Lexus RC review: Sporty RC is the total package
Even tho’ they`re accurately impractical (with their awkward back seats and difficult-to-drive characteristics), there`s something about a swooping coupe form that sends the pulse racing and creates a mental picture of you in the driving seat.
Then the reality of a family hatchback or people carrier brings you crashing back down to earth. Of course the other thing we associate with sporty cars is youth, which is one of the largest myths in the car industry.
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The reality is that most fresh sports cars, coupes and grand tourers are beyond the financial reach of youthfull consumers and most are bought by 50-something buyers. This fresh RC from Lexus, Toyota`s premium sub-brand, is the flawless example.
The company describes it as «a two-door coupe that supplies. a refined and engaging driving practice» but that word «refined» gives the game away, especially when the company admits that albeit it is aimed at junior buyers than its usual clientele, that usual clientele is already in its mid-50s.
If Lexus is right, that means the RC will be the kind of car that those buyers hitting a significant bday (ending in zero and beginning with five) will be buying to feast a minor midlife crisis.
The RC has a Two.5-litre engine
The RC certainly looks just the car to be noticed in. That eye-catching exterior design has the classic long nose and brief rear overhang of a traditional coupe combined with Lexus`s futuristic corporate design cues with its broad grille and L-shaped headlights.
It`s a sporty-looking machine. Very first up is the 300h hybrid version that you now expect to find in every Lexus model range.
A Two.5-litre petrol engine is paired with an electrified motor to produce 220bhp, which enables it to accelerate from zero to 60mph in 8.Four seconds and proceed on to a top speed of 118mph.
It`s not the quickest car – there`s no sense of urgency low down in the rev range and the CVT automatic gearbox makes accelerating hard noisy, but it`s a hybrid, so the underwhelming spectacle is hardly going to be a surprise to buyers, plus the spin side is that average fuel economy is up to 57.6mpg and emissions begin at 113g/km, so low running costs will offset any frustration about its tempo.
The sportier option is the 200t, a Two.0-litre, four-cylinder, turbocharged petrol engine that produces 241bhp. It feels slightly more responsive but it`s still sluggish in comparison with a truly focused sports car, so its zero to 60mph time of 7.Trio seconds sounds about right.
It`s not fairly as bad once it gets going, but the eight-speed automatic gearbox does its best to keep the engine within a more economical rev range, so you have to fight to countermand its instincts with the gear-change paddles behind the steering wheel.
Economy figures do reflect the 200t`s slightly sportier character, tho’, with 38.7mpg and 168g/km.
T he RC is a sporty-looking coupe, but the spectacle figures are a useful hint at just how sporty the car is to drive (not very). Very first, it`s hamstrung by its weight: the 300h has a kerb weight of more than 1.7 tonnes, while the 200t is only slightly trimmer.
On the road the car feels strenuous, which has a detrimental effect on its agility, albeit it does feel balanced and bod control is suitably well contained. The steering is accurate, especially in the 200t, so from that point of view, it can be pretty rewarding to drive.
Where the RC truly scores is its rail quality. This is a comfy car and even when driving F Sport versions, tooled with adaptive variable suspension, in the sharper Sport+ setting, the RC still soaks up all but the very worst that road surfaces can throw at it.
The RC`s interior is ergonomically well judged with a driver-focused cockpit, supportive seats and air of refinement making driving very loosening. The onboard technology is generally very good, with infotainment functions managed by a 7in multimedia display.
0 to 60mph in 7.Three seconds, 143mph top speed (Two.0)
If you look on the RC as a coupe that represents a well-thought-out package of design, convenience, safety, technology and economy over spectacle (in the hybrid), you`ll be on the right track.
Don`t expect it to match the BMW 4-Series Coupe or Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe, but it is every inch the premium coupe and, with prices beginning at £34,995, it offers an appealing solution to that modern conundrum that plagues car buyers of a certain vintage.
Midlife crisis? Certainly not for RC owners.