2025 Lexus RZ vs. 2025 Tesla Model Y Comparison

If you’re shopping for a new electric vehicle (EV), the Tesla Model Y is the conventional answer. America’s best-selling EV, it has proven virtues and is readily available. The Lexus RZ is nowhere near as popular, but has the advantage of Toyota’s bulletproof reliability reputation and the social cachet of a well-known luxury brand.

Both are compact electric SUVs that seat five, with prices in the mid-$40,000 range. Each has its advantages, and might fit the needs of different buyers. Let’s explore the reasons you might choose one or the other.

2025 Lexus RZ

Lexus is known for extraordinary build quality, extraordinarily smooth rides, and quiet cabins that cocoon their owners from the world outside. EVs are known for smooth-but-brisk acceleration and exceptional quiet. You see where this is going.

The first EV from Lexus, the RZ has a butter-smooth ride and one of the quietest cabins known to automotive design (until you turn on the optional Mark Levinson sound system).

Lexus sells the RZ in front-wheel drive (FWD) RZ 300e form with 201 horsepower or in all-wheel drive (AWD) 450e form with 308 hp. Its range varies from 196 miles to 266 miles, depending on how you configure your RZ.

Lexus RZ Highlights

Refined driving character: All EVs are relatively smooth, but the RZ takes driving refinement to a new level. Its handling is light and precise, its acceleration smooth, and its cabin among the quietest we’ve tested in many years.

Exceptional, expressive cabin: Lexus offers buyers more choices than most automakers, and far more choices than Tesla. Interior design schemes include rich combinations like Thunderstorm and Macademia Ultrasuede with charcoal trim or Palamino NuLuxe (a soft faux leather), paired with nine exterior colors, including two-tone options. Tesla will build you a cabin in black or white and paint the car in just six colors (counting two grays). Tesla offers few options, while Lexus offers that extraordinary sound system and a panoramic glass roof that turns opaque at the touch of a button. If you want your car to feel custom-made for you, pick the RZ.

More conventional controls: Tesla is famous for its Spartan cabins that run nearly everything — even mirror adjustments — through a central touchscreen. The latest Model Ys lack even turn signal stalks (you use steering-wheel-mounted buttons to signal a turn). The RZ has the controls you’re used to, including turn signals and plenty of buttons and dials.

Check this week’s Fair Purchase Price or see the RZ models near you.

2025 Tesla Model Y

The Tesla Model Y is America’s best-selling electric car for a reason. Multiple trim levels with ranges over 300 miles, access to every Tesla Supercharger (the most common kind of public EV charger in America), and low prices with the help of the federal EX (excise) tax credit (until it goes away in October) make the Model Y the right answer for many buyers.

Model Y owners enjoy fun acceleration — 295 hp or 514 hp, depending on whether you choose rear-wheel drive (RWD) or all-wheel drive. They also get regular tech updates. Tesla recently added its Grok AI as a voice assistant in some Model Ys.

Tesla Model Y Highlights

Longer range: The shortest-range Model Y can travel 327 miles between charges. That’s longer than the longest RZ, at 266. If you take even semi-regular road trips, that factor alone might make this decision for you.

EX tax credit access: These two have similar MSRPs, but that’s a bit of an illusion. The Model Y qualifies for a $7,500 tax rebate from the federal government, which you can use as a down payment. The Lexus RZ does not. That makes the Model Y much more affordable for many buyers, at least until the tax credit disappears in October.

Driver assistance opinions. Tesla’s Autopilot automated driver assistance system (ADAS) helps with the steering on highways and comes standard on every Model Y. An upgrade, Full Self-Driving (Supervised), works on city streets. It’s easy to overestimate what these systems can do — they don’t let you take your attention from the road under any circumstances. But it’s also easy to enjoy their cool, high-tech feel.

Check this week’s Fair Purchase Price or see the Model Y models near you.

Similarities

The Lexus RZ and Tesla Model Y are each compact electric SUVs that seat five, with prices starting in the mid-$40,000 range.

Pricing

The Kelley Blue Book Fair Purchase Price for any individual used vehicle can vary greatly according to mileage, condition, location, and other factors.
The prices here reflect what buyers are currently paying for New 2025 Lexus RZ vehicles and New 2025 Tesla Model Y vehicles in typical condition when purchasing from a dealership.
These prices are updated weekly. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) quoted includes the destination fee, but does not include tax, license, document fees, and options.

Specifications

Conclusion

Buy the Model Y if range is a concern for you or if the EV tax rebate makes a big difference to your family budget. Buy the RZ if you’re willing to spend more for a more refined ride and greater choice.