Lexus RZ Review & Prices

The RZ is the biggest, poshest Lexus electric car you can buy right now. It’s a sharply-styled SUV with a sporty roofline and spacious cabin, but the interior has some odd quirks and the battery range lags far behind its alternatives.

While it’s mechanically similar to the Toyota bZ4X, Lexus has pulled out some stops to differentiate the two and justify the RZ’s higher price tag. It’s like wearing a sturdy, sensible M&S suit to the office, but dressing it up with a gucci tie and a swanky pair of loafers to stand out that little bit more.

It sits in a bit of a no-man’s land as a result, because some of our favourite posh electric SUVs include the BMW iX and Polestar 3, which cost a lot more than the RZ. The Audi Q4 e-tron, Nissan Ariya and Tesla Model Y are all cheaper than the Lexus, meanwhile.

The RZ is certainly a head-turner, especially in the outrageous shade of copper paint which our test model came in. If you end up side-by-side with a Toyota bZ4X, you’ll be able to see the similarity in size and shape, but the big Lexus has a pointier nose, more sculpted flanks and an aggressive, upright rear end.

Lexus RZ: electric range, battery and charging data

Range: 245-297 miles
Efficiency: 3.3-3.4 miles per kWh
Battery size: 71.4kWh
Max charge speed: 150kW
Charge time AC: 6hrs 30mins, 10-80%, 11kWh
Charge time DC: 30mins, 10-80%, 150kWh
Charge port location: Left Side Front
Power outputs: 204hp, 313hp

The cabin looks posh thanks to the enormous 14.0-inch infotainment display in the middle and upholstered surfaces all around you. You’re better off opting for a trim level with the Alcantara interior, because while the leatherette feels sleek, the cabin looks a bit too dour when it’s all trimmed in the same grey material.

Interior space, however, is superb. Though the seating position is a little bit odd - high set and angled forward - there's a lot of adjustability and plenty of headroom. You get a big storage cubby between the front seats, cupholders and deep door bins - but no glovebox and the odd through-storage under the centre console is a pain to use.

The back seats offer generous legroom, reclining backrests and a good amount of headroom, even with the rakish back window. However, the floor is set quite high so there’s not much thigh support from the rear bench, meaning your knees are up in the air. The 522-litre boot is very useful, with a rectangular shape, big side storage for smaller items and generous under-floor space for charging cables.

You can opt for an RZ in front-wheel drive 300E spec, with a claimed 297 miles of range, while the four-wheel drive 450E versions offer up to 273 miles to a charge. We achieved an average 3.3mi/kWh in our testing of a 450E model - which isn’t great, and indicates 235 miles to a charge.

Around town the Lexus RZ is a pleasant car to potter around in, with light steering, soft suspension and progressive brakes, making smooth progress a doddle. You do get jiggled around over potholes and bumps, that being said.

Motorway journeys are comfortable as the RZ is very well insulated, though our test car had a little bit of wind noise from the driver’s side window. It’s fairly well composed on country lanes, without too much body lean and plenty of grip in four-wheel drive models.

Check out the latest Lexus RZ deals on this posh electric SUV, or Lexus RZ lease deals instead. There are used RZs for sale through our network of trusted dealers, as well as other used Lexus models. Carwow can even help you sell your car when it’s time to make a change.

The Lexus RZ starts at just over £50,000 in entry-level Urban spec, equipped with the 204hp motor and front-wheel drive, plus 297 miles of range. There are quite a few trim levels to choose from, rising up to the range-topping Takumi Bi-tone at £61,000 - a steep price increase.

For that you get sports suspension and big 20-inch wheels, and a swanky two-tone paint job, of course, as well as a choice of leatherette interior colours (avoid the grey). All models get a heated steering wheel, heated seats and LED lights, but entry-level cars have manually adjustable seats. You’ll pay around £5,500 extra for the 450e version of every trim level.

The RZ is quiet, comfortable and easy to drive in most situations, but rear visibility is a stumbling block

In town

With light steering for easy manoeuvring and comfortable suspension rounding off the edges of humps and potholes, there’s a lot to like about the RZ. A reversing camera that comes as standard, while top-spec models get an all-round camera view to help you know what’s around you.

You’d expect 360-degree cameras to come as standard on all models though, as the RZ isn’t a cheap car, and the sloping bonnet and enormous rear pillars make it hard to place in tight spaces.

You can choose different levels of regeneration from the motors, although you can’t have pure one-pedal driving. You’ll always be creeping forward, and it also loses its effectiveness and provides less stopping power the slower you go. 

On the motorway

Lexus makes relaxing, comfortable vehicles and the RZ is on that level. The sound-deadening is excellent, with limited tyre and wind noise – something normally amplified with an electric vehicle as there’s no engine noise.

You’re also able to get up to speed swiftly enough, with the 450E’s dual motors developing 313hp. That allows you to overtake people or accelerate in traffic easily, but the entry-level 300E is a bit more sluggish with only 204hp - and a heavy car to pull around.

On a twisty road

The RZ is a surprise here. It’s not much fun but it is stable, has accurate steering and doesn’t lean too much – something not normally said about a large electric SUV.

Switching it to sport mode, which is actually quite difficult to do in the infotainment, you get better throttle response and a heavier feel to the steering. With the batteries mounted low down, you don’t get a lot of body roll, and the RZ feels rather nimble for a car weighing over 2,000kg.

Even in sport mode the suspension soaks up a lot of bumps and rough surfaces really well and gives you a smooth ride, though the big wheels do thud a little on rougher sections of road at speed.

Storage space is pretty solid on the whole, but the RZ’s seating position is odd - and there’s no glovebox

The cool design of the exterior is continued into the cabin. You have a pod-like feel when you’re in the driving seat, with a defined line between you and your front passenger. You get decent headroom and plenty of adjustment on the steering column and seat.

What isn’t so good though is that the floor and seat base are quite close together. That means you don’t get a lot of under-thigh support compared to other SUVs as your knees are a lot higher, and that’s all due to the batteries being mounted in the floor.

The RZ is rather good on storage. You get two sizable cupholders with grippy rubber bases, making it easy to open a bottle one-handed, a cubby under the armrest that can be opened from both sides, decent door bins and a fairly sizable place for your smartphone under the central screen.

Some grievances though, that lower console storage is a faff to access as your seat can be in the way of the opening flap, and while the door bins are wide enough to take a large water bottle, the armrest location means you can’t actually get a big bottle in there.

Space in the back seats

You have the same issue in the back as with the front. The flat floor is quite high, so under-thigh support is an issue for comfort. But it’s good that there’s decent kneeroom and headroom, which can further be altered by reclining the seat back. Footroom is mixed; you can slide your feet under the seat in front, but only if the seat in front is set high up.

Sitting three can be a bit of a squeeze, as the body isn’t quite wide enough to be comfortable. You’ll also find the rear door opening to be a bit on the small side, but you can still fit a child seat without much issue. You do have to stab around for the ISOFIX points a little, but you can mount on the anchor points easily enough.

There’s plenty of headroom, as Lexus has kept the dramatic sloping rear deck behind the seat space, so tall passengers have enough space to sit upright.

For keeping things tidy, the seat pockets are pretty substantial, while the doorbins are big enough for one bottle at a time – not bad, but could be better. There’s also open cupholders in the middle armrest. You also get two USB-C charging ports to keep your mobile devices topped up.

Boot space

While the 522-litre space of the RZ is marginally better than the upcoming BMW iX3 (520 litres), the Tesla Model Y streaks ahead of the Lexus and all the alternatives with its 854-litre storage space. The Tesla also has the advantage of a boot under the bonnet, something the big Lexus doesn’t have.

Folding the rear bench is a bit of a pain as the leavers are mounted far back on the seats, but when you do put them down, you have a handy, almost-flat space. That makes it easy to slide things forward, and the 1,451-litre total load area is generous.

There’s useful under-floor storage space for cables, small bags and even the parcel shelf, should you need to put it away. The slanted window means you won’t fit very bulky items in, though.

With sharp lines and high levels of kit, the RZ has a good interior, but some of the infotainment menus can be tricky to use on the go

The RZ’s interior looks good, with its pod-like layout; all the main kit is angled towards the driver which feels sporty. In the Takumi top-end model we tested you get plenty of high-end leatherette, but it’s all very grey if you don’t opt for a lighter colour choice, which looks a bit too boring.

You won’t be finding many scratchy and rough plastics, as all the main surfaces are soft to touch, while all the switchgear is nicely damped - though climate and volume knobs are a little jiggly. The horn cover on the steering wheel and lower dashboard plastics are a bit too hard to the touch, that being said.

The centrepiece is the massive 14.0-inch central touchscreen that has bright graphics and is fairly simple to navigate at a standstill. It’s infuriating to operate on the move though, especially when you’re trying to adjust the car’s drive mode or turn off the oversensitive driver attention warning system, which is buried in sub-menus.

Thankfully, the climate control system is contained in its own shortcut bar. At the bottom of the screen are two dials for the temperature, while the fan speed and additional heating or ventilation elements, like the seats and steering wheel, are above that. It’s easy to use – something other premium brands should be doing as well, rather than making the driver use screens to adjust temperature while you’re on the move.

The driver’s display isn’t that great though. It’s really small in the instrument binnacle and is surrounded by panels for the warning lights – at least they shouldn’t turn on that often though, with Lexus being one of the most reliable brands around.

All versions of the RZ feature the same 71.4kWh battery pack, but you can opt for a single or dual-motor setup. Depending on which wheel size and motor combo you choose – between the 18-inch items or more stylish but less aerodynamic 20-inch alloys – you get a claimed range that varies between 251 and 297 miles.

One thing you won’t be too pleased about though is the efficiency. On our motorway-heavy test route we only averaged 2.5mi/kWh, severely limiting range to just 180 miles. That’s a lot less than the Tesla Model Y, which does more with its battery pack.

With more town driving in the mix that average came up to 3.3mi/kWh, but a 235-mile total range - with the air con off, may we add - is still disappointing.

On a DC fast charger, the RZ will charge at up to 150kW. That allows you to go from 10-80% full in around 30 minutes. If you’ve got access to an 11kW AC charger, the same top-up will be done in six and a half hours – much better suited if you’re charging overnight or the car is parked up all day.

As an EV, you’ll pay the lowest band of road tax on your RZ, but as all versions cost more than £40,000, you’ll need to pay the luxury vehicle supplement between years two-to-six. Company car drivers can rest easy, though, as the big Lexus falls into the lowest band of Benefit-in-Kind payments.

The Lexus RZ scored a full five stars when crash tested by Euro NCAP in 2023, with scores of over 80% in every category - including safety assist systems. Child and adult occupant safety scores were particularly impressive, both at 87%.

You get a suite of safety kit as standard, such as lane keep assist, driver attention monitoring, blind spot monitoring, front and rear cross traffic alert and adaptive cruise control. You also get a full alarm and immobiliser system, as well as airbags throughout.

Lexus came third out of 31 manufacturers entered into the 2025 Driver Power owner satisfaction survey, which is a frankly stellar result, and should put your mind at ease when it comes to ownership prospects. It’s nice to see Lexus keeping up its excellent reputation for building sturdy cars.

As standard, the RZ comes with a three-year/60,000-mile warranty. To give you additional peace of mind, you can get an extra year and 10,000 miles every time you service at a Lexus dealer, all the way up to the car being 10 years old. Nice.