2026 Lexus RZ First Drive Review + Video

The first-ever Lexus electric vehicle (EV) hasn’t exactly been the sort of success we’ve come to expect from Toyota’s premium division.

Oh, sure — regional sales restrictions are partly to blame, with the RZ exclusively offered in British Columbia and Quebec since it launched in 2023. More than that, though, the execution itself left it feeling little like a compliance vehicle — one built to meet zero-emission vehicle mandates rather than raise the bar.

But the can’t-win-’em-all approach isn’t especially emblematic of this brand, which has been defying odds and establishing industry standards for decades now. And while that last part remains elusive for this particular product, the 2026 Lexus RZ represents something of a new lease on all-electric life. It might still be a step behind key rivals when it comes to range, but updates make this EV far more Lexus-like in execution than before.

Updated Electric Essentials

Like its corporate cousins, the renamed Toyota bZ and the spruced-up Subaru Solterra, the 2026 RZ has received important revisions to its core components that make it better overall. The battery is bigger this time, with a 77-kWh unit spanning the floor (up from 71.4), while the onboard charger has been improved for faster Level 2 sessions. That’s the device that converts alternating current to direct current, and it now has an 11-kW capacity (compared to seven).

That’s helped reduce 240-volt Level 2 charging times to seven hours, according to Lexus — more than 25 per cent quicker than before. Meanwhile, DC fast-charging speeds remain capped at a maximum of 150 kW. It’s a move made to limit long-term battery degradation; like Toyota and Subaru, Lexus is targeting minimal capacity loss of 10 per cent over the course of 10 years.

The benchmark 10-to-80 per cent charge should take the same 30 minutes or so as before, although the integrated charge port is now of the North American Charging System (NACS) variety, providing access to Tesla’s so-called Superchargers. However, as with other non-Tesla EVs, the RZ is only able to communicate with the newest stations in the network, limiting the impact of the expanded access that’s been touted.

Otherwise, range has also been improved, with the same RZ 450e as before able to travel an estimated 420 km on a full charge — 66 km more than before. Lexus has also added a front-wheel-drive trim to the Canadian lineup for the first time, which sacrifices traction to increase range to 486 km. Then there’s the new RZ 550e F Sport trim that prioritizes performance — more on that shortly — on its way to just 366 km between charging sessions.

The Smooth Gets Smoother

Briefly getting back to the bZ and Solterra, while they share platforms and underpinnings with the RZ, they hardly feel related — and that’s a far more challenging accomplishment with EVs like these ones than conventional models like the Lexus NX and Toyota RAV4. Since electrification has a tendency to neutralize character almost to the point of sterility, it can be harder to tell EVs apart, particularly when it comes to power delivery and overall drivability.

That’s simply not the case here, however. While its suspension may be made of conventional springs and dampers, the RZ remains among the smoothest riding EVs out there, providing the basis for the premium feel its kin lack. Changes this time around include new front bushings and control arms, as well as reinforcements to the overall structure, and while they’re all impossible to discern in isolation, the totality of the package remains impeccable.

Beyond soaking up bumps and broken pavement, the suspension helps hide the mass created by the battery pack while allowing for just enough motion — body roll while cornering, along with nose pitch and dive when accelerating and braking, respectively — without the on-road experience coming undone. If control, confidence, and comfort are the key tenets that make up Lexus’s so-called “driving signature,” the RZ is like an epic all-electric autograph.

The Future is (Almost) Now

Road feel isn’t a defining trait of modern steering, whether in an EV or otherwise, with a lack of directness that’s a result of the electrical components they’re made of. Against that backdrop, the steer-by-wire system developed entirely in-house by Lexus and its cohorts in the Toyota Corp. conglomerate might seem like more of the same. And yet its execution is simply outstanding, delivering serious improvements over an earlier iteration offered in the RZ. 

But first the bad news: the system isn’t yet available in Canada or the United States, with regulatory hurdles holding it back — at least for now. Since that process is out of Lexus’s control, the company position is a judicious one, with no official anticipation of its imminent arrival. However, we can safely assume the system will be rolled out as soon as the appropriate authorities give it the green light, which can’t come soon enough.

In the meantime, the system has been updated since its debut in the 2023 RZ, including an increase to 200 degrees of lock-to-lock rotation compared to 150 before. Where the previous version felt almost twitchy at low speeds, this revised setup is much more natural. Yes, there’s still a learning curve that comes with it, including getting the hang of handling a steering yoke instead of a wheel, but it’s far less steep than it once was.

New Performance Aspirations

Joining the existing all-wheel-drive RZ 450e and the front-wheel-drive RZ 350e that’s new for this update is another trim with four-wheel traction: the 2026 Lexus RZ 550e F Sport. It might not be as hellbent on high-performance hijinx as the hardcore Hyundai Ioniq 5 N, but this dual-motor model amps up the on-road excitement with tweaked suspension and chassis tuning to go with 408 net hp.

Yes, that’s considerably less than the Ioniq 5 N delivers — a peak of 641 hp, for those wondering — but it serves as a reminder of the more moderate nature of this Lexus. (After all, it isn’t a full-fledged F model.) But with each of its electric motors capable of cranking out an instantaneous 198 lb-ft of torque, this F Sport-enhanced version of the RZ can reach highway speeds from a standing start in a claimed 4.4 seconds.

Interestingly, the motors are identical across the RZ lineup, as is the output they’re capable of on their own. However, in the case of the 450e and 550e models, software determines how much they can spin up together. So while their motors front and back are rated for the same 224 hp — which is the same as the single motor in the front-wheel-drive 350e — the former makes 313 net hp and the latter is good for another 95 total.

Further differentiating the two is the way the steering wheel-mounted paddles can be used in the RZ 550e F Sport. While they can be used to determine the amount of regenerative braking force that’s dialled up when easing off the accelerator, just as they can in any other RZ, with the press of an M button on the console they become the kind of paddle shifters typically found in conventionally powered cars and crossovers.

The system works differently than the one developed for the Ioniq 5 N, which is a little disappointing even if their aspirations are so different. Whereas Hyundai’s allows drivers to control torque output, this version is limited to a simulated “shift shock” during upshifts, while downshifts simply adjust the regenerative braking force. Worse still, the sound effects pumped through the speakers are a little too space-age to enhance the drive experience. 

Final Thoughts

Toyota has long talked of kaizen — a Japanese word that more or less means “continuous improvement” — but no product has embodied that spirit in quite the same way as the 2026 Lexus RZ. Rather than let its first-ever EV languish, Lexus implemented serious updates barely more than two years after it launched, all of which have made the RZ markedly better.

Make no mistake: imperfections remain. Range is still short of key rivals, for example, and while the regenerative braking can be adjusted through various levels of intensity, one-pedal driving capability remains absent. But this is a significantly improved product that, if priced right, could make it a seriously appealing part of Lexus’s electrification strategy moving forward.

The 2026 RZ is set to go on sale at dealers across Canada — no more regional restrictions — later this year, with pricing information expected closer to that time. However, it’s reasonable to expect the front-wheel-drive RZ 350e to cost less than this year’s starting price of $59,960, while the range-topping RZ 550e F Sport is likely to ring in somewhere in the neighbourhood of $90,000 before freight and tax.