Popular tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee said on Friday that he will not recommend Lexus brand’s RZ 450e battery electric SUV as other EVs from rival automakers offer better range for the same price.
What Happened: “One of the weirdest EVs I have seen in a while because it is a genuinely nice car that I could never recommend,” Brownlee said in a video posted on Friday about the Lexus RZ 450E. Lexus is the luxury brand of Japanese automaker Toyota Motor Corp.
The Lexus RZ 450E is a more premium variant of the RZ model. The RZ model has four variants. It starts at $55,175 for the base RZ 300e premium variant and at $59,875 for the 450e premium variant. The RZ 450e luxury variant is priced further higher at $65,605. The most expensive variant, however, has a range of only 196 miles despite the higher pricing.
The one customer for the Lexus battery electric SUV would be people who like driving Lexus and want to go electric. However, there are EVs from rival EV makers in the same price range that can offer better performance and range such as the Kia EV6 or the Tesla Model Y, Brownlee noted.
The 2024 Kia EV6 starts at $42,600 but offers up to 310 miles of range. The Model Y, meanwhile, starts at $44,990 and offers up to 320 miles of range.
However, Brownlee noted that he likes a few aspects of the Lexus RZ 450e, including its premium interiors.
Why It Matters: Toyota Motor North America reported first-half sales of 1,186,647 vehicles in the U.S., up 14.3% on a volume basis compared to the same period last year.
The Lexus division sold 167,211 vehicles, including 5,639 RZ SUVs. RZ SUV sales in the period marked a growth in sales of about 400% as compared to last year.
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Photo courtesy: Lexus
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