A luxurious, modern take on the two-row EV SUV.
Review and photos by Tom Sedens. There are always more photos at the end of my reviews.
Pricing: 2026 Lexus RZ
Base price (450e trim): $82,960
Options: $1,405
Freight: $2,205
A/C tax: $100
Price as tested: $86,670
Exterior
The Executive two-tone paint scheme (Ether with Black Onyx hood and roof) was this tester’s only option and in my opinion absolutely worth it. The Ether colour is stunning and luxurious, while the two-tone hood is very eye-catching without being over the top or weird.
The painted wheel arches blend into the look very well and are far less intrusive (and offensive) than some of the Toyota bZ (the RZ’s sister vehicle) combinations that see the huge black front wheel arches extend all the way to the front end of the car. Filling the wheel wells are very handsome 20-inch alloy rims with 235/50-sized tires.
All exterior lighting is LED and feels modern and sleek. The front grille Lexus badge is lit and heated. I’m trying to figure out why – I assume it’s so that even if it’s snowing and icy, people will always see that you’re in a Lexus.
I really like the modern styling and proportions – apparently so do others as the RZ got a ton of looks wherever we went.
The one miss for me was the upper rear spoilers – rather than going the full width of the rear window, they are more like little separate left and right spoilers that stick out.
Interior/Tech/Convenience
The cabin is at once modern and comfortable, filled with exquisite materials – everything you touch is either soft plastic or covered with stitched leather-like upholstery.
The black and blue faux dark wood trim following the contours on the centre console looks incredible as do the topographical map lines embossed into the door panel fabric.
The heated steering wheel is power-adjustable and feels absolutely fantastic in hand. Using the “advanced tough” interface takes a bit of getting used to – you need to hover over the touchpad on either side to get the menu to pop up on the 7″ digital dash, then you can either choose one of the four directional buttons or scroll through the other menus available on that side. Once you figure it out, it makes sense, but it will always require you to look away from the road to make these selections, which is not ideal.
The seats are lovely, providing a fine balance between comfort and a surprising amount of bolstering too. They are upholstered in ultrasuede, heated and ventilated and of course power-adjustable with memory settings. Keeping things cool or warm is a dual-zone automatic climate control.
A massive touchscreen sits in the middle of the dash. It worked beautifully with wireless Apple CarPlay for us. The bottom of the screen is home to some permanent digital controls for the climate settings as well as the seat and steering wheel temperature controls. The 13-speaker Mark Levinson audio system was hit and miss, pending on the source. Satellite radio and plugged-in sources sound amazing. But streaming music through CarPlay sounded very canned and did not impress. This was surprising.
There are manual controls for power and volume, front and rear defrost and the temperature settings for either zone – which have that cool horizon-style screen inside to tell you what temperature you’ve set it to. I still love this feature.
There is an insane amount of convenience and safety technology on board in the RZ. As a list, it almost overwhelming. There is intuitive parking assist, rear seat passenger reminder, blind spot monitor, full panoramic surround view cameras, adaptive high beams, heads-up display, parking sensors, front cross traffic alert, lane change assist, traffic jam assist and digital key. That’s not everything, but you get the picture…
One of the coolest features resides inside the huge panoramic moonroof overhead. It can be completely clear but with the press of a button, it has a “dimming” feature which turns the glass an opaque sky blue, blocking the sun and your ability to see out. It’s awesome and quite a party trick as well!
Rear Seats
Passengers in the back will find spacious accommodations – leg and headroom were plentiful for me at 5’10” and we found the seats very comfortable.
It feels pretty cocoon-y back there – the massive rear pillars don’t let any light in from the corners and the high beltline brings those door panels up pretty high.
The outboard seats are heated. The middle seatback folds down to become an armrest. In terms of convenience, you get a 120V 1500 watt household plug and two USB-C charging ports at the back of the centre console, as well as adjustable air vents.
Storage
Interesting fact – the RZ does not have a glovebox-style storage bin. As a matter of fact, when it comes to storing your “stuff” around the cabin, it’s not the greatest. The door bins are really small and then you have a wireless charging mat at the front of the console. Above that space are three USB-C charging ports – two just for power and one connects a device to the system. There are two cupholders and then a bin under the armrest that is carpeted and can open from either side, but it’s not very big.
Popping the power trunk lid reveals a decent sized 966L trunk with a relatively high load floor. That works well for some, not so well for others. There’s another 120V 1500-watt household plug back there, which can be very useful to power things. You will find a removable soft-ish tonneau cover and cargo net as well as significant underfloor storage space.
The rear seats fold 60/40 and unfortunately there is no pass-through option so if you have something longer to transport, you’ll need to fold at least one section of seats down, even if it’s something skinny – an omission we found highly inconvenient on a recent fishing trip in the RZ.
Under the Hood
Of course there is no engine but rather two electric motors that drive the Direct 4 all-wheel drive system, combining for a total of 308 horsepower. Lexus does not release torque numbers, but it feels substantial and of course it’s all available the second you touch the accelerator.
EV Information
The RZ’s charging door is on the front right quarter behind the wheel well. The manual door pops open to reveal a NACS plug, making it compatible with Tesla charging stations.
The battery’s capacity is 77 kWh with an estimate range of 418 km for this model, which is no longer super-competitive these days. Lexus indicates that Level 2 charging (what you would do at home with an upgraded installed 240V charging system) from 10% to 100% takes about 7 hours.
We averaged 17.8 kWh/100 km over 425 km of mostly city driving.
The paddles on the steering wheel can be used to increase or decrease the amount of automatic drag using regenerative braking when you let go of the accelerator pedal. This brings the speed of the RZ down considerably without you ever needing to use the brake pedal although it’s not enough for one-pedal driving.
The charging cable is dual-voltage of course allowing for Level 1 and Level 2 charging, and all the necessary adaptors are included – everything including the cable fits in a nice zipped bag that can be stored under the trunk floor.
The battery has an 8 year/160,000 km warranty for 70% of its original capacity.
The Drive
The gear selector is a rotary knob that you push down and twist to select Drive or Reverse and press a button to put it in Park. Drive modes are Normal, Eco, Sport and Custom – all impacting the RZ’s responsiveness. The RZ is so easy to drive around town – it’s effortless. But there are gobs of torque if you want to pick up the pace, and acceleration can be addictively fun. The RZ feels faster than it ever needs to be.
I was a bit surprised at this price level to find a traditional independent suspension rather than an adaptive one, but it does a fine job. The vehicle always remains comfortable and became more athletic the higher the speeds, especially considering the size and weight of the vehicle. But as one expects from a Lexus, it was always smooth, smooth, smooth.
It operates in near silence, which adds to the refinement. Visibility is mostly good – the rear view is through a smallish window and somewhat blocked by rear headrests and shoulder checking is impeded a bit by those aforementioned rear pillars.
Details
The RZ has a feature I’ve never heard of before – radiant front knee heaters. Canada says thank you, Lexus!
The RZ’s ambient lighting is really interesting, in particular that on the front door panels. There are three LED projectors on the side of the dash where the door panel would meet it if the door is closed – they project a dappled almost disco-ball like light pattern onto the door panel, and you can choose from a number of colour schemes. It’s quite unique – Lexus calls it Multi-Colour Shadowy Illumination.
Nitpicks
I felt that not having a separate rear climate control felt a bit cheap considering the $90,000 price tag here.
I guess this is less of a nitpick and more of a “why?” thing. The door latches are digital – there is a latch-looking bar that you just press in and it unlatches the door electronically. It seems like an answer to a question nobody asked, but you get used to the new way of doing things. You can also pull that bar out toward you physically which overrides the electronics and will open the door manually.
The Verdict
WAF (Wife Approval Factor) was really, really high. We have not really spent an extended period of time in a luxury EV before this and she was quite taken with it.
The RZ is a very well designed vehicle. It feels modern and fresh, and retains all the hallmarks that make it a Lexus – comfort, style and quality.
I found it extremely easy to drive and live with – I don’t think it’s a great value if you’re looking for the ultimate in battery range, but if you’re shopping for an EV in this price range, the RZ needs to be on your list.
Disclosure: Vehicle was provided by Lexus Canada.
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