Kia EV5 vs Lexus RZ

The Lexus RZ costs £14,650 more than the Kia EV5. For that premium it adds a 0.8s quicker 0-62mph time. On EVcarsguide's combined category scores, the Lexus RZ comes out ahead overall.

The Kia EV5 is £14,650 cheaper to buy. The Lexus RZ is cheaper to charge, roughly £152 a year versus £184 for the Kia EV5, at 8,000 miles on an off-peak home tariff. Add 5 years of charging and the Kia EV5 comes out roughly £14,490 cheaper overall. These figures cover list price and home charging only - insurance, servicing, tyres and depreciation will move the real total.

EVcarsguide estimates a real-world motorway range of about 235 miles for the Kia EV5 and 294 miles for the Lexus RZ - both below their WLTP figures, because sustained high speed is the hardest case for an EV. The Lexus RZ goes roughly 58 miles further between charging stops. Both rapid-charge to 80% in a similar time, around 30-31 minutes.

The two are within 20 mm on width, so neither is meaningfully easier to thread into a tight space. In a standard 2,400 mm bay that leaves about 525 mm of total clearance for the Kia EV5 and about 505 mm of total clearance for the Lexus RZ. The Kia EV5 also turns in a 0.4 m tighter circle, which helps with U-turns and multi-storey ramps.