital driver’s display has all the necessary info at eye level, and the RZ also comes with a heads-up display.

Standard infotainment includes a wireless phone charger, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a Sirius satellite radio, and several connectivity to service plans with complimentary trial periods of varying lengths.  The Safety Connect package adds SOS emergency calling and automatic collision notification.  Drive Connect activates the cloud-based navigation and Intelligent Assistant natural voice recognition systems.

Lexus offers Australian buyers two trims, both of which are fully loaded and luxurious.  The only options you can get on any RZ are a two-tone paint job or the special metallic paint.  As these two are flagship models, the seat material is a super sexy Ultrasuede suede-like material, and you get an impressive 13-speaker Mark Levinson surround-sound audio system.  A digital key feature that allows you to open, start, and drive the RZ using your smartphone has been added, alongside some heated rear seats.  Look up and you have a wonderful Dynamic Sky panoramic glass roof, while outside the Luxury models boast a sparklier paint finish and an illuminated front Lexus emblem.  

Safety is excellent, the RZ scoring 5-stars in crash testing.  So things like lane keep assist, driver attention monitoring, blind spot monitoring, front and rear cross traffic alert and adaptive cruise control are standard features on any new RZ.  Buy one of these from new, and the RZ comes with a 3-year/100,000 km warranty (at the time of writing).  And to give you additional peace of mind, you can get an extra year and 16,000 km for 10 consecutive years every time you service the car at a Lexus dealer.

Boot space sees a decent 522 litres behind the upright but foldable rear seats.  Fold the rear seats down (at the touch of a button) and you can get up to 1451 litres.  You should be able to get at least 300 km of range out of a full charge.  Of course, if you pootle about the city, you are far more likely to get nearer the claimed 400–430 km mark.  On a DC fast charger, you can go from 10% to 80% full in around 30 minutes. Using a slower AC charger, the same 10–80% can be achieved in up to 6.5 hours.  If you set yourself up at home with an AC charging unit, then this is a great option for charging the RZ up overnight because it sucks when the car park chargers are all occupied. 

Both versions of the Lexus RZ feature the same 71.4-kWh battery pack, which sends its power out to two electric motors.  One of the motors is a 150-kW front-axle motor that powers the RZ’s front wheels.  The other motor is an 80-kW rear-axle electric motor which powers the RZ’s rear wheels.  Lexus says the electric RZ can accelerate from a standstill to 100 km/h in a smidgeon over 5 seconds. 

It certainly feels swift, and the car’s handling always feels capable of handling the power, and so do the brakes.  From a driver’s perspective, the RZ feels involving as you sit there with a nice chunky steering wheel in your hands, a great view of the road ahead, and a sense of being inside a cockpit more than a wide expansive lounge suite.  This is good, I think, because everything is there at your command, just as it should be for a great driving experience.

Eco, Normal, Sport, Range, and Custom driving modes are available for the driver to tinker with.  Range, obviously, is the mode that maximizes the battery life but also reduces the operation of unnecessary functions, if you consider things like climate control as being unnecessary.

All in all, the 2024 Lexus RZ is a very well executed electric SUV.  It will set you back well north of $100k, at least at the time of writing. 

The new Lexus RZ SUV models include the:

• Lexus RZ 450e Luxury
• Lexus RZ 450e Sports Luxury

For any more information on the new Lexus RZ, or for that matter any other new car, contact one of our friendly consultants on 1300 303 181.  If you’d like some fleet discount pricing (yes even for private buyers!), we can submit vehicle quote requests out to our national network of Lexus dealers and come back with pricing within 24 hours. 

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