Except during the big auto show, it seems that there has never been a new luxury brand car released like these days. First, Mercedes-Benz released the EQS SUV on April 19, taking the lead in winning the top spot of the luxury brand's large-scale pure electric SUV; followed by the replacement of the BMW 7 Series and i7 of "Pig Nostrils", which also made its debut on April 20.
Perhaps not wanting to be exclusively beautified by German luxury brands, Lexus, the "class representative" of Japanese luxury brands, also rushed to the day of bmw's replacement of the 7 series/i7, and launched its first pure electric vehicle model - Lexus RZ.
In the past, in the general impression of everyone, the new technology in the automotive field was generally adopted by German luxury brands, such as ESP was the first to be used by Mercedes-Benz, and laser headlights were the first used by Audi... This makes the impression of "Ashkenazi = technology" deeply rooted in the hearts of the people, in comparison, Japanese brands are representatives of technological conservatism in everyone's impression.
However, the release of the Lexus RZ may change everyone's impression. Special-shaped steering wheel, steer-by-wire technology, DIRECT4 electronic dynamic four-wheel drive system, etc., these new technologies on the Lexus RZ have made everyone see a different Lexus.
Shell-swapped Toyota bZ4X?
"Shell change" is not new on Toyota and Lexus. Similarities can be found in models such as the Lexus LX and Toyota Land Cruiser, the Lexus LM and Toyota Alpha, or the Lexus NX and Harrier, including but not limited to body size, powertrain, chassis structure/layout, and more.
The Lexus RZ is no exception. When you see the parameters of the Lexus RZ, you have to think of another pure electric SUV of Toyota , the bZ4X.
In fact, because it is also based on the Toyota e-TNGA architecture BEV exclusive platform, the Lexus RZ and Toyota bZ4X are very similar in many ways, even similar.
For example, the Toyota bZ4X has a body size of 4690mm/ width of 1860mm / height of 1650mm, with a wheelbase of 2850mm, while the Lexus RZ has a three-dimensional circumference of 4805/1895/1635mm and a wheelbase of 2850mm. As you can see, although the overall exterior size of Lexus is one lap larger than that of the Toyota bZ4X, the wheelbase is exactly the same.
Or, the Toyota bZ4X single motor version adopts a 150kW front-drive layout, and the dual-motor version adopts an 80kW+80kW four-wheel drive layout; while the Lexus RZ's eAxle electric drive system is a 150kW+80kW four-wheel drive layout, which is to replace the motor in front of the bZ4X dual motor version with the high-power motor on the single motor version.
In addition, toyota bZ4X battery pack size of 71.4kWh, single motor version of the WLTC range of 500km, dual motor version of 460 km; Lexus RZ battery pack is also 71.4kWh, but Lexus did not release detailed mileage data (Lexus said, the standards of each country / region are different, so the mileage is subject to local listing information), but considering that the Lexus RZ electric drive assembly is more powerful, Therefore, the mileage is shorter than that of the Toyota bZ4X, and the probability is between 400-450km.
Here to talk more, according to the product positioning, Lexus RZ competitors should be Model Y, Weilai EC6 and other models. However, compared with the Model Y 78.4kWh battery pack and more than 600km CLTC range, and the NIO EC6 100kWh battery pack and more than 600km NEDC range, lexus RZ is not very competitive. However, this is also a common problem with traditional luxury brand pure electric vehicles, such as Mercedes-Benz EQC with a 79.2kWh battery pack, but the NEDC cruising range is only about 440km.
Of course, although it is a "shell change", the reason why Lexus is a luxury brand, the biggest difference with Toyota is that the design, materials, workmanship and other aspects are more extreme, which is why "on luxury, in addition to Mercedes-Benz is Lexus" an important reason. Similarly, the Lexus RZ inherits lexus' concept of "luxury".
The most typical example is the interior. If you look away from the eye-catching special-shaped steering wheel, you will find that the interior of lexus RZ can not find any piece of leather, solid wood and other materials (catering to the concept of european and American environmental protection), but it does not hinder the luxurious texture created by the visual and tactile sense.
On the one hand, Lexus uses Ultrasuede suede and artificial leather to enhance the softness of the touch, and the overall color and material still emphasize the texture; on the other hand, the use of technology or design similar to shadow projection atmosphere lighting has enhanced the mystery and sense of technology of the interior. So, overall, the interior of Lexus RZ is luxurious and technological.
The special-shaped steering wheel + steering-by-wire is the perfect match
When it comes to the special-shaped steering wheel, everyone may first think of Tesla's flat-bottomed square steering wheel (Yoke), after all, when Tesla released this steering wheel, it really caused a whole network debate. In fact, from the experience of the new Model S users, the special-shaped steering wheel (the steering ratio is still 14.0:1) is indeed not smooth to operate at low speeds, especially the operation of turning, turning around and so on.
The special-shaped steering wheel first appeared in F1 racing cars, and it has also appeared in the concept cars of many car companies many times, but it has not appeared in mass production cars before Tesla. The reason is that the steering ratio of F1 is mostly smaller than the setting (mostly 1:1, different tracks will be different, but the gap is not large), and the steering wheel is 180 ° exactly 360 ° on the left and right of the race, so F1 does not need to change hands to play direction.
However, the 1:1 steering ratio will cause the steering wheel to be extremely sensitive, and if the steering wheel deviates slightly, then the vehicle will have a significant body swing. Imagine that his wife, who just got a driver's license, can walk out of the S line when driving a car with a traditional steering ratio, not to mention the 1:1 steering ratio?!
Therefore, if you want to experience a more handsome driving posture, if you want to use the special-shaped steering wheel, then the steering ratio should be small; if you want to drive comfortably, then the steering ratio should be larger, but then the special-shaped steering wheel operation is very inconvenient, just like Tesla's new Model S.
Isn't there a perfect solution? The answer is clearly yes. Unlike Tesla's new Model S, the Lexus RZ uses a special-shaped steering wheel with a left-right turning angle of ±150°, even smaller than the steering range of an F1 car.
So, how does this happen?
The answer lies in the fact that the Lexus RZ uses a variable-ratio electronic steer-by-wire system called "Steer by Wire".
Compared with the traditional steering mechanism with steering column, the Lexus RZ steer-by-wire system can achieve decoupling between the steering wheel and the steering machine, that is, there is no hard connection, and instead, the steering wheel angle and steering torque (i.e. steering ratio) are adjusted by ECU.
Therefore, the special-shaped steering wheel of lexus RZ does not need to change hands to play the direction, and because the steering ratio is variable, it can achieve a large high-speed steering ratio (the steering wheel is less sensitive) and a low-speed steering ratio (the steering wheel is more sensitive).
In addition, since there is no steering column hard connection, vibrations from the road surface can also be isolated under the car, making driving more comfortable. If you want a more athletic experience, you can also satisfy the fun of control by simulating the sense of road.
Of course, steer-by-wire has other advantages, such as less steering machinery means more space savings, no steering column, and improved driver safety in the event of an accident and collision.
The last time Lexus surprised everyone, it was the low energy consumption brought by the THS hybrid system, and this time the Lexus RZ's special-shaped steering wheel + steer-by-wire steering system once again brought greater surprises. However, the steer-by-wire system can be successfully put on the train in China, depending on whether the relevant laws and regulations allow it.
AUTHOR Shen Liming
"What's the difference between not writing and salted fish?"