- 2 hours ago
The Lexus RZ 550e F Sport stands out for one big reason: it can be ordered with a yoke-style steer-by-wire setup that has no mechanical link to the front wheels. That unusual feature is the heart of this test drive and review, but the video also looks at whether the RZ makes sense as an electric SUV at all.
Based on the same 285 cm wheelbase as the RX, the RZ is shorter, lower, and narrower, with a sloping rear end and a design that still feels bold in typical Lexus fashion. The review covers the dimensions, cockpit, rear seat, boot space, parking test, range and charging, plus real driving impressions on a twisty road. It also compares the standard steering wheel with the steer-by-wire yoke, including the pros, cons, and how it behaves in tight maneuvers.
The RZ 550e is quick, quiet, and comfortable, but its weight, range, and charging speed are part of the discussion too. This is a practical electric car review for anyone researching Lexus RZ price, Lexus RZ review, steer-by-wire, yoke steering, EV SUV test drive, and premium electric crossover comparisons.
SEO: Lexus RZ review, Lexus RZ 550e, steer-by-wire yoke, electric SUV test drive, premium EV review, Lexus RZ range and charging, SUV parking test, automotive review, electric crossover comparison, Lexus RZ F Sport.
Based on the same 285 cm wheelbase as the RX, the RZ is shorter, lower, and narrower, with a sloping rear end and a design that still feels bold in typical Lexus fashion. The review covers the dimensions, cockpit, rear seat, boot space, parking test, range and charging, plus real driving impressions on a twisty road. It also compares the standard steering wheel with the steer-by-wire yoke, including the pros, cons, and how it behaves in tight maneuvers.
The RZ 550e is quick, quiet, and comfortable, but its weight, range, and charging speed are part of the discussion too. This is a practical electric car review for anyone researching Lexus RZ price, Lexus RZ review, steer-by-wire, yoke steering, EV SUV test drive, and premium electric crossover comparisons.
SEO: Lexus RZ review, Lexus RZ 550e, steer-by-wire yoke, electric SUV test drive, premium EV review, Lexus RZ range and charging, SUV parking test, automotive review, electric crossover comparison, Lexus RZ F Sport.
Category
🚗
MotorTranscript
00:00what features or amenities should your next car have a 360 degree camera an automatic
00:06parking system a yoke instead of a steering wheel wait what yes this is a lexus rz and
00:13you can have it with a yoke that has no mechanical connection to the front wheels
00:18and it seems customers aren't entirely convinced why is that and is the rz even a car worth
00:24considering let's find out the lexus rz is to put it simply a slightly smaller rx but with an electric
00:36drivetrain both cars have the same wheelbase of 285 centimeters but the rz is slightly shorter
00:42narrower and lower than the rx it also has a more slanted rear end other cars with similar dimensions
00:48include porsche macan and the volvo ex60 stylistically lexus is still bald but after all these years it's
00:57no longer shocking the rz is large but its stocky silhouette makes this suv look like a hatchback
01:03from certain angles just like the hyundai ioniq 5 which is much bigger than it looks i really like
01:10the winglets above the rear window also because i can grab them to mount a camera on the roof i
01:14know
01:15it's a unique application but always a plus the rear spoiler is also interesting from the side the black
01:22sills trim the profile visually but the high window line and relatively low roof line make the doors
01:29appear larger and the entire car seems lower the front is the least dramatic but the spindle shaped
01:37nose and l-shaped headlights make it easy to tell from a distance what brand this is
01:44okay enough about design let's sit behind
01:50right
01:54have you ever noticed how often you want to grab the steering wheel while getting in and and you can't
02:04the lexus rz is neither the first or likely the last car to feature steer by wire technology meaning a
02:11steering wheel or in this case a yoke electronically connected to the steering rack over 10 years ago
02:17the infinity q50 had a traditional steering wheel but under normal circumstances it wasn't connected to
02:23the steering rack by a steering column the steering column with a clutch was there just as a backup
02:29steer by wire also appeared in the tesla cyber truck and more recently in the refreshed mercedes-benz
02:34eqs eqs steer by wire may also be implemented in the future peugeot 208 successor which will be based
02:41on the polygon concept a brief explanation what is this by wire stuff there's a bunch of features under
02:50the drive by wire umbrella so we have shift by wire which means for example that the gear selector is
02:56not
02:56mechanically connected to the transmission this allows among others for automatic forward reverse shifting
03:02for example during automatic parking maneuvers then we have throttle by wire which is the accelerator pedal
03:08transmitting electronic impulses to the engine control unit brake by wire which is the same but with the
03:15brake and even clutch by wire which is an electronic connection between the clutch pedal and the clutch
03:21itself kia used to promote this solution in its budget friendly models where despite a manual transmission
03:28it was possible to temporarily shut the engine off during driving and engage so-called sailing mode
03:45what are the benefits of steer by wire primarily it's easier to implement a variable steering ratio and
03:53what is variable steering ratio you ask the idea is to reduce the amount of steering in
03:58input at lower speeds this feature often combined with rear wheel steering is offered primarily by german
04:05premium brands however it's usually dealt with by a traditional steering column with an electric motor
04:12integrated into the column which is then responsible for changing the steering ratio the steering ratio
04:19decreases as you slow down it takes some time getting used to because if you turn the wheel too much
04:26while
04:27for example exiting a tight parking spot you can scrape the entire side of the car
04:32but after a few days you start to wonder how you could ever live without it it's brilliant
04:38now why didn't lexus keep the standard steering column and implement a variable steering ratio like others
04:45well for example because steer by wire eliminates vibrations that would go from the front wheels
04:51to the steering wheel in a traditional steering column setup in a premium car eliminating those vibrations
04:58is certainly an advantage steer by wire could also in theory allow for better use of cabin space but for
05:05that lexus would have to commit to steer by wire in the rz regardless of the trim meanwhile steer by
05:12wire
05:12is standard only on the f-sport and available as an option on the luxury trim
05:18and from what i've heard the customers aren't too keen on the yoke probably due to the price but i
05:26suspect
05:27they also prefer a regular steering wheel now are they missing out
05:35in order to show us the difference in driving between the standard and steer by wire versions lexus
05:40invited me to an event during which i drove both versions on a windy course the difference is clearly
05:47visible the reduction in vibrations on a bumpy course was less apparent the rz is a heavy car and
05:54it rocks over bumps a traditional steering wheel provides better grip parking is also easier this is
06:02my reverse into the driveway maneuver i live on a street that's four meters wide and my gate is three
06:08meters
06:08wide for technical reasons yes i've already read comments about having badly designed gate believe
06:13me a wider one wouldn't fit in any case i barely have to turn the yoke the car easily turns
06:19into the
06:20gate and the turning circle is a mere 11.2 meters the same as in the mercedes-benz glc with
06:26rear wheel
06:27steering and in the lexus rz i'm not held back by any intrusive rear obstacle emergency braking system
06:33which by the way the car has and once triggered it's really annoying
06:41and what are the disadvantages of steer by wire at low speeds if for some reason you need to do
06:46a
06:46tight slalom which is probably never the steering becomes very heavy probably to slow you down
06:52so that the system can keep up
06:58and the yoke itself obviously you can't drive with your hands on top of the wheel you shouldn't anyway
07:05but in this case you cannot the yoke forces the driver to keep their hands in the correct position
07:11unfortunately lexus decided to attach the signal stock to the yoke which doesn't work well on roundabouts
07:18once the yoke is upside down the signal stock is on the wrong side and it's also upside down
07:25before tesla opted for steer by wire in the cybertruck the yoke first appeared in the tesla model s
07:31this made maneuvers requiring several turns of the yoke in nightmare so customers replaced it with a regular
07:37steering wheel in fact lexus could have used a traditional steering wheel as well the yoke looks
07:43different and gives the impression of driving a cool futuristic car however given the choice i
07:48probably prefer a regular steering wheel albeit with steer by wire okay i think that's enough
07:54about steer by wire let's move on to ride and handling
08:01the lexus rz is very comfortable and stress-free it's a pleasure to drive the cabin is well soundproofed
08:07and apart from the fake engine purr you can't really hear anything guys i suspect there is a way to
08:14turn it off but uh it's still the old infotainment system and finding some of the settings can be a
08:20bit
08:20tricky you can also switch the manual mode on i talked about it in my es review you can simulate
08:30shifting
08:31gears with the paddles the artificial sound gets louder and there is even a fake limiter
08:39absolutely unnecessary and after a couple of tries you go back to
08:43normal settings and yeah never use that again now in normal settings if you use the paddles
08:48they deal with the region but even in the highest region setting there is no real one pedal driving
09:01the rz at least in the 550e version is very fast indeed manufacturer promises 0 to 100 kilometers
09:08per hour time of 4.4 seconds i checked and that's exactly what i got in sport mode in normal
09:14mode it was
09:154.8 seconds still pretty fast overtaking is no problem however once you get going and need to slow down
09:22the brakes have some heavy lifting to do as the rz weighs well over two tons
09:28the most powerful version can't tow the 500e can tow up to 1500 kilograms the 350e up to 750 kilograms
09:37and since it's a lexus no roof rack rating either visibility is good and the seats are comfortable
09:43if only the range was decent but it isn't
09:50lexus says the rz has a 77 kilowatt hour battery but that's gross
09:54net or usable capacity is around 72 kilowatt hours energy consumption is between 14 kilowatt
10:00hours per 100 kilometers in the urban cycle and almost 18 in the combined cycle the best i got
10:05was 15 and then i got it to about high 16 kilowatt hours and it stayed like that according to
10:12simple
10:12math the rz should be able to cover around 450 kilometers on a single charge but the on-board
10:18computer indicates i'll be lucky to get 400 and that's mainly around the city
10:22and on country roads with no motorway sections also the weather is ideal it's in the low 20s during the
10:29day so this is the best case scenario any hotter or colder and the range will only get worse
10:4122 kilowatt ac on-board charger is standard and that's a plus assuming you have this much power out
10:47put at home however dc charging peaks at just 150 kilowatts which even if the charging curve is
10:53relatively flat is nothing to write home about with 10 to 80 charging time stated at 28 minutes
11:00and it's also a small battery for this big a car and now for my diagonal approach test i stop
11:06halfway
11:06up an incline so that the wheels on the diagonal have limited traction and then i try to get going
11:11again the lexus rz doesn't have an off-road mode but it does have 20 centimeters of ground clearance so
11:17maybe it can cope with some obstacles in normal mode it's fine ish you can see that after i let
11:24go
11:24of the brake the car rolls back for a split second but in the end it makes it up the
11:28incline however with
11:30traction control off it cannot get up it just spins its wheels
11:47the lexus rz and rx debuted roughly at the same time but in my opinion the rz has a better
11:55cockpit
11:56design for example the infotainment display isn't a tablet glued to the dashboard as is a case in
12:02models from many brands today but it is integrated within the dashboard the advantage of this solution
12:08is that the air vents are located above the display not underneath it so the air isn't blowing into your
12:15elbow all the time unfortunately the infotainment system is still the older generation i asked about
12:20the plans to introduce a new version similar to the one in the lexus es perhaps as part of the
12:26facelift
12:27but i didn't get a clear answer it's likely that this generation of the rz cannot be updated to the
12:33new hardware unfortunately this means that for example changing the instrument cluster layout requires
12:39fiddling with the center display it's not ideal but let's say you set it once and forget it
12:45there are physical buttons for the seat memory settings and they are accessible from the door side
12:50so you don't have to reach for the screen to move the seat and you don't have to use any
12:55apps if you
12:56don't want to the lexus rz simply works i like the illuminated accents projected on the doors there's
13:04a decent size storage compartment under the armrest but no glove box the door pockets and cup holders are
13:10okay the wireless charger unfortunately barely maintains charge level there's a shelf under the console and here
13:18lexus showcases an accessory insert that turns this shelf into a covered storage compartment probably
13:24to replace the glove box
13:32in the back there is good leg room and head room the floor is almost flat with a low tunnel
13:38but one
13:39that doesn't prevent you from placing your feet down there unfortunately because the battery is in the
13:43the floor the floor is higher and this means your thighs are up in the air there are cup holders
13:50in the armrest and there are big door pockets the backrest only splits 40 60 and there is no pass
13:58through
13:58to the boot ice fix anchor points are on the rear seats only but at least doors cover the sills
14:06the backrests stated boot capacity is 586 liters including the underfloor storage compartment with
14:12the second row backrest folded there's 1451 liters the underfloor storage compartment is irregularly shaped
14:20but it can accommodate a charging cable repair kit the folding parcel shelf and other small items no a cabin
14:28size suitcase won't fit here unfortunately the top part of the boot also has an irregular shape at its
14:35narrowest point it's 100 centimeters wide and at its widest 150 centimeters the depth is between 90 and 95
14:44centimeters as the sill arches and the height to the parcel shelf is 45 centimeters now let's take my
14:52three random suitcases it doesn't look great add some golf clubs and it's even worse however without the
15:00suitcases i could easily fit three sets of clubs here lexus rz prices start at 57 100 euro for the
15:08350e version
15:10this test car is the 550e f sport and with options it costs 78 700 euro
15:21i like that lexus experiments with new features unfortunately due to how conservative its customers
15:27are it cannot fully commit and take advantage of all the benefits that come with steer by wire
15:32and what do you think about the lexus rz do you like the unusual steering wheel or yoke in this
15:38case
15:38and what about the range is it enough for your needs let me know in the comment section below
15:47if you like my sarcastic down-to-earth and possibly mildly amusing car reviews join me every friday at
15:543 pm central european time and don't forget to subscribe and like this video as it helps me
16:00with the youtube algorithm thanks for watching and i will see you in the next one
Comments