Tested: 2024 Lexus RZ300e Proves Less Can Sometimes Just Be Less

The Lexus RZ is the company’s first American-market all-electric model. Built on the modular e-TNGA platform, the RZ shares its bones with the likes of Toyota’s bZ4X and Subaru’s Solterra. Lexus first unveiled the dual-motor, all-wheel-drive RZ450e for 2023, which was panned for subpar range, and quickly followed it with the single-motor, front-wheel-drive, longer-range RZ300e for 2024.   

Lexus claims that by 2035 it will only offer battery-powered vehicles. Call it growing pains or teething issues, but the company’s first venture into electrification—the RZ450e—left quite a bit to be desired. Chief among our complaints were the RZ450e’s poor charging performance and limited range. The follow-up variant, the front-wheel-drive, single-motor RZ300e, increases the RZ’s range and boasts a lower starting price, but does this vehicle have what it takes to finally usher Lexus into the electric era with confidence? Let’s find out.  

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Impressive Highway Etiquette  

One area where the Lexus RZ300e truly shines is in its highway manners. We’ve been critical of Lexus SUVs lately for not delivering the ride quality we’ve come to expect from the brand. The RZ, however, delivers a ride quality that’s both settled and refined. Driving on broken pavement, rough asphalt, across freeway expansion joints, or over the occasional pothole never overwhelms the smooth-riding suspension. High-frequency vibrations often caused by grooved cement roads are easily tuned out by the dampers, leading to a smooth, quiet, and comfortable ride regardless of the road surface.  

Still, driving the RZ300e is a fairly anodyne affair. There’s just barely enough power to squeal a tire if you push it into a corner hard enough, and there’s no separate Sport (or otherwise) drive mode to be had. Steering feel is perfectly middle-of-the-road with nothing remarkably positive or negative to be noted. Braking follows suit, offering strong and predictable stopping power without an overly harsh pedal.  

The only real downside for us is the lack of a true one-pedal drive experience. Lexus lets the driver use the steering-wheel-mounted paddles to select the amount of braking regeneration. However, the highest setting still allows a great deal of coasting, and the selection defaults to “off” with each key cycle.  

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Comfortable and Spacious Cabin  

If the ride quality doesn’t convince you the Lexus RZ300e is the real deal, its interior will. From the seating surfaces to the door panels and dash trim, Lexus uses what it calls Ultrasuede on the top-tier Luxury trim. The steering wheel is wrapped in a faux leather the company calls NuLuxe. This material is not only environmentally friendly, but also easier to care for than leather and has the benefit of being softer, too.  

We appreciate the large 14.3-inch touchscreen that serves are the centerpiece of the dash. But the relatively small driver information display (which Lexus doesn’t offer specs on) often appeared fuzzy and difficult to read. The 10-inch head-up display proved a welcome friend, but the touch-sensitive steering-wheel controls proved to have a steep learning curve. Another highlight was the optional ($550) Dynamic Sky panoramic glass roof that turns from clear to opaque at the push of a button.  

Interior space is plentiful, especially for those seated in the rear. The 34.9 cubic feet of cargo space behind the second row is more than enough for the daily activities of a family of four. Speaking of families, a pair of forward-facing car seats easily mounts in the rear while offering enough space for the kids and their cargo without interfering with the driver or passenger seats. One minor quibble, however, stems from the RZ’s high beltline. The small windows and tall door panels make outward visibility tough at times, and the low drop dash on the passenger side proves a touch awkward.   

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Powered Down  

In the lexicon of Lexus, the numerically lower RZ300e denotes the lesser of the two RZ models. By dropping the rear motor, power is reduced by about one third to 201 hp and 196 lb-ft. Practically speaking, this lengthens the 0–60 times from 4.7 to 6.9 seconds. Due to the instant torque provided by the electric motor, however, the RZ300e doesn’t feel markedly slower from stoplight to stoplight. The reduction in output only begins to show itself when accelerating at higher speeds such as when passing or merging on the highway. In fact, the RZ300e is still nearly a second quicker to 60 mph than the comparably sized and more powerful Lexus RX350 (7.6 seconds) and 0.4 second quicker than the RX350 F-Sport (7.3 seconds).  

Intriguingly, the single-motor RZ300e comes with a slightly larger 72.8-kWh battery versus the 71.4-kWh unit equipped in the RZ450e. EPA range for the front-wheel-drive RZ300e jumps to 224 miles from the RZ450e’s 196 miles. Dropping to the less stylish 18-inch wheels bumps the single-motor model up to an almost respectable 266 miles. That all said, in our testing the RZ300e, fit with 20-inch wheels, returned a real-world road trip range of just 183 miles, 18 percent off the EPA estimate and well below the near-or-above-300-mile ranges of other luxury EV SUVs priced in similar territory, namely Cadillac’s Lyriq, Genesis’ GV60, and Tesla’s Model Y.    

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The Sad State of Charging  

The RZ300e’s lack of range issues are only compounded by the vehicle’s embarrassingly slow charge speeds. From the factory, both Lexus RZ models are rated at a peak DC fast-charge rate of 150 kW. This falls short of the 200–250-kW speeds most current electric vehicles are capable of. Adding insult, in our testing we didn’t see charge rates above 102 kW. On a fast-charger, the RZ300e managed to get from 5 to 80 percent in 38 minutes, with another 28 minutes needed to reach 100 percent. 

This issue isn’t unique to the Lexus RZ. Across the lineup of e-TNGA platform mates that include the Lexus RZ450e, Toyota bZ4X, and Subaru Solterra, Lexus offers the highest charge rate at 150 kW. Both the Toyota and Subaru variants carry a 100-kW rating and, in our real-world testing, top out between 81 and 90 kW.     

Even when using home charging, the story is less than rosy. The Lexus RZ has a 6.6-kW onboard charger. For those keeping score, that’s below average. By comparison, the Audi E-Tron gets a 9.6-kW charger, the Genesis GV60 gets an 11.0-kW unit, and the Cadillac Lyric offers a massive 19.2-kW charger.  

The RZ’s charging woes grow deeper when you dig into the owner’s manual. Lexus states that “charging time will increase if multiple DC fast-charge sessions are conducted within the same day, regardless of weather.” And there’s more alarming news to be found in the Lexus online charging FAQs for those who enjoy frequent road trips. This document states that DC fast charging is also limited to only two sessions per day. Practically speaking, starting with a fully charged battery, we couldn’t drive the RZ300e from Los Angeles to San Francisco (390 miles) without being limited to Level 2 charging.  

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A Good Vehicle with Limited Appeal  

If we could ignore the vehicle’s insufficient range and charging, we’d be able to look on the RZ300e more favorably. The upscale interior feels nicer than much of its competition, and the stylish, swoopy exterior design is quite compelling. It’s quiet and comfortable, comes loaded with a full suite of standard safety features, and offers a fabulous highway ride—all the attributes one looks for in a Lexus vehicle.  

However, in a world where the Genesis GV60 exists and offers up to 294 miles of range with 250-kW charging ability along with more power and torque for a similar price tag, it’s tough to recommend the Lexus. (To say nothing of the ubiquitous Tesla Model Y ...) The RZ300e is a fantastic introduction to electric vehicles for those already in love with the Lexus brand and who fly whenever they travel outside their 200-mile bubble. For everyone else, there are better options. 

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