Lexus RZ

The 2024 Lexus RZ comes with a very premium and posh cabin. It’s packed with premium-feel NuLuxe faux leather. The colour combination is wonderful with the Thunderstorm grey/blue and Macadamia tan. The touch-points are of faux leather and soft plastics. There are only a few hard plastic bits. There’s a massive 14.0-inch central touchscreen infotainment unit that has bright graphics. The system is fairly simple to navigate. The climate control system is separate from the rest of the infotainment menu. The bottom of the screen has two dials for temperature control. There are two nice-sized cupholders and a cubby hole under the armrest that opens from both sides. The door bins are of a decent size. There’s a sizeable place under the central screen to keep a smartphone. The doors are large and allow easy entry and exit.

The 2024 Lexus RZ comes with superb looks. The car sports the signature Lexus spindle-grille. But in the RZ it has been smoothened off as the car doesn’t need air flow radiator openings. But the grille still has some lines and crevices. The car looks very sharp all-round. The dinky roof spoilers at the back add some sportiness. The back-end particularly looks striking. The stylish full-width taillight bar is tucked under the subtle-styled lip spoiler. Two notches on the rooftop extends rearward to add some dramatics. The roofline itself rakes down sharply at the rear. The car gets all-round LED lights. The headlights look aggressive. The exterior design is complemented by the 20-inch dark premium metallic wheels. There’s a 533-litre boot space.

The front seats are the best in any car and that of the 2024 Lexus comes with multi-level adjustment and great lumbar support. But with the under-floor mounted batteries, passengers have to sit high and the gap between the seat base and the foot-well is smaller. The under-thigh support suffers as a result. The rear seat has the same issue. With a stooping down roofline, taller passengers may find less headroom at the back. The problem can be resolved by reclining the seat. Similarly the front seat can be lifted to allow rear seat occupants to stretch their legs. The cabin itself is roomy. The seat pockets are pretty substantial. Suspension is well-tuned and rounds off rough bumps and potholes.

The 2024 Lexus RZ is equipped with a two permanent magnet synchronous motors that produce a combined output of 308PS/434Nm. The motors are powered by a liquid-cooled 63.4kWh lithium-ion battery. The car comes with a 6.6kW on-board charger. Lexus claims the mileage to be at 272 miles. But that’s questionable since electric sports utility vehicles (SUVs) aren’t the most efficient because of their taller and blockier shape. With a light and well-balanced steering, the 2024 Lexus RZ offers easy handling. Though the car comes with selectable regeneration levels, pure one-pedal driving isn’t possible. Acceleration is pretty quick when both motors are at work. 

The 2024 Lexus RZ has earned five stars in European crash tests. The car comes with a full suite of safety equipment like driver attention monitoring, lane-keep assist, blind spot monitoring, adaptive cruise control, front and rear cross traffic alert, parking sensors, and a rear-view camera.  

The 2024 Lexus RZ is a comfortable car with a nice ride quality. It’s tech-rich and comes with great safety equipment. At a starting price of ₱4.828 million, it’s certainly not inexpensive. But it’s still a desirable car for those who want to travel in luxury.