BEHIND THE WHEEL: Lexus RC F
MONDAY DECEMBER 14, 2020
Look big in dimension but it shrinks as you walk up to it. It further shrinks when you are sat in the RC’s sports car centric interior and what has to be said is it feels good to be back into a coupe. Although it has a lot of power, 480 horses, it weights a lot too at 1770 kilograms. Thankfully it is light on its feet and dances with you unlike a pony car. No, it does not have the most talkative steering but it is predictable and easy to pin corners. If you missed the quad pipes, you only have a bonnet scoop and side vents to know this is the fast one.
PRO
One fine motor
Liveability
Rare sight
CON
Can be more involving
Performance exhaust needed
SPECIFICATION
5-litre V8
472hp 530Nm
8-speed Aisin
0-100 km/h: 4.2s
From A$150,500
RELATED ENTRIES
BEHIND THE WHEEL: BMW M4
BEHIND THE WHEEL: Porsche 911 Carrera 4S
BEHIND THE WHEEL: Alfa Romeo Giulia QV
Cogs are swapped in a smooth fashion which is a step up from non-F products where it is safe to assume it is an M4 to a 440i situation going on here so surely hardware is going to be nicer in the cream of the crop. On S+, the box responds well to paddle inputs though not as dynamic as a ZF. Ride is overall sporty, not overly so despite riding on non-adjustable springs. High speed stability should be excellent given at 100 km/h considering it felt like the RCF can take double beating. Brakes clamp hard and are easy to modulate which means graceful daily driving is guaranteed here.
A linear, clean, tonal V8 sounds has been employed in the F which provides something missing from almost every car today, instantaneous throttle response. Just keep in mind, all that twisting power lives high up in the registers. Sound coming out the back can be cranked up to 10 to go with some pop and crackles. On paper, it grabs 100 km/h in 4.2 seconds. While behind the wheel, it didn’t feel like it. It is either Porsche’s 4.2 could be faster or that the RC’s insulation from the outside world is better than a 911’s.
Infotainment is one thing Lexus is still struggling to this date where I believe they have already stopped trying as Apple and Android have been recently added to iron out that issue. The Mark & Levinson sound system was impressive in 2005 albeit sounding sterile and it seems to have not evolved since. So a decade later, almost every other high fidelity audio maker apart from Harman Kardon has surpassed them.
Why did I make multiple references to many other cars? Well, the F is after all based off the GS, IS and IS convertible therefore feeling like a mixed bag and I can’t help to wonder who’s this car for. One must really hate the RS4, M4, C63 and forced-induction to consider an RCF.
Overall, this RC is a nicely put together package that doesn’t blow you away the first ten times because it is that kind of car that grows on you after months of ownership. This bit is for sure as Lexus owners here in Australia, in Malaysia and in the US that I personally know are very happy with the after sales that the company provides. If you’ve had awful experiences with dealerships, you wouldn’t mind getting to one hundred a little slower. That pain in the bottom infotainment doesn’t really matter because you know you are in good hands when you buy a Lexus.