Overview

Should you buy a Lexus RZ?

If you’re prioritising refinement, build quality and a quiet, calm driving experience – the Lexus RZ certainly fits the bill. It’s smooth and well behaved on the road, and comes with quite a dramatic design that’ll look the part. Some of the technology is difficult to use or just plain weird, however, and you can get more practical cars for the money.

What’s new?

The first ground-up electric car from Lexus has been on sale for a few years now, benefitting from a significant technology and performance update in 2025. Not that you’d notice, as the car’s overall design hasn’t changed much.

Even so, the Lexus RZ has been thoroughly refreshed with an updated battery pack – now 77kWh – and is available in three versions: 350e, 500e and the flagship 550e. As well as more power, Lexus assures us that the car’s overall efficiency has improved, meaning longer range claims on a single charge. The new specifications include entry-level Premium, then Premium Plus and Takumi as well as the performance-focused F Sport model reserved for the 550e model.

As well as power and range improvements, the Lexus RZ can be specified with two novel bits of technology. The most significant is steer-by-wire – a system that removes the physical connection between the steering wheel and front wheels, instead using software to convey the amount of steering you apply. The steer-by-wire system comes with its own steering wheel – which is designed a lot like a yoke on an aircraft – and can also be had with virtual gear-shifting technology.

We’ll have to hang on for a bit for UK prices, but we do know that the RZ will go on sale towards the end of 2025 in the UK. Lexus UK says it ‘aims to be competitive’ with a lot of the RZ’s competition – namely cars like the Polestar 2, Audi Q4 E-Tron, Genesis GV60 and BMW iX2.

That said, we expect the F Sport model, with all its performance and niche technology, to push north of £60k – more than something like a Polestar 2 Dual Motor with the Performance Pack.

Over the next few pages, we’ll provide our assessment of the Lexus RZ considering its practicality, comfort, technology, fuel economy and driving experience before offering our final verdict on the car. Click through this review to find out whether the SUV could suit your lifestyle. If you’re curious about how we test cars, we have a page for that, too.