Lexus RC F
With a twist here and a prolonged prod there, the RC F’s wild side gets unlocked
‘Bonfiring the rear tyres isn’t something you do on a daily basis, yet it’s fun just knowing that you can’
I’VE REALLY CLICKED WITH THE RC F since the last report, and it’s all down to an inoffensive-looking button on the transmission tunnel. Marked ‘TVD’ it controls the settings for the optional torque-vectoring differential. Give it a prod and it switches from Standard to Slalom. Press it again and you engage Track mode. Each setting brings up a small pictogram on the main instrument cluster, rather like toggling through modes on Gran Turismo.
Adjacent to the TVD button is one for the stability control. Press it once and it gives you plenty of slack, press and hold and, as long as the main dynamic mode (controlled by a rotary controller just ahead of the TVD button), is set to Sport+, you enter ‘Expert’ mode.
As it suggests, this means you’re driving on talent alone. Well that and the RC F’s abundant reserves of traction and mechanical grip. In the milder modes the RC F plays its cards quite close to its chest, but if you crank it up to its most aggressive settings everything goes a bit banzai.
This split personality is something the Japanese do very well with sportier models. One minute the RC F is as mild-mannered as a steady Toyota executive saloon, the next it’s a bellowing beast that’s up for burnouts and tailslides. It really is quite a transformation. The best bit is the RC F still feels together and sorted, even when you grab hold of it and chuck it around. Don’t get me wrong, you could wang yourself through a hedge if you push your luck too far, but it’s surprisingly adept when being hooned. Some of this is down to the naturally aspirated V8 that needs to be revved before delivering its best, but it’s also evidence that Lexus has some keen development drivers with a feel for how a fast, heavy road car should behave when driven to and beyond its limits.
Bonfiring the rear tyres isn’t something you do on a daily basis. Or even a weekly basis, for that matter. Yet there’s something fun just knowing that you can.
In other news I’ve got to the bottom of the vexatious satnav system. As I said in an earlier report, the user interface and menu terminology is quite different from your usual European kit, so I’d initially got confused by the lack of an option to enter a full postcode. Much to my relief I’ve since found it in a sub-menu, so all is good.
Another source of joy is the Mark Levinson hi-fi. I love a premium sound system and this one is rich and potent without sounding too subwoofery. With 835W of amplified power and 17 speakers, the Surround Sound effect is truly immersive and more than man enough to compete with the V8’s beefy bellow. It even looks handsome, with its black brushed grain anodised faceplate and tactile rotary controls.
One thing I’m not so sure about is the silver carbon weave fillets that run round the interior. They’re a bit bling for my taste, but in a funny kind of way I rather like their incongruity. It’s yet another quirky, but rather endearing element of the RC F. It might not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I’m liking it just fine.