In China, the Lexus brand has a deep accumulation, and adhering to pure imports has also made it the most unique existence of luxury brands.
In today's era of no car companies and no electric, the electrification process of Lexus has also been concerned. In fact, the electrification process of this brand has long been planned, and the new Lexus RZ represents the achievements of this brand in recent years.
On April 20, the Lexus RZ officially debuted. Positioned as a mid-size all-electric SUV, the new car is a blockbuster new product based on Toyota's "e-TNGA pure electric architecture".
This car represents Lexus' new interpretation of pure electric models.
■ Familiar and unfamiliar feeling
▲ Lexus LF-Z Electrified concept car
Back in March 2021, the Lexus LF-Z Electrified concept car appears to have announced the general outline of the RZ in advance. This concept car does not pursue extreme exaggeration, and many design elements also indicate that it has the possibility of mass production.
▲ Lexus RZ
When the production model Lexus RZ really arrives, it may be said that it is not inferior to the concept car. In addition to the replacement of the electronic rearview mirror with a conventional rearview mirror, its sci-fi feel has basically been retained.
For ease of reading, we will refer to the new car as RZ for short.
As a Lexus, the iconic spindle-style midwire certainly has to be preserved. Thankfully, even though the RZ uses the closed mid-mesh commonly used by pure electric vehicles, it has not destroyed the traditional aesthetic because of the change in form.
In the light cluster design, RZ incorporates the L graphic into the daytime running lights. The sharp light cluster is tightly connected to the fenders and the air invert trough below.
The RZ has a body length of 4805/1895/1635mm and a wheelbase of 2850mm.
The RZ has a very sleek silhouette, and it retains a certain length of overhang in front and rear, so it still looks "like" a traditional car without losing proportion like many pure electric models that pursue compression length. The RZ features a complex, tough waistline design that combines the tailline of a coupe SUV to make the car quite dynamic.
The RZ is not equipped with Lexus' "L" logo at the tail, but instead embeds the brand name "LEXUS" in letters into the trim strip. The new car is equipped with a chic through taillight and a ducktail spoiler, and after the taillights are lit, we can still find L-shaped elements in them.
■ Cockpit - a combination of wild and digital
At today's launch, we saw that the RZ uses a special-shaped steering wheel that can support ± 150°rotation. The steering wheel was originally designed from the LF-30 concept, and although this steering wheel can adapt to the regulatory requirements of many countries and regions, we hope it can.
Very importantly, RZ will also feature the new Steer by Wire Variable Ratio Electronic Steer-by-Wire system, which provides gentler steering and smoother vehicle dynamics. The RZ will be equipped with Lexus' signature "Intelligent Safety System LSS+ 3.0", which can support the series of functions of the L2 driver assistance system.
The interior design of the RZ places a great emphasis on the sense of surround, and you will feel surrounded when sitting on the driver. The new car adopts a full LCD instrument and a 14-inch large central control screen, the car machine system supports mobile phone interconnection and mapping, and the subsequent system can also be upgraded through OTA.
RZ features a uniquely shaped air conditioning setting knob with a miniature screen displaying numbers in the middle of the knob. Under the central control screen, the new car is also equipped with a mobile phone wireless charging panel, as well as multiple USB interfaces, which are very in line with the needs of the current mobile phone family.
The RZ features an electronic knob design, a narrow center console style, and accommodates the main vehicle function setting buttons. Due to the small number of buttons in this area, it is believed that it will be easy to operate blindly.
RZ uses a button-type door opening "button", the unique model of course can not be out of the ordinary, with such a unique button to replace the internal department handle is a good choice.
■ Power and battery
▲ Lexus RZ 450e
In terms of powertrain, the RZ did not disappoint us, and this RZ 450e model will be equipped with a dual motor drive system, the maximum power of the front and rear motors is 150/80 kW, and the maximum power of the system is 230kW.
Interestingly, RZ's four-wheel drive system will be dynamically controlled by "DIRECT4 Electronic Dynamics", which can control the power distribution of the front and rear motors according to the vehicle status (speed, acceleration pedal depth, etc.), and the distribution ratio can reach 0:100 to 100:0, which means that the vehicle can be switched to pure electric drive and pure rear drive according to demand.
RZ will be equipped with a battery pack with a capacity of 71.4kWh, at present we only know these, and the official has not given more detailed battery life data.
That's all we know.
■ Bang reviews
The Lexus RZ retains a large degree of sci-fi, especially the alien steering wheel is very interesting. In terms of technology, RZ's linearly controlled steering system, dual-motor four-wheel drive system with DIRECT4 electronic dynamic control, etc., further reflect the brand's focus on the essence of the car.
As a blockbuster work in the field of pure electric vehicles, Lexus RZ is full of aura, let's look forward to more follow-up news!