I am considering leasing Lexus RZ 450e.
Any experiences (good or bad) with the car?
I assume Tesla adapter is available.So, supercharging should not be an issue.
Thanks
What is the reason you want a Lexus RZ450e versus other similar vehicles like the RZ300e, Toyota bZ, Subaru Solterra, or non-Toyota EVs? Be aware that larger wheel and/or AWD options tend to give worse efficiency and range.
Will you have home charging? This is typically more convenient for daily use and typically cheaper than public fast charging (Tesla Supercharger or otherwise).
I am considering RZ 450 because it is AWD and has more HP than RZ 300. Being Lexus, there is luxury feel inside the cabin which is missing in Tesla and other EV. Also, there is a better deal on RZ leases compared to Tesla. I am aware of the range limitations. But, I am mostly going to charge at home using Level 2 charger. With availability of Tesla adapter, i should also be able to charge at Tesla superchArgers for long road trip.
Thanks
Not all Superchargers are open to NACS partners (requires adapter for CCS1 vehicles; you should check if Toyota is now included or when it will be included) or other EVs (Magic Dock). Also, even some of the Superchargers open to NACS partners have short cables designed for Tesla left-rear charging ports, so that it may require creative parking to plug into a vehicle with another charging port location.
https://www.tesla.com/findus?bounds=53.0328224029061%2C-70.21403711875%2C21.03046709060687%2C-142.85563868125&filters=nacs_superchargers%2Copen_to_all_evs_superchargers can show you which Superchargers are open to NACS partners or other EVs (without the Tesla-only ones). If you click on a specific Supercharger, you will see that the prices are higher for non-Tesla vehicles (presumably, they want to make money on other EVs, versus offering lower prices for Tesla vehicles to get people to buy Tesla vehicles).
You can use https://www.plugshare.com/ to check locations of all charging stations (use filters to include only fast charging stations) and https://abetterrouteplanner.com/ to help plan charging stops for road trips.
Thanks @ucbalumnus for your insights in the charging EV. Now, I am having second thoughts about going with RZ. Also, the lease cost is not much different between RZ450 and Tesla Y model.
What deals are out there for the Lucid Gravity?
I would think aggressive. I would also expect that like the Air, they have among the longest range in SUVs. I bought my EV with range as the primary determinant, followed by ride and materials quality. Buying a short range EV defeats the purpose, to my mind.
Look here:
How much range is “enough” varies from one person to another.
I have a 2024 Polestar 2 Long range single motor. It’s been fantastic. Yes you can use an adapter for the Tesla supercharger. I charge at home actually with their level 1 charger (comes with a level 2 adaptor as well) since I drive every other day, my car charges back up to 90%, with little problems. That’s 72 miles round trip. We get 320 miles if charged to 100%but we actually get more in real life. Polestar doesn’t fudge the numbers like other companies like, well, Tesla. Polestar recommends charging to 90% not 80% like lots of evs.
It’s a beautiful car inside and out and comfortable.
. I am on their forum and talk to others all over the world. People are very happy with the car. It’s very comfortable and it’s a car with buttons. It comes from the performance division of Volvo.
It also has built in Google so we just plug into Google maps and it will take you to the proper charger etc. Not a fan of A Better Route. I just find it confusing actually.
We are driving to Virginia from Chicago this weekend for a wedding and going through Lexington KY. No issues with charger especially with the range I get. It’s also a very efficient car.
They have their Polestar 3/4 also. If you want larger.
Lucid air /Gravity is nice as mentioned.
We took a recent long drive and stopped at several superchargers. At one supercharger there was a Toyota parked next to us. No problem using the supercharger.
Older Teslas, like mine, are usually charged to 80%, with an occasional charge to a higher amount when travelling (we charge to 100% at home if we are taking a long road trip, but may charge to 90% at a supercharger). Newer teslas, with newer batteries, can (and I think maybe should) be charged to 100%.
We don’t have an EV. But recently we drove from the east coast to Ohio. There were chargers everywhere we stopped…and every single one was not working. This was on the NY Thruway.
Charger chains (EVgo, Plugshare, blink, Chargepoint, etc) have probably not been maintained well. And sadly, many were vandalized. IIRC one of those chains got sold. The tesla supercharger network is, however, wonderful, reliable and fast.
If you’re open to a sedan, I recommend you take the the Lucid Air Pure for a ride if you have a dealership nearby. May be more than you want to spend, but they seem to have a lease deal out now which may make it at least worth a test drive.
But beware and test drive at your peril. My friends will tell you I rail against paying for a depreciating asset and so hadn’t bought a car in years. Went to the Lucid Studio out of curiosity. Drove the Pure. Ended up buying a Grand Touring with 19” wheels so no range anxiety whatsoever.
They are amazing driving experiences.
Any EV can be charged to 100% any time.
However, spending a lot of time at high state of charge can increase degradation of battery capacity, depending on the battery chemistry. “High” depends on the battery chemistry, and may be >55% (most Teslas in the US), >60% (most non Tesla EVs in the US), or >70% (some Model 3 and Mustang Mach-E standard range in the US).
Tesla recommends charging the older battery to 80% but yes, its fine to charge it to 100% occasionally, which is what we do when taking a long trip.
for EV, I would like to stay around $400 per month lease with $4 k down. This eliminates Lucid, Polstar etc. Also, not sure how is their service network in case of repairs. Since Tesla is so common these days, I am leaning towards it. Then, Lexus RZ deals are very attractive and of course, Lexus brand.
You may want to look up whether you want the 2026 model year version of the RZ (or bZ or Solterra, which are similar), since they appear to have significant improvements in their EV characteristics (range, efficiency, fast charging) that have been mentioned in the automotive press.