Photo: Lexus
Badge engineering episodes have an interesting characteristic: they tend to happen more between different partnering companies than with multiple brands from the same automaker. In other words, no company would dare to sell the same car with a different badge. The most recent example of that is the RZ 450e, Lexus version for the Toyota bZ4X.
Lexus released new images of its future electric car after talking about its 2021 global sales. It was used as an example of the company’s focus on electric vehicles. The plan is to have a full lineup of BEVs (battery electric vehicles) by 2030 so that all Lexus’s sales will be for electric cars in China, Europe, and the U.S. By 2035, the brand wants to be fully electric globally. Koji Sato – Lexus’ CEO – said that the RZ 450e would spearhead that process in spring 2022.
Just have a look at these new pictures of Lexus’s future EV and try to find anything that reminds you of the bZ4X. Perhaps the A-pillar, and we’re not even sure about that. The proportions resemble the Toyota EV, but that’s pretty much all that seems to connect them. Underneath the new sheet metal, everything must be quite the same.
Now have a look at the Subaru Solterra. You’ll struggle to tell it is a Subaru without looking at its badges and some other minor differences in plastic components. Dynamic behavior may be tuned to something we would expect a Subaru to present. However, that is a difference only people that get behind the wheel of both the Solterra and the bZ4X will be able to tell if they have this kind of nuanced and properly calibrated perception.
Expect the Lexus to present the same impressive battery pack warranty of 90% after ten years or 240,000 km (150,000 mi), whichever comes first. Offering a more extensive warranty just because the RZ 450e will be a premium car would not make sense, especially considering the 71.4-kWh battery pack will be pretty much the same.
Although Lexus did not release the RZ 450e’s technical specifications, they should be pretty similar to those of the bZ4X (or Solterra, whatever). The electric Toyota is 4.69 meters (184.7 inches) long, 1.86 m (73.2 in) wide, 1.65 m (65 in) tall (counting its antenna), and has a wheelbase of 2.86 m (112.6 in), with a trunk of 452 liters (16 cubic feet).
The main difference between them should relate to weight. Being a premium car, the RZ 450e should be heavier. In an electric vehicle, that’s a disadvantage, and the bZ4X did pretty well in that regard: it weighs 1,920 kilograms (4,233 pounds) for the FWD and 2,005 kg (4,420 lb) for the AWD, which makes it a surprisingly light electric SUV.
Just have a look at these new pictures of Lexus’s future EV and try to find anything that reminds you of the bZ4X. Perhaps the A-pillar, and we’re not even sure about that. The proportions resemble the Toyota EV, but that’s pretty much all that seems to connect them. Underneath the new sheet metal, everything must be quite the same.
Now have a look at the Subaru Solterra. You’ll struggle to tell it is a Subaru without looking at its badges and some other minor differences in plastic components. Dynamic behavior may be tuned to something we would expect a Subaru to present. However, that is a difference only people that get behind the wheel of both the Solterra and the bZ4X will be able to tell if they have this kind of nuanced and properly calibrated perception.
Expect the Lexus to present the same impressive battery pack warranty of 90% after ten years or 240,000 km (150,000 mi), whichever comes first. Offering a more extensive warranty just because the RZ 450e will be a premium car would not make sense, especially considering the 71.4-kWh battery pack will be pretty much the same.
Although Lexus did not release the RZ 450e’s technical specifications, they should be pretty similar to those of the bZ4X (or Solterra, whatever). The electric Toyota is 4.69 meters (184.7 inches) long, 1.86 m (73.2 in) wide, 1.65 m (65 in) tall (counting its antenna), and has a wheelbase of 2.86 m (112.6 in), with a trunk of 452 liters (16 cubic feet).
The main difference between them should relate to weight. Being a premium car, the RZ 450e should be heavier. In an electric vehicle, that’s a disadvantage, and the bZ4X did pretty well in that regard: it weighs 1,920 kilograms (4,233 pounds) for the FWD and 2,005 kg (4,420 lb) for the AWD, which makes it a surprisingly light electric SUV.
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