Lexus RZ 450e: Lexus’s first electric folding door for cyclists

First real electric Lexus: The luxury brand of Japanese car group Toyota has announced the Electric Sport Utility Vehicle (SUV) RZ 450e.

The RZ 450e It’s not the first electric Lexus. But the UX 300e was an electric version of the combustion engine. The RZ 450e, on the other hand, was developed as an electric vehicle only.

The vehicle is based on a new platform designed specifically for electric vehicles. It features front and rear all-wheel drive units. The rear engine of the RZ 450e has an output of 80 kilowatts and a maximum torque of 168 Newton meters. The front engine has an output of 150 kilowatts and delivers 266 Newton meters of torque.

The car drives 160 km / h

The engine accelerates the car from standstill to 100 km/h in 5.3 seconds. The maximum speed is limited to 160 km / h. The lithium-ion battery mounted on the floor of the car has a capacity of 71.4 kilowatt hours.

There are no replacements for the drive and battery. Only wheels with a diameter of 18 or 20 inches are available. The small-wheeled version is said to have a range of 440 km on a single battery charge. Consumption should be 16.8 kilowatt hours per 100 km. A car with 20-inch wheels creates depending on the manufacturer 395 km and requires 18.7 kilowatt hours per 100 km. All information is based on the Worldwide Connected Light Vehicle Test Procedure (WLTP).

Lexus equips the RZ 450e with a variety of assistance systems, including lane departure warning and lane change assist as well as cruise control. The Safety Exit Assist is practical, as it prevents the door from opening if a bicycle or another vehicle approaches from behind. Parking assistant, which steers the car into a parking space, is optional, as is a digital interior mirror.

To begin with, the RZ 450e comes to the market with a standard operating system. From 2025, Lexus wants to equip the car with an electronic steering system in which steering movements are no longer transmitted mechanically from the steering wheel to the wheels, but electrically (steer-by-wire). Then the car will not have a regular steering wheel, but a small one, called a yoke handle.

Toyota has not yet announced when the electric Lexus will be launched and how much it will cost.