Lexus is heavily discounting the RZ 450e, its first electric model. Per a bulletin sent to dealers, the automaker is offering up to $10,000 in lease cash on the electric SUV. Unveiled last year, the RZ went on sale in the US a few months ago.
Based on the same platform as the Toyota bZ4X and Subaru Solterra, the RZ 450e is powered by a 71.4-kilowatt-hour battery pack and has 220 miles of EPA range. The RZ has all-wheel drive as standard and produces 308 horsepower, allowing for a 0-60 miles per hour time of just 4.8 seconds.
Two RZ trim levels are currently available, Premium and Luxury. Prices usually start at $59,650 and $65,150 respectively. The base Premium trim still gets plenty of equipment as standard, including a panoramic roof and a 14-inch touchscreen. Upgrading to Luxury trim gets you 20″ alloys and a Mark Levinson premium surround sound system.
According to Electrek, the best RZ lease deal is currently in Los Angeles where a dealer is offering $599 a month with $4,999 at signing. That’s roughly $200 a month less than prices used to be, representing a pretty impressive deal on paper.
That said, there must be a reason why Lexus is offering discounts on a brand-new model. Statistically the RZ does underperform when compared with other $60,000+ electric SUVs like the Cadillac Lyriq and Genesis GV70. Both the Lyriq and GV70 have better EPA ranges than Lexus’ offering. It could also be argued that they have superior driver assistance technology too.
However, the RZ could still be a competitive offering with these new lease discounts. In particular, established Lexus customers looking to transition from a hybrid could benefit.
