wivenhoe

I totally agree - the reason there are so many different models is because there are so many different needs and preferences. I’m not sure whether it’s the overall look or the two tone copper & black, but I have never had so much interest shown in any previous cars. In the last week, I have had someone stop and take a photo in a car park, stopped by someone in a supermarket car park to say he thought it was the best looking SUV he has seen and was going off to order one and the husband of my wife’s friend say he thought it looked fantastic. I doubt a Model Y would have had the same effect, but if I was doing 15,000 miles a year I am sure I would prefer a Tesla Long Range.

Apologies if my post was a bit strong - but there are so many Tesla fans that (including most online reviewers) deride the RZ without reporting any of the good points. From what I’ve read, Lexus are taking a more conservative approach so they can warrant the battery for a minimum 90% at 10 years. The majority of others warrant 70% for 7 or 8 years. It’s noticeable that the updated UX with the same battery is only warranted for 70% for 8 years and that is reported to be more efficient by having a greater range with same capacity battery as the RZ. Some dealers are telling customers that there is a software update coming which will significantly increase the range of the RZ. My contacts in customer service (very helpful and knowledgable guy) and the dealer haven’t heard this. In fact the dealer said on handover that the brief from Lexus was to stress the warranty and the real range. I hope that they are wrong and the range increases.

We ordered and bought the RZ knowing that the range and efficiency was lower than Teslas (even 7 year old ones). I didn’t fancy waiting over 2 years for a £100k+ left hand drive Model X. According to independent real range reports the Model Y Long Range with heating at 70mph is 2.9 kw / mile. Similar to the RZ in my experience. Some Tesla fans don’t see the reasons why people buy other EV’s - build quality, having a speedo that can be read without taking eyes off the road, a HUD, service centres in convenient locations, residuals that don’t plummet because the maker overnight reduces published list by £10k. I’m sure you’re very happy with your 7 year old Tesla as am I with my 3 miles / kw Lexus. The Tesla I sat in had the fit and finish of my wife’s Metro 40 years ago - it may have been a one off but as it was a demo I thought it representative of the car I would be ordering. A recent survey in the USA (massive market for Tesla’s) found - Consumer Reports recently published its updated reliability report pertaining to the most unreliable electric vehicles on the market today. As has been the case in the past, the Tesla Model S and Tesla Model X are both on the top 10 list. According to Drive Tesla Canada, Consumer Reports issued the Tesla Model S an overall score of 62 out of 100, and a two out of five for predicted reliability, which it considers less reliable than the average new car. Apologies for the very long post but I think the merits of the RZ over the Tesla are just as valid as the critical comparisons with Teslas and other marques.

Glad to see it’s going reasonably well - charger wise. The car may feel a bit more comfortable when the tyres wear in. I think I have flat spotted mine ! I am still getting a minimum of 200 with the a/c on Eco and not full time.

I think the WLTP test is unreliable. It puts the RZ Premium at 270 miles with a usable battery of 64kw = 4.2 miles / kw which is utter tosh. Nearer 3.5 would be more accurate. That said, as above, I do wonder if they have increased the usable from 64kw to say 70kw so the 270 is a bit more realistic. If increasing the usable means a bit more degradation then they are in a bit of a bind as they have sold cars with a warranty of 10 years minimum 90%. They could make any update an option with a changed warranty but that would be really messy to manage in say 9 years !

The updated UX300e has been announced with 40% more range. It now has the same battery size as the RZ but is single engine drive and a smaller car. On 17” wheels the generous WLTP range is 270 miles the same as a RZ Premium. BUT as they must have made more of the battery available for the UX they are only warranting 70% at 8 years rather than RZ’s 90% at 10 years. As per the RZ they will extend warranty to 10 years if serviced at main dealers. As the WLTP is the same for the same size battery, I can’t see Lexus providing a software update increasing the RZ range - wouldn’t that have done that on the updated UX ? I hope I am wrong.

Evoque’s have traditionally held their value so you may be ok. My Velar lost only about 10% over 2 years - I couldn’t see that rate holding. Especially with insurance costs rocketing on RR’s. I now think that Lexus has increased the list so the dealers can offer ‘discounts’ and those on the £ 500 deposits can be told they already have a say £ 3k discount. The residuals in PCP’s seem to reflect ‘normality’ with the likes of Lexus’s being circa 50% after 3 years, certainly not 80% - 90% that they actually were ! Looking at the deals available now, I think the market is heading back to what it was - discounts available on new cars and used a fair bit cheaper than new, a reversal of a few months ago.

DriveTheDeal have unregistered Audi ETron 55 Fastbacks for June delivery from a main dealer for £ 70k - £ 15k discount. Residuals are reducing too - the RR Velar I px’d against the RZ has lost £ 4K in a month. One of the reasons I bought the RZ is that I expect residuals to drop like a stone on ‘prestige cars’ so my Velar could well have lost £ 20k over the next 12 months, so it looked sensible to get rid now. I bought the RZ to keep for some time, with the comprehensive warranty. It would be economic suicide to have a 3 year old Range Rover without a warranty - approx cost £ 1k / year.

Thought this might be of interest

I’m ok with this one as it’s more than I paid !

I once bought an ex demo for the wife and despite the dealer being keen to sell he said that because of VAT they couldn’t sell it for 3 months as they had registered it in their name. Might have changed or he was wrong.

I asked if the RZ was protected against or will be and was told the RZ is on a ‘different security platform’ and there are no plans to fit plates. I asked if the ‘different security platform’ meant it was protected and the answer was I don’t know !

That’s a £ 5k less than current list but about the same if ordered last year. I don’t think it can be an ex demo as for tax reasons they must be a minimum of 3 months old. That’s the first 2 month old car I have seen for sale at a 7% discount off list. My 2 year old Range Rover Velar lost only £ 7k in px against the RZ !

I’ve just switched from a 2 year old Range Rover Velar to a RZ. The RR dealer was a Lookers franchise and they used a central booking centre which were rubbish, offered appointments weeks ahead for the inevitable warranty work and needed at least 2 months notice of a standard service. BUT they had an option ‘if your car is with us’ and this took you to an available service individual - always worked. I can’t see how a call centre 200 miles away can tell you what time you can collect your car or for it to be delivered. It was just as well that the RR dealer were very helpful and contactable as in the 2 years from new, the car was with them 8 times !

In my case, I would appreciate someone knowledgable checking my car over every year especially before an MoT after 3 years. If not now, then soon, the MoT will have to take in things like HV cabling as I am sure it would be a fire hazard or electrocution risk - the fire service already have special procedures for dealing with EV’s involved in accidents. Tesla did have some cars catching fire in the early days. Gaining the extended warranty by having the car serviced at a main dealer is a choice, not mandatory. It will take years for second hand buyers to not look for full main dealer service history so the lack of it would probably hit the residual hard - I think I am right in saying that the subsequent owners can keep the warranty going so which 5 year old car would you buy, one with full manufacturers warranty or one where you had to buy one. I came out of a Range Rover and a Land Rover extended warranty on those are about £ 1,000 / year so I’d rather pay for a service !

I can’t help with what the annual service is or the cost. I have read that the service is a only a check over and replacement of consumables such as fluids and brakes The 10 year battery warranty that the battery will have 90% is not directly linked to the 10 year extended car warranty if you have the car serviced every year at a main dealers. Toyota & Lexus offer the same warranty for all their cars.

Have an enjoyable holiday and well pleased you were pleasantly surprised with the range. My car grows on me even after 1.500 miles.

Even if they changed their mind about protecting the battery I can’t seem them going through all the testing again for say 30 miles more range. A couple of weeks ago, I read that Lexus was warning the dealers against exaggerating the range but explain why it was more accurate than other marques and stress the 90% after 10 years. I am definitely finding that even in the hot (for UK) weather and a lot of 70 mph driving that the 220 miles / 180 miles is accurate and doesn’t plunge like some others. As I said in an earlier post - it may not be the best range but it probably is the most accurate !

I do hope you’re right but are sceptical. The battery is 74kw but usable is 64kw. Even if they open it up to 100% as Tesla then it will improve by about 30 miles. Good but they kept the 10% back so they could warranty the battery 90% at 10 years. As I say I hope you are right - any chance of fettibg that from the dealer in writing ?

I’ll look forward to it. Your latest numbers are ones I recognise. Today I did 34 miles mostly with the a/c and 70 mph all the way there and back. Tonight I have 188 / 150 which is 222 / 184. I took mine down to about 15% and the range remained accurate all the way down. I do use the S Flow and Concierge, so I suggest you try that Tuesday. I have read some British articles and there seems to be a lot of cars that despite what the brochures say the real range is around 200 so maybe the RZ isn’t to far adrift.

John. That is disappointing and sounds a bit strange. When you say it showed 195 that must have been with the a/c going full blast ? Did you turn that off and see the range go to about 230+. In all my journeys the loss for the a/c is max 45 miles. apologies for the really stupid question - was it at 100% when at 195 ? Good luck with the drive the hols.

John - hope all goes well and you enjoy the drive tomorrow - looks like you’ll be seeing what the minimum range is as you’ll have the vented seat and a/c on full blast. Ask the handover guy about the Concierge function - my dealer didn’t have a clue how it worked !

John. Really sorry to hear this. If you haven’t paid for ‘protection’ it may be worth asking for it free as they have plenty of time to arrange and least they can do in recompense. That said, I recently read an article saying the RZ received special treatment in the factory so maybe that why some of the dealers are throwing it in for free ! I do think you’ll be happy with it when you finally get it.

I wonder if this type of key is the reason that new cars are coming with only 1 key with the promise of a second key when ‘chips’ are available ?

John. Hope you have an enjoyable handover with a fully charged car to have a relaxing and uneventful journey home. Make sure you get the guy handing over to turn the warning bongs off or down. I think you’ll have about 90 miles left when you hook up at home. “Hey Lexus” make my journey enjoyable !