Lexus: Compact SUV with two engines and all-wheel drive 🎥
FULLY ELECTRIC PIONEER The new RZ 450e is the first Lexus designed from the ground up as an all-electric model. Typical of the newcomer are the Direct-4 all-wheel drive system and optional steer-by-wire steering with yoke steering.
After the UX 300e, the new RZ 450e is already the second all-electric model from Lexus, but it is based on the new electric platform on which the Toyota bZ4X and the Subaru Solterra are also built. However, the Lexus is clearly different from the related models.
At 4.80 meters, the RZ body is eleven centimeters longer than that of the bZ4X, and it features numerous design solutions of its own. The front end clearly reveals the electric drive, and the typical diabolo front grille has been developed further into the three-dimensional.
Steering wheel or rather a yoke handlebar?
When you get in, you notice the yoke steering, which can be selected as an option. Together with it, you also select the steer-by-wire steering system, which is offered for the first time in a production car.
It is said to be very precise and direct, so that a U-turn is possible with a yoke rotation of 150 degrees to the stop - cranking on the steering wheel is unnecessary. For safety, the system includes a fail-safe for the processors and an emergency power supply.
In its standard version, however, the RZ 450e comes with a conventional round steering wheel and normal steering linkage. A new version of Active Sound Control, which transmits noise-cancelling frequencies via the audio system's speakers, ensures quiet in the interior.
Two engines and grip-dependent all-wheel drive
The RZ, which is positioned between the two plug-in hybrid models NX and RX, uses two E-Axle drive groups. They transmit their power to the wheels via the Direct 4 all-wheel drive system. The front e-motor produces 150 kW, the rear 80 kW, for a total output of 230 kW (313 hp) and 435 Nm of torque.
The 2180-kilogram Lexus newcomer accelerates to 100 km/h in 5.6 seconds and reaches a maximum speed of 160 km/h. The target value for power consumption is 18 kWh/100 km. Lexus states 18 kWh/100 km as the target value for power consumption, which would allow the vehicle to travel around 400 kilometers.
The battery can be charged to 80 percent in seven hours at the wallbox and in 30 minutes at the 150-kW fast charging station.
Christian Wellauer, Director of Lexus Switzerland, expects the RZ to have great conquest potential. The new all-electric SUV can already be ordered online, and the first deliveries can be expected towards the end of the year.
