Lexus RC F
Our refined Japanese muscle car has an encounter with the real American deal. But which is the better V8?
THE LEXUS HAS BEEN THROUGH A number of custodians this month, with Mrs M driving it down to Goodwood to join me for the Revival meeting, then evo deputy editor Adam Towler borrowing it for a weekend, too.
Mrs M is notoriously hard to impress with cars. After a poor start in which she threatened to tear the RC F’s satnav system out of the dashboard (I did mention in last month’s report that it wasn’t the most intuitive for first-timers…), she then said the centre console looked like a 1970s hi-fi (I agree, but think that’s a good thing). But she had to concede that the Lexus did an extremely fine job of conveying her the 140 miles from Cambridgeshire to West Sussex through hellish Friday late-afternoon traffic.
While I struggled home from Goodwood in my 964 RS, following a pitiful pool of light from its woefully inadequate headlights, Mrs M powered on behind dazzling xenon daggers, having first extricated herself from an extremely muddy car park. There was a time when a big, powerful automatic rear-drive car would have been sunk to the sills in that kind of slurry, but Snow mode saw her slither out with impressive ease.
Towler was more effusive in his praise for the RC F. Given he’d left me with a Mclaren 720S in exchange, that’s quite something. Of course, the Mclaren monsters it and pretty much everything else for sheer gobsmacking speed, but there are everyday things about Mclarens that grate. Satnav aside, the Lexus is an emollient to most of the rough edges a journey can throw at you. Comfortable, quick and characterful, it’s an impressive all-rounder.
Like me, Adam professed a love of the RC Fs engine. Last month I suggested it had overtones of an American V8 about it, and this month I had the perfect opportunity to put that assertion to the test, having borrowed a Ford Mustang GT for a road-trip to the Spa Six Hours historic race meeting. It’s just the kind of run the Lexus would have loved, but as I was driving a GT40 in the feature race, a Mustang seemed more appropriate company for the journey there and back. And besides, it’s always good to try something different, if only to offer some perspective to your regular wheels.
Both the Mustang and RC F are handsome, muscular cars built to a time-honoured recipe, so it’s perhaps no surprise that both get plenty of attention. Funnily enough for much the same reasons. That’s to say informed curiosity and a genuine desire for them to be as good as they look.
Unlike the Lexus, the Ford is proudly oldschool in its image and execution. That’s to be expected when heritage is such a major part of its appeal, but there’s way more polish to this Mustang than any previous pony-car. Its engine is warmer and more vocal than the RC F’s, with a nice burble at tickover and a classic note under load. Surprisingly, the V8 soundtrack is piped through what Ford calls an ‘induction soundtube’, a trick shared with the Lexus, though the Mustang’s holler is more organic and less contrived than the RC F’s spectacular but clearly synthesised switch from hush to full-throttle rush.
‘The Mustang feels a match for the RC F for in-gear urgency unless it’s really extended’
Performance-wise both cars absolutely devour miles. They settle into a loping stride on motorways and take big bites out of flowing A- and B-roads. Comparing the spec sheets shows the Lexus has a big power advantage (470bhp playing 410), but the Mustang matches it exactly for peak torque (both cars scoring 391lb ft) and delivers it earlier in the rev range (4250rpm versus 4800). With both cars weighing a little over 1700kg it’s no surprise that the Mustang feels a match for the RC F for in-gear urgency unless really extended, at which point the Lexus digs deeper and feels sharper.
Which do I prefer? I enjoyed the Mustang’s honest simplicity and warmth of character, but missed the RC F’s refinement, sophistication and breadth of performance. Both are unique characters – as different from one another as they are from the conventional German alternatives – but it’s the Lexus that continues to fascinate, surprise and impress.
Richard Meaden (@Dickiemeaden)
Dateacquired August 2017 Totalmileage 3301 Mileagethismonth 818 Coststhismonth £0 mpgthismonth 24.3