2023 Lexus RZ electric SUV: Australian launch confirmed – Watch our walkaround!

UPDATE: Watch our quick video tour ahead of our full prototype review

Our guy Dan Gardner is out driving a prototype version of the new Lexus RZ electric SUV today, and he's sent through a quick video tour of the car. It's a mighty windy time out in Altona, though, so please forgive the noise.

We're keen to know what you think of the RZ, so jump into the comments here or on Instagram to let us know!

October: RZ 450e confirmed for Australia

The 2023 Lexus RZ 450e electric vehicle is confirmed for Australia, the company announced today, and due to arrive locally by mid-next year.

The model is expected to make its Australian debut though at next week's Melbourne Cup, with race-goers attending the Lexus Pavilion given a sneak peak of the marque's first dedicated EV.

"Our customers have been excited by the RZ ever since its global reveal back in April," said Lexus Australia Chief Executive John Pappas.

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"The RZ expands our portfolio of electrified vehicles, moving Lexus ever closer to our ultimate goal of a sustainable society."

Lexus claims the driving range to be roughly 450 kilometres, with further pricing and specification expected closer to launch.

The RZ 450e takes the Lexus electric portfolio to nine vehicles, joining six hybrids, the NX 450h+ plug-in hybrid and the fully-electric UX 300e.

Read on for more in our original reveal story below.

The story to here

April 20: 2023 Lexus Rz 450e revealed

Another new electric SUV has entered the fray, with today's official reveal of the 2023 Lexus RZ 450e electric SUV.

The new model's exterior design was first revealed in December, but this unveiling brings confirmation of key technical details.

One critical figure confirmed today, although only as an estimate, is driving range: 400 kilometres. Not industry-best figures, but at least in the neighbourhood of what buyers are likely to consider a bare minimum.

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We can still only speculate on battery size, motor power and performance, but it's likely the RZ 450e will at least match or better the 160kW dual-motor powertrain found in its platform mates, the Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra twins.

Indeed, Lexus confirms a dual-motor design through the detailing of its Direct4 electric all-wheel drive system, featuring drive motors at both ends.

At launch and in straight-line acceleration, Direct4 uses a front-to-rear drive-force ratio between 60:40 and 40:60 to reduce vehicle pitch. Bias shifts to the front wheels, at between 50 and 75 per cent, while corner exit moves bias to the rear wheels at between 50 to 80 per cent.

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As the likely more expensive offering in a range that could eventually open with a '300' or '350' model, Lexus could also give the RZ 450e an extra hit – with the option to use the LF-Z concept's dual 150kW motor setup for a combined 300kW and 600Nm.

(Overseas reports suggest the RZ 450e will get a 150kW front motor and an 80kW rear motor, but no Lexus press materials have confirmed these numbers.)

The LF-Z, revealed last year as a precursor to the RZ we see today, claimed a 0-100km/h time of just 3.0 seconds – although it also promised a WLTP-certified driving range of 600 kilometres from a 90kWh battery pack.

As with its cheaper Toyota and Subaru siblings, the RZ is built on the EV-focused version of the group's new model architecture, in this case dubbed e-TNGA.

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Lexus has yet to detail capacity for its battery pack, but it has confirmed a brand-first application of carbide elements in its inverters. The company claims a battery capacity retention rate of "at least" 90 per cent after 10 years, although what that converts to in distance travelled is unclear. The average Australian motorist travels 14,000km per year, which comes to 140,000km over 10 years. By comparison, Tesla claims its battery pack should still have 90 per cent capacity retention after 320,000km of usage.

(Also, again, overseas reports point to the same 71.4kWh battery that features in the bZ4x and Solterra.)

On the styling front, the RZ features Lexus's prominent 'spindle' grille design, but in an inverted form, with most of the photos in this story showing the familiar shape in a body-coloured, sans-louvres 'grille' flanked by black panels where outboard intakes are often found on conventional cars.

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Some images in the gallery, however, shows the grille panel in black, forming part of a two-tone design that sends the black look over the bonnet and roof.

Along the side, there's grey wheel cladding, a charging port ahead of the front door and a blacked-out C-pillar for the impression of a floating roof.

The LED tail-light strip extending across the tailgate of the LF-Z concept carries over to the production car, and is joined by Lexus badging and a closed-off lower bumper.

Inside, the RZ gets a familiar design with a look related to the only recently launched new-generation NX SUV (available in petrol, hybrid and plug-in hybrid EV forms), with one standout difference: the optional availability of an F1-style steering 'yoke' in place of the conventional wheel design.

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This is a concept brought to production cars most recently by Tesla in its updated Model S sedan and Model X SUV, but Toyota has been quick to adopt the idea in the bZ4x and now here in the Lexus RZ.

Lexus says: "The compact yoke-like steering wheel greatly reduces the driver's workload, eliminating the need for hand-over-hand operation, such as for intersections, U-turns, parking and winding roads. It also enabled designers to lower placement of the instrument gauges."

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The design has been met by Tesla buyers and road testers with a mix of positive and negative takes, the latter mostly when it comes to multi-step manouevring and unexpected moments that can lead to panic and confusion.

Thankfully for some, the company has confirmed it will offer a more conventional wheel as an option to those not drawn to the yoke style.

Dimensionally, the RZ measures 4805mm long, 1895mm tall and 1635mm wide, and rides on a 2850mm wheelbase. By comparison, the current fourth-generation Lexus RX is 4890mm long in standard form and 5000mm long in stretched form, with both measuring 1895mm wide, 1720mm tall, and riding on a 2790mm wheelbase.

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Watch for more on the RZ to be revealed in the weeks and months ahead, and get further coverage at the links below.

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