Lexus RZ 2026 review: 550e F Sport | Porsche Macan rival tested

Lexus launched its first fully-electric car in Australia back in 2023, but it’s fair to say the RZ has hardly made an impact on the electric car scene.

Cursed at the time by high pricing, low driving range and a lack of features many EV adopters were looking for, the RZ seemed destined to sit at the bottom of the electric pecking order.

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Does it have what it takes? I took a top-spec RZ 550e F-Sport for a week to find out.

2026 Lexus RZ 550e F Sport pricing

First things first, pricing. Lexus has slashed prices from the RZ range for its latest update to the point where this sporty top-spec one at $105,000, before on-road costs, is now more affordable than the base variant (which cost over $123,000!) when it first arrived in 2023.

As a dedicated EV which shares its underpinnings with the Toyota bZ4X, the RZ’s closest rival is the Genesis GV60 from Korea, although comparisons are now difficult, because the GV60 in rear-drive form is $88,000. To get AWD like this RZ 550e you need to splash for the higher-performance GV60 Magma ($130,000).

It also needs to face-off against the Audi Q4 e-tron (AWD from $99,818), BMW iX3 ($109,900 in AWD guise) and most problematically for Lexus, the smash-hit Zeekr 7X from China which costs from just $72,900 in Performance AWD trim.

While the price-cut is welcome, and this top-spec car gets a bigger battery than before, it still feels like a let-down on range which remains a key consideration for many electric car buyers.

2026 Lexus RZ 550e F Sport energy use, range and charging

Officially this higher-performance 550 e F-Sport version has 437km of driving range according to the WLTP measuring standard, on the back of an official 18.9kWh/100km energy consumption and a slightly larger 77kWh battery pack.

My real-world test had the car’s computer reporting 410km of range, with the trip computer showing my most efficient trip being 18.8kWh/100km. It’s within a reasonable margin of error to the claim, but still disappointing in a market where many rival EVs will do 460km+ in the real world.

There are other improvements. While the RZ maintains its somewhat middling 150kW DC charging capability for a half hour (10-80 per cent) charge on a compatible station, AC charging capacity has doubled from 11kW to 22kW.

Power has also taken a jump, with total outputs now hovering at 300kW combined power for this 550e F-Sport. Unfortunately, though, all RZs are all-wheel drive, so range is a persistent issue no matter which variant you pick.

2026 Lexus RZ 550e F Sport design

On the styling front, the changes are also subtle, with this luxury mid-sizer maintaining a similar futuristic look to the pre-update version, complete with a grille-free face, and spiky aero coupe rear with twin protrusions on the roof and an interesting split spoiler atop the tailgate.

The elephant in the interior is of course the 550 e F Sport’s yoke steering wheel. It’s strange to look at and bizarre to use.

We’ll get to that in a moment, but the rest of the interior continues the futuristic theme with the asymmetrical stepped dash design, high beltline for the doors and weird little button door handles.

The multimedia screen is a good size at 14 inches, and there’s a 7.0-inch digital instrument cluster sunken into the dash complemented by a holographic head-up display for the driver.

Despite its tech overload in the interior one advantage this Lexus maintains is physical dials for the dual-zone climate control and even an audio volume dial, with a handful of shortcut buttons, too.

The steering wheel also features an array of initially very confusing buttons and controls which you get used to.

Software in the RZ is pretty basic. While it isn’t burdened by some of the gimmicks of Chinese rivals, it’s also a bit too simple for a modern EV, not featuring some of the genuinely useful innovations of some of its rivals like pet mode or detailed energy consumption data screens.

2026 Lexus RZ 550e F Sport practicality

The back seat, while offering plenty of space behind my own (182cm) driving position, feels devoid of specific luxuries. The dark trim makes it feel small, but there are air vents and USB ports on the back of the centre console along with rear seat heating.

The boot is a decent but not stellar 522 litres and there’s no spare wheel. Nor is there a vehicle-to-load system.

2026 Lexus RZ 550e F Sport drive impressions

Where this 550e variant shines, though, is behind the wheel, but it will take some getting used to.

The yoke steering can’t turn a full 360-degrees, so the steer-by-wire control makes the wheels turn to full lock after just half a rotation.

This, combined with almost zero feedback from the front wheels, is a confusing feeling. Even after a week, I couldn’t get used to the steering ratio. I found myself constantly having to correct after steering too far or too little.

Take it on a bendy back road though and you’re in for a treat. The all-wheel drive system and brilliant torque management on offer in the RZ give this swoopy EV cat-like reflexes, mind-bending amounts of grip and healthy dollops of power despite relatively modest on-paper figures.

This car highlights where Japanese automakers still maintain an advantage over their Chinese rivals. It’s brilliant to drive in unexpected and delightful ways.

Like other Lexus products, the supple suspension and gentle cabin ambiance makes for a serene place to be and the safety tech proved refreshingly non-invasive.

2026 Lexus RZ 550e F Sport ownership

An important consideration is the Lexus ownership piece which is pretty good.

A five-year, unlimited kilometre warranty is middling these days, but Lexus’ Encore ownership club, which you get five years' membership to as part of your service also includes things like loan cars at service time, as well as invites to events and track days and a range of deals with partner organisations.

Service for the RZ is required once a year or every 15,000km and for the first five years it's fixed at $395. This is good for any car, but great for a luxury brand.