Compare the2025 Cadillac LyriqVS 2025 Lexus RZ

Both the Lyriq and RZ have child safety locks to prevent children from opening the rear doors. The Lyriq has power child safety locks, allowing the driver to activate and deactivate them from the driver's seat and to know when they're engaged. The RZ’s child locks have to be individually engaged at each rear door with a manual switch. The driver can’t know the status of the locks without opening the doors and checking them.

The Lyriq’s standard pretensioning seatbelts also sense rear collisions and remove slack from the seatbelts to help protect the occupants from whiplash and other injuries. The RZ doesn’t offer a whiplash protection system.

In a Vehicle-to-Vehicle Frontal Crash Prevention 2.0 test conducted by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety (IIHS), the Cadillac Lyriq achieved a “Good” rating - the highest possible - for its performance in forward collision warning and automatic braking systems, demonstrating its excellent capabilities in preventing collisions. The Lexus RZ has not been tested.

To help make backing out of a parking space safer, the Lyriq has standard Rear Cross Traffic Alert with Rear Cross Traffic Braking, systems which detect vehicles approaching from the sides and can automatically apply the brakes to prevent a collision. Only the RZ Premium/Luxury offers Parking Support Brake.

Both the Lyriq and the RZ have standard driver and passenger frontal airbags, front side-impact airbags, driver and front passenger knee airbags, side-impact head airbags, front and rear seatbelt pretensioners, height adjustable front shoulder belts, four-wheel antilock brakes, traction control, electronic stability systems to prevent skidding, crash mitigating brakes, daytime running lights, lane departure warning systems, blind spot warning systems, rearview cameras, rear cross-path warning and available driver alert monitors.

The Cadillac Lyriq weighs 987 to 1561 pounds more than the Lexus RZ. The NHTSA advises that heavier vehicles are much safer in collisions than their significantly lighter counterparts.

There are over 2 times as many Cadillac dealers as there are Lexus dealers, which makes it much easier should you ever need service under the Lyriq’s warranty.

The Lyriq’s standard electric motor produces 164 more horsepower (365 vs. 201) and 129 lbs.-ft. more torque (325 vs. 196) than the RZ 300e’s standard electric motor. The Lyriq’s electric motor produces 57 more horsepower (365 vs. 308) and 4 lbs.-ft. more torque (325 vs. 321) than the RZ 450e’s optional electric motors. The Lyriq’s optional electric motors produces 207 more horsepower (515 vs. 308) and 129 lbs.-ft. more torque (450 vs. 321) than the RZ 450e’s optional electric motors.

The Lyriq can travel longer on a full charge than the RZ on a full charge:

The Lyriq stops shorter than the RZ:

For better traction, the Lyriq has larger standard tires than the RZ (265/50R20 vs. 235/60R18). The Lyriq’s optional tires are larger than the largest tires available on the RZ (275/40R22 vs. 235/60R18).

The Lyriq’s standard tires provide better handling because they have a lower 50 series profile (height to width ratio) that provides a stiffer sidewall than the RZ’s standard 60 series front and 55 series rear tires. The Lyriq’s optional tires have a lower 40 series profile than the RZ’s optional 50 series front and 45 series rear tires.

For better ride, handling and brake cooling the Lyriq has standard 20-inch wheels. Smaller 18-inch wheels are standard on the RZ. The Lyriq’s optional 22-inch wheels are larger than the 20-inch wheels optional on the RZ.

The Cadillac Lyriq’s wheels have 6 lugs for longer wheel bearing life, less chance of rotor warping and greater strength. The Lexus RZ only has 5 wheel lugs per wheel.

Having a flat tire is dangerous, inconvenient and expensive. The self-sealing tires standard on the Lyriq can automatically seal most punctures up to 3/16 of an inch, effectively preventing most flat tires. The RZ doesn’t offer self-sealing tires.

For a smoother ride and more stable handling, the Lyriq’s wheelbase is 9.6 inches longer than on the RZ (121.8 inches vs. 112.2 inches).

For better handling and stability, the track (width between the wheels) on the Lyriq is 2.5 inches wider in the front and 2.1 inches wider in the rear than on the RZ.

The Lyriq’s front to rear weight distribution is more even (50% to 50%) than the RZ’s (54.2% to 45.8%). This gives the Lyriq more stable handling and braking.

The Lyriq has 2.2 inches more front legroom, 1.8 inches more front hip room, 2 inches more front shoulder room, 2.1 inches more rear legroom, 2.2 inches more rear hip room and 4.3 inches more rear shoulder room than the RZ.

The Lyriq has a larger cargo volume with its rear seat folded than the RZ with its rear seat folded (60.8 vs. 55.6 cubic feet).

A low lift-over cargo hatch design makes loading and unloading the Lyriq easier. The Lyriq’s cargo hatch lift-over height is 28.5 inches, while the RZ’s liftover is 29.8 inches.

Pressing a switch automatically lowers the Lyriq’s optional rear seats, to make changing between passengers and cargo easier. The RZ doesn’t offer automatic folding seats.

Maximum trailer towing in the Lexus RZ is limited to 0 pounds. The Lyriq AWD offers up to a 3500 lbs. towing capacity.

Standard Trailer Sway Control on the Lyriq uses the StabiliTrak® sensors to detect trailer sway, then uses individual brakes to counteract any swaying and help keep the tow vehicle and trailer steady. The RZ doesn’t offer electronic trailer sway control.

The Lyriq uses gas struts to support the hood for easier service access. The RZ uses a prop rod to support its heavy hood. It takes two hands to open the hood and set the prop rod, the prop rod gets in the way during maintenance and service, and the prop rod could be knocked out, causing the heavy hood to fall on the person maintaining or servicing the car.

Unlike the driver-only memory system in the RZ Premium/Luxury, the Lyriq has standard driver and passenger memory, so that when drivers switch, the memory setting adjusts the driver’s seat, steering wheel position and outside mirror angle and the front passenger seat also adjusts to the new passenger’s preset preferences.

The power windows standard on both the Lyriq and the RZ have locks to prevent small children from operating them. When the lock on the Lyriq is engaged the driver can still operate all of the windows, for instance to close one opened by a child. The RZ prevents the driver from operating the other windows just as it does the other passengers.

To help drivers avoid possible obstacles, the Lyriq has standard cornering lights to illuminate around corners when the turn signals are activated. The RZ doesn’t offer cornering lights.

The Lyriq offers optional massaging front seats in order to maximize comfort and eliminate fatigue on long trips. Massaging seats aren’t available in the RZ.

Motor Trend performed a comparison test in its January 2024 issue and they ranked the Cadillac Lyriq Luxury AWD higher than the Lexus RZ 450e Luxury.

The Cadillac Lyriq outsold the Lexus RZ by almost three to one during 2024.