The Lexus TZ it’s the brand’s first serious attempt at a three-row electric SUV. Lexus calls it a “Driving Lounge”. With a length of 5,100 mm and a wheelbase that stretches long enough to host a small party (3,050 mm), the TZ is a statement of excess wrapped in Japanese Zen.
Underneath the forged bamboo from Shikoku and the recycled aluminum, part of Lexus’s “circular development” attempt to save the world one luxury seat at a time, lies a 95.82 kWh battery. This powerhouse feeds a 400 HP dual-motor setup that launches this 2.6-ton beast from 0 to 100 km/h in a staggering 5.4 seconds.
Range-wise, Lexus is playing the usual game of regional optimism. You get 620 km on the Japanese WLTC cycle, a more modest 330 miles under European WLTP standards, and a sobering 300 miles according to the EPA. If you run dry, a DC fast charge will get you back to 80% in 35 minutes.
But the real story isn’t just the specs, it’s where this thing was raised. The TZ is the prodigy of the Toyota Technical Center Shimoyama (TTC-S), a facility born from Akio Toyoda’s obsession with the Nürburgring. Why go to Germany when you can build a 5.3-km mountain track in the Aichi Prefecture with a 75-meter elevation change?
This is where 3,000 engineers and designers spent their days obsessing over “Aji-migaki”, the art of refining the driving feel. They’ve essentially built a miniature Green Hell just to ensure that a massive electric family hauler handles with a level of silence and poise that would make a library jealous.
It’s a bold move, taking a vehicle designed for domestic tranquility and torturing it on a rally-spec dirt track and high-speed loops. The result is a SUV that aims to deliver “smiles to families”, assuming those families enjoy pulling G-forces while surrounded by sustainable wood trim.
