Grand designs on success
DARING to be different is a high-risk, high-reward strategy. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it doesn’t. Apple’s approach to personal computing led to it becoming the richest company in the world. The Sinclair C5? Not so successful.
Toyota launched its Lexus sub-brand 28 years ago – to offer something different to the likes of BMW and Mercedes-Benz – which now includes a model range, all of which feature hybrid versions.
It hasn’t hugely dented the sales of its premium rivals but Lexus is still fighting the good fight. And that fight is about to get even more interesting with the launch of its newest model, the LC – a grand tourer that is adding a little spice to a brand that even Toyota boss Akio Toyoda admitted was, at times, seen as slightly boring.
The LC should appeal to those on the lookout for a strikingly designed performance car with lots of standard-fit equipment. At least that is who Lexus’s research suggests will constitute the majority of buyers for the model.
Taking each of the attributes that prospective LC buyers are looking for in turn, the one that is most immediately apparent is the design of the car. It isn’t often that a concept car – the LC started life as the LF-LC at the Detroit Motor Show five years ago – appears in production form almost unchanged but that is what Lexus has built. Swooping lines, a low profile and bold, futuristic details all add up to help create a great looking car.
The LC is an eye-catching and alluring interpretation of a modern grand tourer that will turn many heads (and probably prompt a few deposit payments too). Modernity is also a significant influence on one of the two available engines in the LC. The petrol-electric hybrid LC 500h combines a 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine with an 132kW electric motor to produce a total of 354bhp, leading to a 0 to 60mph time of 4.9 seconds. Despite that level of performance though official average fuel economy is 44.1mpg, with 145g/km emissions.
We tested the car on a mixture of roads, averaging around 36.1mpg which is good for something as sporty as the LC. It felt quick too but we weren’t entirely convinced by the Multi Stage Hybrid System, an innovative gearbox that