This article is transferred from: CAR Road
I have to admit that the new forces of car manufacturing have more ideas and creativity in new energy products, but when traditional car companies, especially traditional luxury car companies, enter the game, their own advantages accumulated in technology will be well reflected. Of course, the protagonist of this test drive - the Lexus RZ, it is no exception.
As the first pure electric model under the Lexus brand, the Lexus RZ comes from Toyota's e-TNGA architecture and is positioned as a mid-size SUV. Regarding this nomenclature, the official has also made a good interpretation: R stands for "Radiant" radiant, Z has a double meaning, "Z-axis" new dimension and "Zero" zero emissions. Simply put, it is an electrified product with a strong focus on the driving experience.
The design style is more daring, but the essence of a car has not changed
As one of the products of the e-TNGA architecture, on the Lexus RZ, we can see the designer's bold design style, but at a glance, you will still clearly identify that it is a model from the Lexus brand.
It has many Lexus family logos, such as its front face, headlights and dynamic waistline, but because it is an electric car, it does not adopt the iconic spindle-shaped front grille design, but becomes a fully enclosed style. Coupled with the sharp headlight group, it still highlights the unique sharpness unique to Lexus products.
The Lexus RZ is positioned as a mid-size SUV with a length, width and height of 4805/1895/1635mm, a wheelbase of 2850mm, and a short front overhang and short rear overhang design to ensure aesthetic coordination while tapping more interior space. Compared with the traditional SUV shape, the Lexus RZ adopts a sunken roof and a rear window with a slip-back shape, which is both stylish and sporty, and will not make you feel a trace of restraint and calm.
Speaking of this, it has to be said that its body color, from the model of this test drive, there are classic streamer gold, twilight copper, ether blue, quartz white, supreme black, etc., and most of them are mainly splicing colors. The color scheme of each version is really pleasing and also brings a more premium feeling.
Inside the Lexus RZ, you can feel all the features of the new generation of Lexus, especially the "Tazuna Rein Concept Cockpit", which is the interior design of the new generation of Lexus models. Although the overseas version of the RZ is equipped with a special-shaped steering wheel and adopts a set of steer-by-wire system, which is very futuristic, due to the current domestic regulatory restrictions, all models on sale now use a traditional steering wheel.
As a pure electric model, it does not emphasize its sense of technology like those new forces, but emphasizes its sense of luxury and practicality. However, this does not mean that it is behind the times, such as a full LCD instrument cluster, HUD head-up display, embedded 14-inch multimedia display and intelligent security system LSS+ 3.0, etc., are all equipped. Perhaps in the eyes of many people, its entire interior is even a little "old-fashioned", but in Lexus' car building philosophy, we hope to restore the essence of a car as much as possible.
In terms of rear space that home consumers pay attention to, thanks to the architectural advantages of the pure electric platform and the 2850mm wheelbase, the performance of the Lexus RZ in terms of space can fully meet the needs of the family, coupled with its flat rear floor, the overall rear seating space comfort is very good. Of course, it would be nice if the rear seat angle could be adjusted.
The most familiar strangers, the driving texture is close to their own fuel vehicles
In fact, in many traditional luxury car companies, their new energy products have a significant common point, that is, "closer to fuel vehicles". Because in their eyes, fuel vehicles have existed for hundreds of years, and their driving texture has affected generations of people, and this will be difficult to change for a while, and it is not necessary to make too many changes.
The Lexus RZ has three models, and all of them are 450e versions, equipped with a front and rear dual-motor drive system, of which the front motor has a maximum power of 150 kW / the rear motor has a maximum power of 80 kW, and is equipped with a 71.4kWh battery. In terms of endurance, there are 455 kilometers and 520 kilometers of endurance options, there is a saying, such endurance performance is really not very good now, and the official also made it clear that the future facelift model will be optimized for endurance.
It should be noted that the DIRECT 4 electronic dynamic all-wheel drive system is standard on all models, and can accurately control the distribution of front and rear wheel drive force based on the information collected by the vehicle's wheel speed, accelerator pedal and steering angle sensors, with a distribution ratio between 0:100 and 100:0, and will change this ratio at any time through driving conditions such as acceleration and deceleration/cornering.
From the actual driving experience, Lexus RZ whether it is a steering wheel with a strong sense of damping or a heavy chassis, it gives you a feeling of driving a Lexus fuel car, but simply the direct power output response pulls you back at once, oh, it turns out that this is an electric car! Its zero hundred acceleration is 5.3 seconds, which can fully feel the driving pleasure of electric vehicles. And thanks to the DIRECT 4 electronic dynamic all-wheel drive system, it can give you strong driving confidence when cornering at high speeds, making you want to test its limits.
As for the endurance that everyone is concerned about, this test drive is a top-equipped version with a range of 520 kilometers. In order to test its real battery life, we also drove from downtown Chengdu to surrounding attractions, with highways, urban areas, rural roads, etc. on the way, basically covering the use scenarios of daily consumers. For reference, the whole route is about 150 kilometers, the air conditioning is turned on throughout the process, the meter shows that the power loss is about 180 kilometers, the average power consumption is 23kwh, and the basic battery life is about 20% off. Of course, this test drive is more aggressive, and if the usual driving is gentler, it is estimated that it will be lower.
Speaking of which, I have to talk about the problem of replenishment, Lexus RZ supports fast charging and slow charging, fast charging 10%-80% is about half an hour, but slow charging to be full takes about 10 hours. Therefore, if you are more interested in the Lexus RZ, it will be more convenient to have a home charging pile at home.
Write at the end
If you look at the product itself, in addition to a slightly shorter battery life, the Lexus RZ does not have much to pick on. And the price of 36.99-459,900 yuan is not too expensive for a Lexus electric vehicle, especially an imported model.
More importantly, for users who buy Lexus RZ, when replacing Lexus brand models, they can enjoy up to "90% within one year, 80% within two years, 70% within three years, and 60% within four years", allowing you to dispel concerns about the low value retention rate of electric vehicles. Finally, if you feel that the Tesla Model Y quality sense of 26-350,000 yuan does not meet your needs, then the Lexus RZ may not disappoint you.
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