Well, as they say, if you can’t beat them you may as well join them. And that is the moto Toyota is taking for their all-new ev electric vehicle Lexus RZ 450e. It is impossible to know if the Yoke steering wheel was adopted at the last minute during the development process. A lot of work and time goes into the design, and test build process. However, with modern production processes, you can design and test build a new Yoke steering wheel in a matter of weeks. But you might have to skip the all important ergonomic classes.

The Lexus RZ450e is based on Toyota’s dedicated electric car platform that will also be shared with Subaru’s Bz4X and the Toyota Solterra, the electric SUV equivalent to the RAV4 Hybrid. Of course, Toyota’s Lexus brand is about positioning the company to a more exclusive customer base.

Ergo, the interior will be much more luxurious. And we are given a brief snippet of the RZ 450e’s interior cockpit featuring the Yoke steering wheel. Was Lexus inspired by Tesla’s switch to a yoke steering wheel?

Lexus is a conservative brand by nature, doing something radical is not in the company’s DNA. But the buyer profile is always changing, and the demographics are getting younger. The next generation of potential Lexus buyers is much more digitally savvy.

This next generation of buyers don’t do normal circular steering wheels. Anyway, we don’t know too much about the powertrain details. But expect a 100kwh battery pack, a potential range of 400 miles and super-fast Level 2 charger capability.

It’s so fast that when you are waiting around charging your vehicle you won’t have time to realise how tasteless a cup of Costa Coffee really is.

Toyota will fully reveal the Lexus RZ 450e on April 20.