Lexus with Knight Rider steering wheel
An official image shows a Knight Rider steering wheel mounted in the future Lexus RZ 450e electric car. What else can be said about the Japanese?
Subaru's first all-electric vehicle will be unveiled this year. The Solttera is the brother of the Toyota BZ4X, a 4.70-meter-long electric SUV that starts at 47,490 dollars.
Toyota specifies a maximum range of 513 kilometers for the BZ4X from a 71.4 kWh battery. Toyota and Subaru have collaborated since October 2005, resulting in a variety of models.
Now comes Toyota's luxury brand Lexus, which will unveil a new electric vehicle on April 20th, which will most likely be substantially more expensive than the Toyota BZ4X.
As an appetizer, the Japanese manufacturer has already provided two photographs that reveal, among other things, a strangely curved steering wheel evocative of the control unit from the TV series Knight Rider's KITT sports car.
Lexus' future electric vehicle will be an SUV named the RZ 450e. The interior bears a resemblance to the Toyota BZ4X, which will also be available with this oddly curved steering wheel for an additional fee.
The Japanese have built a steering wheel that is not circular, based on Tesla and the current Model S Plaid. Carmakers are likely using the unique D-shape to guarantee that drivers always keep their hands in the proper position, i.e. at 9 and 3 o'clock.
Many drivers are dubious of the Tesla Model S Plaid's newly designed steering wheel, which does not enable you to shift your grip, for example, when parking.
More information on the new Lexus RZ 450e will be accessible exclusively at the premiere on April 20. The Lexus may also have a 71.4 kWh battery and a new built-in navigation system based on Android Automotive but lacking Google services.
Perhaps the Japanese will form cooperation with Tomtomout of necessity. The only thing that is certain is that the world's largest automaker will release a total of 30 battery-electric car models by 2030. The Toyota BZ4X is one of these 30 electric vehicles, and the Lexus RZ 450e is another.
To differentiate itself from the competition, Toyota relies on a ten-year battery guarantee from the date of purchase, promising that the state-of-health value would remain at 90 percent even after ten years.
The context is that the aging rate of battery cells should be slower than that of the competition. Each charging procedure ages battery cells, especially if the cell is stressed by charging the battery quickly and frequently.
