Toyota Malaysia has finally added a fully electric offering to its lineup. Despite testing the Toyota bZ4X electric SUV on Malaysian roads for the past few years, the first EV from the Japanese brand for our market is actually the Lexus RZ 450e which was originally announced back in 2022.
Lexus RZ 450e Malaysia pricing, colourway, warranty
In Malaysia, the Lexus RZ 450e can be obtained in just the Luxury trim with a starting On-The-Road (OTR) price of RM429,888 not inclusive of insurance.
According to the configurator on Lexus Malaysia’s website, you can choose to have it in Sonic Quartz, Sonic Chrome, Sonic Iridium, Graphite Black, Sonic Copper, and Aethar Metallic. For its interior, only one colour is available for our market which is the Grayscale Ultrasuede Leather with Tsuyasumi Trim.
The RZ 450e is protected by a 5-year, unlimited mileage warranty while its high-voltage battery, inverter, and ECU are covered by a separated 8-year warranty which also has unlimited mileage. Customers will also receive a complimentary package worth RM13,000 that includes of home wallbox charger, portable EV charger, dashcam, and RFID sticker.
Lexus RZ 450e Luxury Malaysia specs
The Lexus RZ450e is equipped with two electric motors with a total output of 230kW (308hp) alongside 435Nm of total torque. This all-wheel drive (AWD) model which utilises the same e-TNGA platform as bZ4x and Subaru Solterra is capable of going from 0-100km/h in 5.3 seconds alongside a top speed of 160km/h.
Battery-wise, the RZ 450e is running on a 71.4kWh lithium-ion battery that allows it to deliver a WLTP-rated range of 440km. It has also been fitted with an 11kW AC onboard charger and supports DC charging of up to 150kW.
Physically, the RZ 450e has a wheelbase of 2,850mm alongside an overall length of 4,805mm, 1,895mm wide, and 1,635mm tall. It also features a sizeable 522 litre of boot space which can be expanded further to 1,451 litre.
Meanwhile, the electric SUV also comes standard with a 14-inch infotainment touchscreen and 13-speaker surround sound system from Mark Levinson alongside the support for Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. For the driver, there is also a 7-inch digital instrument screen which is being augmented by a head-up display (HUD).
In terms of safety, this electric SUV has been fitted with 7 airbags. There are also plenty of features that have been included inside its Advanced Driver Assistance System (ADAS) which is officially known as the Lexus Safety System+.
Among them include the Dynamic Radar Cruise Control with Stop & Go function and Curve Speed Reduction as well as the Lane Tracing Assist, Lane Departure Alert, Adaptive High-beam System, and Front Pre-Collision System. There are also other active safety features such as Lane Change Assist, Road Sign Assist, Blind Spot Monitor, Rear Cross Traffic Alert, Lexus Teammate Advanced Park system and many more.
Lexus RZ 450e has a built-in battery “protection” for DC charging
In order to protect the longevity of the high voltage battery inside the RZ 450e, Lexus has implemented a rather interesting mechanism on the EV. In general, there is a “limit” on how many times you can charge the RZ 450e through DC charging as described by Lexus Canada:
To help maintain long-term battery health, DC Fast Charging is limited to two cycles of charging (Low → 80%) per day throughout the year.
However, an RZ 450e’s owner on Reddit has said that Lexus may have changed the current limit to three cycles within a rolling 24 hour period. Even if you hit the limit, the EV can still be charged through DC but the charging speed will be greatly reduced.
As you may expect, this “protection” mechanism also exists on the Toyota bZ4X. That being said, it is unclear at the moment whether this mechanism applies to RZ 450e units that are coming to Malaysia or otherwise.
