Photo: Out of Spec Reviews on YouTube / autoevolution edit
If you don't want a Toyota bZ4X or a Subaru Solterra because they're not posh enough, then the Lexus RZ 450e jumps in to save the day. However, you might still want to avoid it. It's not very good for road trips. Here's what you need to know.
The Lexus RZ 450e is available in two trims – Premium and Luxury. Both are all-wheel-drive and have the same 71.4-kWh gross (64-kWh usable) high-voltage energy storage unit. The entry-level model starts at $59,650, while the better-equipped version has an MSRP of $65,150. It does not qualify for the EV tax credit.
It's meant to steal market share from the BMW iX3, Mercedes-Benz EQC, Tesla Model Y, Audi Q4 e-tron, Genesis GV60, and well-specced Hyundai Ioniq 5.
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) says it can do 196 miles on a full battery when riding on 20-inch wheels. It has an efficiency of 36 kWh per 100 miles or 2.77 miles per kWh.
However, it's worth pointing out that the EPA does these range tests by charging the battery to 100% and running the car until the pack is depleted. In real-life scenarios, prospective customers should expect a lower range figure.
Fortunately, you don't have to test the all-electric crossover SUV's capabilities yourself. The Out of Spec Reviews team put a unit through a 70-mph test on a highway.
The vehicle was charged to 100% with the A/C running, so the energy storage pack wouldn't have to work overtime to cool the cabin. The drive setting chosen for this verification was Eco Mode to maximize the number of miles that could be done on a full battery.
At the trip's start, the figure displayed on the dashboard and on the 14-inch infotainment screen was 174 miles. That's a little over half of the EPA-rated distance the Model Y Long Range can cover on a single charge.
With the battery half depleted, the range dropped to 86 miles after driving for 85 miles at 70 mph.
At a little over 10% state of charge, the range figure was 20 miles. At 15 miles of range, the first warning about the low battery popped up. With under five miles of go left, the vehicle told the driver that power was reduced and that charging should start as soon as possible.
In the end, the test revealed that the RZ 450e was able to travel just 172 miles on a full battery. By any contemporary standards, that's not good.
The result is pretty abysmal, but that doesn't make this all-electric Lexus a bad vehicle. We could see someone lease it (because it unlocks the EV tax credit) and treat it as a commuting appliance. But other than that, there's not much anyone can do with the posher bZ4X.
Car shows on TV and his father's Fiat Tempra may have been Florin's early influences, but nowadays he favors different things, like the power of an F-150 Raptor. He'll never be able to ignore the shape of a Ferrari though, especially a yellow one. Full profile
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