In the not-so-distant past, an electric Lexus would have been my dream car. 10 years ago, it seemed that Lexus had figured out the secret sauce to the car industry: it was relatively fun to drive, plushly comfortable, competitively priced and far more reliable than its American and European competitors in the mid-luxury range. Fast forward a decade, and we’re in the electric car era.

Well, now the electric Lexus is here, and I drove it for a week. If this was my dream, then my dreams were pretty bland. Either my tastes have become impossibly refined, or Lexus turned into something utterly ordinary along the way.

The Lexus RZ 450E Luxury is a small SUV, which is the worst current segment of the electric market. For an electric car to be at its best, it either needs to go big, like the Ford F150 Lightning, or go very fast and slick. The RZ occupies a bland middle ground.

First, and most importantly, is the........

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