![]() ![]() ![]() Weirdly, when I asked Lexus’ engineers what benefits this system offers compared to a conventional steering setup, they couldn’t offer a compelling answer. The unpredictability of the variable steering made it a handful, and the yoke itself makes the RZ really hard to handle. But when I got behind the wheel (sorry, the yoke), suddenly, 32 km/h felt like too much speed. When company representatives initially asked me to keep my speed under 32 km/h, I laughed. ![]() While testing the RZ 450e at a media event, Lexus had me negotiate a small cone course in a parking lot before letting me set off on the road in a steer-by-wire RZ. However, at low speeds, it’s extremely confusing and difficult to drive smoothly. On the road, this feels mostly fine - it’s rare that you’ll be adding a ton of steering input during normal driving. This would be easier to understand in something like the Toyota BZ4X, which has a far less conventional dash layout. Lexus claims that the yoke design makes it easier to see the instrument screen, but I didn’t find the display in the conventional RZ difficult to see at all – and at 1.83 m, 4 inches tall, I often have issues with steering wheels blocking gauges. In an RZ with drive-by-wire, the conventional steering wheel is replaced with a yoke. I drove a preproduction vehicle equipped with steer-by-wire, and I can’t see a reason why you’d choose this over conventional steering. Now, Lexus is looking to bring steer-by-wire to market in the forthcoming RZ 450e electric crossover. It’s a weird idea, and while companies have dabbled with it in the past (Canoo, for example, has a design that earned regulatory approval, and Infiniti had a not-so-great system in the Q50 back in like 2013), it’s never been something that customers embraced. If the idea of driving a car that has no physical connection between the steering wheel and the car’s front wheels makes you nervous, then you’re probably not alone. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |