New 2026 Lexus RZ Pictures, Release Date, Colors

New 2026 Lexus RZ Pictures, Release Date, Colors  – Lexus has completely embraced the electric vehicle (EV) trend with a sport utility portfolio that has seen tremendous success in recent years. As an emissions-free addition to the popular NX and RX models, the New 2026 Lexus RZ marks the brand’s first move into fully electric mobility as opposed to the hybrid and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) versions it has been producing for years. Additionally, it falls short as an EV even if it continues the SUV tradition set by its brothers. New 2026 Lexus RZ Pictures

New 2026 Lexus RZ Redesign and Update Plan

Exterior and Interior

Instead of leather seating, Lexus has gone with synthetic suede seating surfaces, which feel extra supple to the touch, and the seats offer plenty of support for longer trips. Wearing shorts in the summer is much more pleasant since your legs won’t stick to the seat in the heat. The air conditioning performed well, even when using the default eco cooling mode that preserves electric driving range. There’s also a function that directs air to occupied seats only, reducing demand on the battery system whenever possible.  New 2026 Lexus RZ Pictures

Without an internal combustion engine, powertrain noise, vibration, and harshness are non-existent since the electric motors hum away as it provides seamless acceleration. At highway speeds, tire noise from the 20-inch wheels and tires is a little too noticeable — a less aggressive touring all-season tire may do better for comfort but will come at the expense of performance.

On ordinary roads, the ride stays smooth beyond the noise from the tires, but when going over rougher roads, the extra mass from the batteries results in excessive head-bobbing motions. Despite having such good interior comfort, the ride keeps the RZ from getting a perfect score here.

New 2026 Lexus RZ Specs

With the Executive trim, standard features include a sizeable 14-inch infotainment screen, synthetic suede seating surfaces, a 13-speaker stereo, heated steering wheel, panoramic sunroof with dimming, head-up display, heated and ventilated front seats, heated rear seats, autonomous parallel and perpendicular parking, and 20-inch alloy wheels. No additional options or packages are available on the Executive besides colour choices. 

Against others, the RZ is best compared with the Lexus NX compact and RX midsize SUVs. Size-wise, the electric RZ sits in between and is closer to the NX on the inside. The RZ and NX have similar feature sets in terms of materials, technology, and safety, and both are among the better entry-level luxury choices in that regard.

Engine and Performance

Electric vehicles offer a torrent of low-end torque compared to their gasoline and hybrid counterparts. With a smooth yet firm shove of acceleration from a stop, the RZ merges and passes like a rocket ship. With 308 hp of power on tap, getting up to speed is brisk, and the RZ enjoys a 93-hp advantage over the all-wheel-drive Toyota bZ4X. The all-wheel-drive system is seamless, too, offering consistent traction in most driving conditions.   New 2026 Lexus RZ Pictures

New 2026 Lexus RZ Fuel Economy

In base Signature trim, the RZ is good for 354 km of range, while the flagship Executive is rated at only 315 km due to its extra mass and 20-inch alloy wheels. The RZ has a relatively small 71.4-kWh battery, and it gets outdone by the BMW iX (500 km, 105 kWh), Cadillac Lyriq (494 km, 102 kWh), Tesla Model Y Long Range (497 km, 80 kWh) and Genesis Electrified GV70 (383 km, 77 kWh).

Maximum charge speed is 150 kW at a DC fast charger, which matches BMW and Cadillac. Still, it doesn’t approach the 250 kW capability of Tesla or the 350 kW capability of Genesis. In practice, 150 kW is usually more than enough, and there was an observed peak of 131 kW during this test when the starting state of charge was about 18 per cent. At that speed, it took 21 minutes to get to 70 per cent.

In real-world mixed driving, about 15 per cent of range was lost with summertime air conditioner use for about 270 km net range versus the nominal 315. In the winter, expect to lose about 20 per cent (250 km net). To compare apples to apples versus gasoline cars, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) rates the RZ at 2.3 Le/100km in the city, 2.7 on the highway, and 2.5 combined.  New 2026 Lexus RZ Pictures

New 2026 Lexus RZ Safety Features

Utilizing the brand’s latest safety suite, the Lexus RZ has a ton of standard driver-assist capability. The base Signature trim comes standard with proactive driving assist, forward collision warning with automatic braking, road sign recognition, junction turn assist with automatic braking, adaptive cruise control with curve speed management, and pedestrian, bicycle, and motorcycle detection. The flagship Executive trim adds traffic jam assist, panoramic camera views, a front cross-traffic alert system, and lane change assist.   New 2026 Lexus RZ Pictures

In practice, the systems work well together and offer added safety without being too intrusive. The proactive driving assist system is helpful for automatically managing the gap between preceding traffic, even when adaptive cruise control isn’t active. The automated lane change assist system works well, if not a bit slowly. Child seat installation is user-friendly, with readily accessible anchors.

New 2026 Lexus RZ Price and Release Date

While the base RZ Signature begins at $70,530, the Executive trim was $84,510 as-tested including $2,205 destination and $1,255 for the two-tone paint. It’s not eligible for federal rebates, but provincial or territorial ones may apply, depending on where you live. While those numbers are thousands of dollars cheaper than the competition, the relatively limited driving range doesn’t do it many favours.

Compared to other Lexus models, the NX 450h+ PHEV has 61 km of electric-only range and is nearly $79,000 with the Executive package. The larger RX 500h hybrid is $82,000 for the base model. Taken together, the RZ is better suited for travelling shorter distances in urban environments. New 2026 Lexus RZ Pictures

Overall, the New 2026 Lexus RZ is a great SUV but it could be better as an EV due to its limited battery range regardless of price. It pairs excellent interior and exterior design with generally good driving dynamics, although the ride quality could be slightly more polished. It’s nicer, faster, and better proportioned than the mainstream Toyota bZ4X that it shares underpinnings with and compares well against other hybrid and PHEV SUVs in the Lexus lineup. Even so, the RZ is probably best reserved for Lexus die-hards only.