2026 Lexus RZ First Drive: RZ Goes F Sport

MotorTrend

With 408 hp and a Tesla-like steering yoke

Transcript

00:00I'm Zach Gale with Motor Trend and this is the new 2026 Lexus RZ. Now, unlike the RX,

00:11one of the most popular luxury SUVs on the planet, we never really connected with this thing. But

00:17that may be about to change because Lexus has been very, very busy making changes to improve

00:23this car. So it leads us to two important questions. The first, is this thing finally good? And two,

00:31will this new 550 F-Sport cause Tesla owners to be jealous? Lexus RZ 550E F-Sport, all-wheel drive,

00:42LMNOP, QRST, YNZ. And maybe that's not really the full name of the car, but it just feels like it.

00:48But this is the big deal news in the RZ lineup. It's the new top model that goes above the RZ 350E

00:58and the RZ 450E. RZ 550's biggest advance by far is here by wire. Now, this means there's no

01:07mechanical connection from the steering wheel to the car as you would have in any other car.

01:12Tesla has tried, Infiniti has had it, and it's actually pretty good in this car. But there's

01:18one huge, huge caveat. And it's that we're not getting it in the US and neither for the time

01:24being is China. But here's what you need to know. The steer by wire system provides a sportier feel

01:33than you would otherwise have in the RZ. This car in the past has never really been one that we

01:39have been super excited about. Never bad, but it's never really been great either. And with this new

01:47550, they've combined this new steering system, which is super, super quick, with more power

01:53and a different suspension setup. It also takes a minute to get used to. You kind of forget how

02:03fun it is to just step on it in an electric car. There's a thrill there that you just don't really

02:09get in a gas car. Range on the Lexus RZ was never a strong point, but the automaker is hoping to fix

02:16that with the 2026 model. The base RZ 350, which is a single motor front drive setup, has up to 302 miles

02:26of range, which is way more than before, and crucially crosses the 300 mile threshold. That's going to reach

02:34a lot more customers. If you move up to the all wheel drive model, that's the RZ 450. That one offers

02:41313 horsepower and up to 261 miles of range with the 18 inch wheels. Personally, we would go with the

02:4920 inch wheels because they just look that much better and are absolutely worth the six mile range

02:55decrease. And at the very top of the range is this RZ 550E F Sport, which is also all wheel drive,

03:03has 408 horsepower and a 228 mile estimated range. Now these figures are all decent, but not class

03:12leading. So what that means is that Lexus loyalists are going to be much happier with these figures

03:19versus the previous RZ, but it's not exactly going to lead the segment. Zero to 60 times range from 4.1

03:27seconds with the 550. There's 4.9 seconds for the RZ 450. And then there's a more leisurely 7.1

03:35second estimate for the RZ 350. This thing is a lot of fun and I haven't even told you about the most

03:42interesting part. It's the latest in a series of electric cars that has a manual mode. I don't know

03:52if you can hear that. It's such a funny detail that they've added. Genesis has one, Hyundai has it as

04:00well, their own version of it. And the point is not to get a faster lap time or even zero to 60, but

04:07with it, it mimics an eight speed automatic and it just is supposed to help you get a deeper connection

04:16to the car. This car gives you that thrill that the best electric cars give you both at speed when

04:23you're passing and from a stop. Lexus has also worked to improve the charging experience. And if

04:30we're honest, it's still not going to be best in class, but we will take any advances we can get. For

04:36Lexus to truly capture the attention of ex Tesla buyers everywhere, however, we would really need to

04:42see this RZ with way more range and more engaging dynamics, not just at the top, but all across the

04:50entire range. Summing it all up, we really do like this new 2026 Lexus RZ. It may not be the RX of

04:59electric luxury SUVs yet, but its improvements this year are super meaningful. You've got quicker

05:07acceleration, better range, quicker charging, and a fun F Sport model at the very top of the range.

05:14It's a shame that some of the technology on this F Sport model won't meet US customers. Until it does,

05:21what you've got is a good, maybe not great car in the electric luxury space. If you're looking for the

05:29absolute best, we might still consider Genesis and perhaps even the new Cadillac Optic. However, when you

05:36really want Lexus' reputation for quality, reliability, and durability, there is only one name in the SUV

05:43space, and that's the RZ. And it's much better than before.

Category

Transcript

Recommended