Lexus RZ450E vs Zeekr X (awd)

What's the difference?

There are sportier EVs out there, there are more tech-savvy EVs out there, but few adhere to the luxury promise quite like the Lexus RZ, particularly at its price point.

It’s this primary characteristic which sets the RZ apart from the pack for me, and while it might not be for every first-time EV adopter, it nails the brief for the existing Lexus buyer while providing a ‘luxurious’ alternative to many of its firmer, sportier and less approachable rivals.

The Zeekr X all-wheel drive surprised me in a great way. Not only is this the first Zeekr I've driven, it's also one of the best small electric SUVs I've ever driven. There's so much to like - from the good price and quality design to the high level of safety and how easy it is to drive.

I don’t think the RZ will be for everyone, but it has some very cool details and interesting angles, regardless.

It maintains the signature Lexus face, but this time has sunk the ‘spindle’ pattern deep into its plastic grille, making for a clean nose, but perhaps one which is a little too blank for some. No doubt it needs this smooth look to maintain as low a drag coefficient as possible.

Closer inspection reveals clever detailing, like the way the spindle pattern fades into the corners, and the whole look is lifted by how wide the car is. 

Sports Luxury versions are lifted further with contrast panels accentuating the width and shape.

My favourite angle of the RZ is the rear three-quarter. The coupe window line, split spoiler design, and cool strip tail-light, complete with three-dimensional Lexus branding, looks as contemporary as it gets, not to mention sportier and more intriguing than even some of its rivals.

Savvy EV buyers might know the RZ shares its platform and overall shape with the upcoming Toyota bZ4X and its Subaru Solterra spin-off, and while those two cars look near-identical from the outside, Lexus has clearly had a lot more creative licence with the design of its take on the formula.

Inside is perhaps where this car feels the most Lexus, however. The interior design is almost entirely unrecognisable when compared to the bZ4X, with Lexus going to town with its curvy, intricate design language, and plush detailing throughout.

Padded synthetic leather trims, which match the seats, adorn the doors, which are swapped out for ultrasuede in the case of the higher-grade Sports Luxury.

And Lexus has opted for a deep-set digital dash and massive touchscreen in place of the small column-mounted screen and tablet multimedia of its Toyota and Subaru relations. 

Everywhere you look, though, there’s attention to detail, with interesting material choices from the wacky carpet to the detailing on the centre console and in the door cards. It’s unmistakably Lexus, and feels premium.

More than interesting, the design of the Zeekr X is intriguing with styling that ranges from 'ooohhhh' when you see it from the front to 'huh?' when you catch it in side profile. 

The nose design, to me anyway, looks exquisite - Porsche-SUV-like in its sporty and luxurious shape and the way the LED running lights are embedded into the bonnet is different and so special it probably makes some prestige brands a bit envious.

That side profile also looks pretty pleasing to me, until I reach that rear quarter where suddenly I feel I’m looking at panel shapes so oddly combined it’s like a puzzle with just five pieces and all of them in the wrong place.

The rear of the X looks good, but more importantly unique compared to the same templated styling many SUVs tend to safely stick to.

Zeekr and Volvo are owned by the massive Chinese car manufacturer Geely and the X is closely related to Volvo’s EX30. Once you know this you’ll see the similarities in the looks, although the less conservatively styled X is more appealing to me.

The X is also 100mm longer and all of that extra length is in the wheelbase which is 2750mm. As for the rest of the key dimensions, the overall length is 4432mm, the height is 1572mm and the width is 1836mm. So, a fairly small car.

The X’s interior is as intriguing as its exterior with the AWD version on test fitted with the no-cost option 'Mulberry & Rose' two-tone upholstery - a colour combination of maroon and off-white which you don’t see often unless it's a bespoke choice in a high-end car.

No, it’s not leather, but I don’t think this upholstery doesn't feel cheap or ‘plasticky’ as some synthetic leather interiors do.   

There are high quality touches throughout, from the dotted city scape of Hangzhou where Zeekr is headquartered that glows through the door trim fabric at night to the embossed Zeekr pull tabs on the seats.

The X’s interior feels luxurious and the styling is outstanding.

The RZ benefits from its electric-from-the-ground-up 'e-TNGA' platform, which offers an almost flat floor, wide, spacious cabin (despite its coupe-look rear) and there are plenty of clever touches throughout to enhance practicality.

The doors each offer a pocket with integrated bottle holder up front, there’s a wide centre console with a set of large bottle holders, and the clever dual-hinged armrest console which appears in other Lexus products, and a large bay under the multimedia unit which houses additional storage alongside the wireless charger.

Interestingly, the RZ doesn’t have a glove box on the passenger side, as this area is reserved for the infra-red projector in the Sports Luxury grade. 

Instead, the car has a cutaway underneath the bridge-design centre console for additional storage. It’s a welcome and surprisingly large area which also houses a 12V power outlet. However it’s a little tricky to reach when seated up front.

Adjustability feels good for the driver with decent leg and headroom, alongside a tilt and telescopic steering column.

There are dials for the climate controls and a centre dial for the volume adjustment, although there are still many functions - from drive mode to essential safety toggles - that are buried more than one menu deep in the touchscreen, and therefore a little clumsy to jab at while you’re driving.

The back seat offers excellent space for someone my size. At 182cm tall I had leagues of knee room and decent headroom, and of course all the soft trims continue. 

Bottle holders appear in the doors and drop-down centre armrest, and rear passengers score dual adjustable air vents and two USB-C power outlets. 

There are map pockets on the back of the front seats, and the higher-end Sports Luxury grade offers dual heated seats and a separate fixed sunroof panel for the enjoyment of rear passengers.

One interesting piece, however, is the high floor. Designed to facilitate the batteries, the high floor means you feel tilted back in the rear seats, like your knees are far off the ground.

The boot, meanwhile, is also surprisingly spacious given the raked rear window. At 522 litres it outranks most mid-size SUVs, and while it seems deeper than it is tall, it should be more than sufficient for the airport run or trips to the local Golf course.

An underfloor storage area is convenient for the stowage of your charging cables.

Small cars don’t generally have the practicality of larger ones because of the obvious space limitations but the Zeekr X has a long wheelbase for the class (longer than the Mitsubishi Outlander’s) making it roomy compared to rivals.

Second row head- and legroom is good and even at 189cm tall I can sit behind my driving position. Back there are two cupholders in the fold down centre armrest, directional air vents in the pillars and bottle holders in the doors. 

Back seat downsides? No USB ports and the way the rear door sill kicks up means my two children (both under 10 years old) can’t see out of their windows well.

Up front space is good with plenty of elbow and foot room. Storage is good, too, with big door pockets, a couple of cupholders, a deep centre console bin and even a hook for a handbag or to hang a takeaway bag. There are USB ports up front and a wireless phone charger, too.

Front seat downsides? No glove box, and while we're at it the panoramic glass roof doesn’t have a sun shade and even though it is tinted I found that over summer in Australia the car heated up quickly and I’ve even had to wear a hat while driving to keep the sun off my head and face. 

The Zeekr X has a decent-for-the-class 362L rear boot capacity and a tiny 21L front boot which is where the charging cable lives.

The Zeekr X tested is the top-of-the-range all-wheel drive which lists for $64,900. The only other variant in the X model line-up is the rear-wheel drive which lists for $56,900.

Sure, $65K might seem a lot for what is a small SUV, but the X AWD is reasonably priced compared to rivals like the tinier Smart #1 for $58,900, its Volvo EX30 Performance Ultra twin for $69,990 and the Xpeng Long Range for $59,800.

We’ll get to the technical specs soon, but the all-wheel drive variant offers more than just AWD, there’s also more standard features than the RWD.

The RWD X comes with two-tone body colour with a black roof, a panoramic glass roof, a six-way power driver’s seat, an 8.8-inch digital instrument cluster and a 14.6-inch media screen.

There’s also Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, a seven-speaker audio system, dual-zone climate control and wireless phone charging.

The AWD has all of the RWD’s features and adds 20-inch alloy wheels, a 24.3-inch head-up display, an intelligent B-pillar which provides information on charging, a power adjustable front passenger seat, heated and ventilated front seats, a heated steering wheel, a 13-speaker Yamaha stereo and LED ambient lighting.   

The RWD has just one motor while the AWD has two and more power, which we’ll cover soon.

The RZ is only available with one powertrain choice, a dual-motor all-wheel drive set-up dubbed the 450e.

Unlike some systems, this dual-motor arrangement is far from symmetrical, with by far the majority of power sent to the front wheels.

Total system output is rated at 230kW/435Nm, consisting of 150kW/266Nm from the front, and just 80kW/169Nm from the rear.

Interestingly, this is significantly more punch than the Toyota bZ4X, further setting this Lexus apart.

The RZ uses a clever torque-vectoring system to make the most of this set-up when cornering, and debuts some interesting new tech like computer-balanced brakes to keep the car level under heavy deceleration as well as new adaptive pistons in the suspension to help the car adjust to different surfaces.

On test is the all-wheel drive version of the Zeekr X which has two motors while the rear-wheel drive has just one.

Two motors brings the AWD variant more power and torque than the RWD. A lot more. Zeekr’s specs state the combined output for the AWD is 315kW and 543Nm, while the RWD has 200kW and 343Nm.

Good traction and plenty of grunt means the AWD can accelerate from 0-100km/h in 3.8 seconds, while the RWD gets there in a respectable time of 5.6 seconds.

Electric cars are known for their rapid acceleration but just to put those numbers in context, a new base model Porsche 911 ($280K) has 290kW and 450Nm and does 0-100km/h in 4.1 seconds.

Quoted range for the RZ is 470km, however this is to the more lenient NEDC testing cycle, as accepted by the Australian Design Rules. 

However, its real-world range is more like 400km, which is as it is more accurately measured to the WLTP standard.

The 71.4kWh battery pack is supported by a 150kW max DC charging speed, allowing a 10-80 per cent top-up in 30 minutes.

On a slower public AC charger, the RZ can pull a maximum speed of 11kW for charging in around six and a half hours, while single-phase charging, as you might get from a home wallbox system, at a rate of 7.0kW allows a charge time in around 10 hours.

Lexus throws in a public Type 2 charging cable, home wallbox installation, and a three-year Chargefox subscription (covering free fast charging) as part of an RZ purchase. Clever.

Officially the RZ consumes 18.7kWh/100km on the combined cycle according to the WLTP standard and I was surprised to find our car consumed 18.6kWh/100km during the test drive loop. 

For context, anything under 20kWh/100km is reasonably impressive in the premium EV space.

The Zeekr X all-wheel drive has a range of up to 470km (WLTP), but if anything under 500km already has you twitching with anxiety, the rear-wheel drive's 540km range might alleviate some of that.

We found the range of the AWD to be fine for the city, but also learnt that we chewed through a lot of energy at an average of 18.4kWh/100km according to the trip computer.

Zeekr says after a combination of open and urban roads you’ll likely use 15.5kWh/100km, but you’d need to be a smooth driver that’s not tempted to test the acceleration at every traffic light and drain the battery.

Speaking of which, the Zeekr X has a 66kWh battery with a DC charging capacity of 150kW and at that rate can be charged from 10-80 percent in about 30 minutes. 

Usually EVs, even premium ones, have a particular formula to the way they drive. 

Hefty, firm, and usually break-neck fast is the default position, with seemingly every manufacturer trying to remind buyers they too can be as fast as a Tesla.

However, the RZ breaks with the premium pack, offering a car which leans more into the luxury promise than maybe any other right now.

It’s a relatively serene space in the cabin, with notably limited wind or tyre noise, and a gentle steering tune which makes the car effortless to pivot into corners. 

This combines with the clever torque vectoring system, and lenient suspension to have the RZ simply wafting through corners.

The ride is interesting in that it is so far from the norm for the EV space. It is the opposite of firm and aggressive, with the car gently leaning into bends and barely feeling the texture of the road.

Small, rough bumps and high-frequency corrugations are dispatched with ease, the car simply floating over them, even when loaded up in corners, although, on the flip-side, longer undulations have it bouncing up and down a bit after-the-fact, perhaps a consequence of the doughy ride having to deal with the well-hidden weight of its batteries.

Despite efforts to deal with body-roll, there’s a notable amount, a consequence of the forgiving ride.

While these characteristics make the RZ a far more luxurious proposition on the road than many of its rivals, it is notable in how much it lacks a feel for the road. 

The steering is so electrically augmented it feels almost simulated, no matter which drive mode you select, and little of the road surface is communicated well to the driver. 

Even the brake pedal feels lifeless and distant, as it combines regenerative braking with the actual discs in a purely digitised progression.

The steering, acceleration and regenerative braking are all heavily altered by drive mode, with the car lacking a single-pedal drive setting, instead being fairly hands-off with the system. 

Some, looking for a particular EV drive experience, may be happy with this, others will appreciate how ‘normal’ the RZ feels in this department.

While the car feels disconnected in a sense, there’s no doubt the brakes work, the steering is effective, and it is deceptively quick. 

Its soft character might have you assuming it's slow, but a hot-hatch baiting 5.3 second 0-100km/h sprint time seems alarmingly achievable in the Sport mode.

One thing is for sure - everything described here is deliberate. Lexus has made a choice to go against the grain and do something different when it comes to the way this mid-size EV feels. 

To many existing Lexus loyalists, there will be a lot which is familiar, while providing a slice of the future, yet it might be far from the most engaging EV to drive. It certainly provides a gentler and more luxurious - if a little lifeless - alternative to the sporty status quo.

In short, the Zeekr X is outstanding to drive for the class - it’s composed, comfortable as well as easy and fun to pilot. 

Everything feels good - from the steering and the pedals to the seats and visibility.

The tech works well - the head-up display is large and shows directions and speed clearly, and the shifter being on the steering column makes three-point turns and just getting out of car parking spaces easy.

The acceleration is ridiculously good, but that novelty wears off after you’ve shown everybody in your family, which is why it’s lucky it's not the only thing this small SUV does really well.

While it’s not as spacious as the other large SUV I was testing at the time - the Zeekr X’s short length means it was the car I picked if I needed to go somewhere close where I knew parking spaces would be a bit squeezy.

The Zeekr X scored the maximum five-star ANCAP rating under the stringent 2024 criteria with a high 91 per cent for adult occupant protection and an impressive 87 per cent for child occupant protection.

The advanced safety tech is also impressive with AEB that not only detect pedestrians, cyclists and other cars on a straight road but also while turning at junctions and T intersections.

There’s lane keeping assistance, blind-spot warning, front and rear cross-traffic alert and airbags covering the front and rear occupants including a front centre airbag.

I used the Zeekr X to drive my own kids around and for child seats there are three top tether anchor points and two ISOFIX mounts in the second row. 

One of the key Lexus selling points is its ‘Encore’ ownership promise, which is at its best on its EV models.

For the RZ this includes a complementary 7.0kW home wallbox charger installation for those with garages, the inclusion of a wall socket and public Type 2 charging cables, a three-year Chargefox subscription keeping even your high-speed charging free for the duration.

The warranty is five years, unlimited kilometres, with roadside assist included.

Capped price servicing is available over five years, weighing in at $395 per 12 month or 15,000km interval, whichever comes first.

Lexus will also organise to pick up and drop off a loan vehicle at service time, while the high-voltage battery is covered by up to 10 years of warranty if the logbook is adhered to at an authorised Lexus workshop.

The brand also offers extra benefits through its ownership program, like deals at hotels and restaurants, as well as invites to events like track or golf days.

This is an impressive above-and-beyond suite of offerings befitting a premium brand, although it should be pointed out some premium EV rivals offer service intervals which are twice as long, and even free servicing for the entire warranty period.

The X is covered by Zeekr’s five-year, unlimited-kilometre warranty while the drive battery has an eight-year, 160,000km warranty. Roadside assistance and connected services are also offered for five years.

Servicing is recommended every two years or 40,000km. 

Service pricing is $690 at two years/40,000km and $1420 at the four-year/80,000km mark, which covers the warranty period. For reference, the same $690/$1420 sequence is repeated at the six-year/120,000km and eight-year 160,000km intervals.