5 Reasons Why the Lexus RZ Is Depreciating at a Rapid Rate

Derailed Success

The Lexus RZ debuted at just the right time, when early adopters were scooping up EVs at a rapid rate. The RZ also arrived to much fanfare thanks to the fact that it was poised as the very first mass-market all-electric vehicle for the brand, one that was supposed to help it transition to a pure EV lineup in the coming years. However, that train has somewhat derailed as of late, and now, used RZ models are depreciating at a historically fast rate - as much as 32 percent, in fact - a phenomenon that we can attribute to a few notable reasons.

Photos: Lexus

Limited Range

For starters, the RZ debuted with one notable and rather large problem - its limited range, which comes in as low as a mere 196 miles and tops at out 266 miles. That's basically lower than just about anything else out there in this class, even mainstream EV crossovers. Making matters worse, in a recent highway range test conducted by Out of Spec, the RZ only managed to travel 172 miles on a single charge in the real world, which makes it basically a no-go for any kind of long-distance travel. 

Photos: Lexus

Mediocre Performance

Honestly, most might overlook the RZ's limited range if it instead offered up impressive performance, but that isn't the case, either. In fact, horsepower for the EV crossover ranges from a mere 201 to 308 ponies, which again lags behind basically all of its competition and also mainstream alternatives. The top-spec version of the RZ will do 0-60 in a respectable 4.6 seconds, but in the EV world, that's actually quite slow.

Photos: Lexus

Charging Speeds

Making matters worse, not only does the RZ have limited range and somewhat slumbering performance, but it's also not particularly fast when it comes to charging, either. Its 63.4 kWh battery pack is only able to handle DC fast charging speeds of up to 150 kW, which is quite honestly unacceptable when we consider that vehicles like the Tesla Model Y and Kia EV6 offer charging speeds upwards of 250 kW.

Photos: Lexus

Pricing

Then there's the matter of pricing, and in that regard, the RZ isn't competitive either, thanks to its starting MSRP of $55k. That's not only around $10k more than the Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X that it shares a platform and many components with, but also, the aforementioned Model Y and EV6, which offer shoppers far more power, faster charging, and vastly superior range. 

Photos: Lexus

Softening Demand

Honestly, all of this may have been just fine with folks looking for a luxurious EV with Lexus' reputation for quality and reliability, but the RZ has since taken another hit - softening demand for all-electric vehicles, in general, has many automakers scaling back their plans in that regard. All of this has caused a bit of a perfect storm, resulting in a bevy of cheap, used RZs currently up for sale. 

Photos: Lexus

Should You Buy One?

This means that one can now easily find a used RZ for sale with just a few thousand miles on the clock for 30 percent or more off its original sticker price, making it a potential bargain of sorts. Truthfully, scoring one of these cars in that kind of condition with a certified pre-owned warranty for around $40k actually makes it somewhat enticing, if the aforementioned limitations don't bother you. In fact, we'd be more than happy to use an RZ as a daily commuter, because it would be well-suited for that - if nothing else - but if you ever take any kind of longer drives, you'll certainly want to have another vehicle solely for that purpose. 

Photos: Lexus

>>Join the conversation about the Lexus RZ right here at ClubLexus.com.

For help with your maintenance and repair projects, please visit our How-to section in the forum.