FACT FILE IMAGE RATING
I KNOW she had an old dear’s name, but Elsie turned out to be more than a good looker.
In fact, despite her ancient name, Elsie had a lot under her bonnet.
Elsie was, of course, the Lexus LC500, to give it its full name, but I couldn’t resist changing LC to Elsie.
Lift the lid on Elsie and you’ll find a mighty 5.0-litre V8 powerhouse which takes this stunning supercar to a limited 168mph. Take off the limiter and it’s good for an extra 20mph at least, but Lexus sensibly won’t do that for owners.
They, naurally, are bound to be shy and retiring footballers who can afford its £76,595 starting price, while the Sport+ Pack version I drove took it up to £85,895.
Here’s a car that’s appearance is so amazing it should be perfect in every department, yet somehow it isn’t.
I’ll tell you about that later but I’ll start with its performance. That’s what you really want to know about.
Start the engine and it roars and crackles like a supercar should and the dashboard lights up with a dazzling display of flashing stars before turning back to normal. Needless to say, owners will slam it into Sport+ mode, which results in the rev counter turning to vivid red rather than the gentle blue of Eco mode or boring grey of Comfort mode.
Floor it on the move and you’ll be hammered into the back of your seat as it instantly races away, but even though the official figure has it hitting 0-62mph in 4.4s it never felt quite that fast to me.
Even so, for a near 16ft long monster that weighs close to 2000kg it’s quick enough for most people.
The punch that comes from flooring the throttle is impressive, while driving the car on the motorway is so quiet that it soon results in speeds that wouldn’t amuse Pc Gotcha.
That’s one of the LC500’s biggest joys. It’s utterly silent, so much so that at 70mph the engine is ticking over at a mere 1,500rpm.
The interior is exactly what you’d expect – an ocean of white stitched leather, 82 switches that may sound a lot but aren’t too complicated to use, and an 8-inch wide infotainment screen.
Anyway, that brings me to its few problems. Main one is that although I started my week with the LC500 on Comfort mode I ended up with it pemanently on Sport+. Why was that? Because in the wet its rear-wheel-drive system is so tail happy the back wheels will spin even from the gentlest touch on the throttle.
As it rained for almost the entire time I had the car that made it quite scary and unnerving, but selecting Sport+ mode added four-wheel-steer and certainly gave it a far more secure feeling, which is quite reassuring.
Then there was interior space. Quite simply, it would be cruel to put even kids in the back. Squeezing in and out through the gap behind the front seats is difficult enough but once you’ve made it there you’ll be worrying about how to get out.
Realistically the LC500 is a 2+2 with the rear seats thrown in to achieve that title. I used them as a place to put my shopping, which is easier than trying to use the boot which may be three feet deep but is, at best, only 13 inches high.
I wouldn’t say the LC500 is a great car, but it’s definitely a very good one.
As for me? At the price I’ll have to settle for watching football. ENGINE: MPG: CO2: INS GROUP: Radiator grille like a work of art fronts up a massive 4ft 6in long sculpted bonnet and dramatically sloping windscreen. Beautiful monster. BACKSIDE BEAUTY: Rear screen is so raked back it looks almost flat while weird but pretty lights just add to the beauty. Gorgeous. Sat nav, adaptive cruise control, electric heated seats, heated folding door mirrors with blind spot warnings, dual zone climate control, rear parking camera, keyless entry and go, heated electrically adjustable steering wheel, DVD stereo with Bluetooth, twin USB, DAB, AM, FM and Aux. Six-spoke 21-inch alloys make it another dream on wheels but… Their 275/35 low profiles turn it into a nightmare when you hit a pothole. Almost as quick as it is beautiful and a super cruiser, but killed by potholes and speed bumps. WONGA WONDER: Fabulous looking car for a less than fabulous price compared to some supercars. Value is in the eye of the beholder. She’d love to be seen in it but only as a passenger. Driving and parking a 6ft 4in wide car makes it a challenge.