Lexus RC F
In a world of fast German metal, this Japanese coupe proved the obvious choices aren’t your only options
PRIOR TO LIVING WITH GY17 OBF I’D never spent much time in a Lexus of any description. To be honest, LFA apart, I’d never really lusted after one, but there was something about the RC F that I found genuinely appealing, and intriguing. It was a car I really wanted to get to know.
The RC F exists on the periphery of a sector dominated by Audi, BMW and Mercedes. Indeed, before the Lexus, I’d run an AMG C63 S. More money than the £67,730 RC F, and a bit more power, but broadly appealing to the same audience. Being a Lexus newbie I’m not sure what I was expecting, but I was quite prepared for the RC F to be a curiosity. Maybe even one that fell below the dynamic standards of the Germans, but compensated simply by being different. What I wasn’t expecting was a car that battled – very convincingly, I might add – on its own terms.
The chassis and engine were both stand-out elements – the former for its balance, supple ride and brilliant on-demand exuberance (helped considerably by the optional, £3500 torque-vectoring differential), the latter for its response, soundtrack and warmth of character. Being naturally aspirated it didn’t have the huge swell of near-instant torque we’ve come to expect from turbocharged engines in this class, and the steering would have benefited from more feel, too, but the flipside was a car with a big, authentic personality. One that grew with familiarity, and really came alive the harder you drove.
I wish the eight-speed automatic transmission had been more incisive when using the paddleshifters (there was always some latency on upshifts, like fast Mercs from a few years back), but when left to its own devices it was beautifully slick.
Beyond criticism was the all-pervading sense of robustness and quality. Yes, the RC F is a bit chunky at 1765kg or thereabouts, but much like a Bentley, the mass came with brilliant build quality and a great sense
of satisfaction. Indeed, the whole car was a real quality item, from the glassy paint and tight shut lines, to a nice ‘thunk’ when you closed the door and the complete absence of squeaks or rattles. The engine barely used a drop of oil, the interior showed no scuffs or signs of wear, and the whole car felt as tight and precise on the day it left as the day it was delivered. Impressive.
Fuel economy? Pretty thirsty, always seeming to hover around the 23mpg mark. Exclusively steady motorway miles would bump this up to 25 or 26 (I once saw 29mpg using Eco mode and a feather-light right foot), but as most of my journeys included some decent back-roads I could never resist enjoying the V8’s performance.
I never managed to fully bond with the infotainment system. The trackpad was neat, but the submenus weren’t especially intuitive. The 835W, 17-speaker Mark Levinson hi-fi had a fabulously rich tone to it, but the bass did tend to make the rearview mirror quake a bit at higher volume.
Sound quality of a different kind came courtesy of an email from an RC F reader, who tipped me off about a tweak for keeping the exhaust silencer valve open by disconnecting a vacuum pipe and stuffing a small pencil into it! It worked a treat, removing the rather contrived step when the valves opened, and making the engine sound much more organic, without making it noisier. It should be like it as standard.
Will I miss the RC F? Very much. Was it what I thought it would be? Yes, and no. It had the quality I was expecting, and you can’t really go wrong with a 470bhp 5-litre V8 and rear-wheel drive. What surprised me was the universal interest shown in the car. There’s a buzz about Lexus at the moment, and the F models have genuine kudos. I love an RS Audi, M BMW or AMG Merc as much as the next man, but their relative ubiquity only seems to make the RC F more intriguing. Its rarity suggests it’s perhaps too considered a choice, but like many of the good, but less obvious things in life, it’s fun to be in on the secret.
I thought I’d like living with the RC F, but I didn’t expect to love it. Nor did I expect it to be quite so entertaining and well-sorted for fast driving on UK roads. For once, I’m pleased to be proved wrong by this entertaining, individual and exceptionally well-built machine.
‘I love an RS Audi, M BMW or AMG Merc as much as the next man, but their ubiquity only makes the RC F more intriguing’