Lexus RZ 450e named SUV Electric Car of the Year
The Lexus RZ 450e has been honoured as the SUV Electric Car of the Year in the 2024 Company Car and Van awards, in recognition of the model’s all-round excellence and the attractiveness to fleet and business users of its ultra-low benefit-in-kind tax rating.
Andrew Walker, Company Car and Van Editor, remarked: “The Lexus RZ 450e is beautifully built, quiet to drive and as well-equipped as you’d expect of a Lexus, plus it’s a proper five-seater. Overall, it’s one of the most impressive all-around EV packages we’ve driven, with BIK of just two per cent adding icing on the cake.”
The RZ is the first Lexus model to be designed as a battery-electric vehicle (BEV) from the ground up. Notwithstanding its advanced technologies, it retains all the performance and craftsmanship qualities intrinsic to the brand.
Introduced in 2022, the RZ is also the first model to use Lexus’s new e-Axles, compact front and rear motor units that work in conjunction with Direct4 all-wheel electronic drive torque control. High-quality handling and responsiveness are assured with the car’s dedicated electric vehicle platform which secures body rigidity, a low centre of gravity and a long wheelbase. A powerful lithium-ion battery unit is fully integrated in the chassis, beneath the cabin floor, its quality precisely monitored and controlled to ensure performance is maintained long-term.
The platform and battery-electric drivetrain also open up new freedoms in design. The exterior reinterprets the signature Lexus spindle shape in the vehicle’s body, while the interior is a light and open space that is both simple and luxurious, expressing Lexus omotenashi hospitality and takumi craftsmanship.
The RZ is helping Lexus in its progress towards carbon neutrality and a sustainable mobility society. Here, the focus is not just on the car’s performance on the road but its entire lifecycle, from parts procurement, manufacturing and ownership through to eventual disposal.
ENDS
