Gorgeous styling; beautiful chassis; usual Lexus quality
Interior a little plain; could do with more power
Out with the old and in with the new, Lexus has erupted back into the sports luxury coupe market with the gorgeous Lexus RC 350. Boasting head-turning looks and a head-turning starting price of just $66,000, the V6-powered Lexus RC 350 is sure to ruffle the feathers of the Europeans who dominate this market segment.
Of course there is more to come as Lexus takes a leaf from the pages of its LFA Supercar with the launch early next year of the rip-snorting RC F V8. While this is expected to carry a price tag north of $150,000, the mainstream Lexus RC 350 has a long list of Australian buyers beating-down the doors of Lexus dealerships ahead if its launch.
Lexus RC 350 Overview
Lexus brought RC 350 chief engineer Eiichi Kusama to Australia for the national media launch. According to Kusama-San, his brief for the model range was to create an ‘Impassioned And Captivating Coupe’.
Just a quick glance at the RC 350s parked at Melbourne’s Tullamarine Airport was enough to convince us the product development team had delivered on the brief. And that was before we heard about the first production car use of a five-layer painting process for its signature paint colour ‘Infrared Contrast Layering’ (previously only used for hot rods and show cars).
Lexus has launched the all-new RC 350 line in its familiar grades of entry-level ‘Luxury’, sporty ‘F Sport’ and range-topping ‘Sports Luxury’. All feature the same driveline and Lexus staples of beautiful leather seats and satellite navigation.
F Sport models add items like unique 19-inch twin 10-spoke alloy wheels, four-mode Drive Mode Select, Adaptive Variable Suspension, Dynamic Rear Steering, Blind Spot Monitor, Lane Change Assist, 17-speaker Mark Levinson audio, F Sport steering wheel and other styling enhancements.
Sports Luxury goes further with its own version of 19-inch alloy wheels, semi-aniline leather interior and Active Cruise Control to name a few.
There were certainly some raised eyebrows amongst our colleagues when Lexus announced the prices for the all-new RC 350 lineup. Speculation had the F Sport model priced $11,000 more than it actually is and for the range-topping Sports Luxury grade to have a six-figure sticker – how wrong they were!
The lineup is:
| Lexus RC 350 Luxury | $66,000 |
| Lexus RC 350 F Sport | $74,000 |
| Lexus RC 350 Sports Luxury | $86,000 |
Lexus RC 350 Engine
Lexus has certainly maximised the returns on the investment in the 2GR-FSE naturally-aspirated V6. The 3.5-litre V6 is currently also shared with the IS 350 and GS 350 models.
A 60-degree V6, the Lexus 3.5-litre delivers maximum power of 233kW at 6400rpm, peak torque of 378Nm at 4800rpm and drives via the smooth eight-speed automatic transmission. Combined-cycle fuel consumption is rated at 9.4l/100kms.
As we know this V6 is silky-smooth at all speeds and delivers its best work in terms of performance (and its best exhaust note!) with more than 4000rpm on-board.
Lexus RC 350 The Interior
Lexus premium meets sporty coupe and practicality as well – the RC 350 has the best of all three. For instance the front seats slide through a range of 260mm and the seat backs tilt through 33-degrees so those accessing the rear seat can virtually walk in.
And while the Lexus RC 350 is a sports coupe, the rear seat split-folds 60/40 to access a luggage space large enough to hold three full-size golf bags.
A Lexus first is the all-LED interior lighting which actually includes upward-facing indirect lighting in the doors.
Electronic steering wheel adjustment for rake and reach combines with lots of seat adjustment (including height) to deliver a top-notch driving position and view of the modern instruments (F Sport scores unique sporty gauges). To the left is the satellite navigation/audio screen and we liked the electrostatic slide adjustment for the driver and front passenger temperature settings.
Lexus RC 350 Exterior & Styling
The RC 350 heads down an entirely new styling route for Lexus – one which we like a lot. Compared to previous Lexus coupes, the RC 350 is downright edgy and delivers a standout on-road presence.
Designed from day one exclusively as a coupe - not a re-jigged four-door sedan - the Lexus RC 350 is low (1395mm) and wide (1840mm) and features a low-set side axis which further emphasises its road-hugging stance. Overall length is just 4695mm and the wheelbase measures 2730mm.
Everywhere you look, the RC 350 is a ground-breaking design for Lexus. Certainly just a few years back you would not have found those massively flared wheel-arches in the Lexus design manual.
Up-front is the Lexus spindle grille – the lowest and widest so far – offset by sharp headlights and a low-set bumper. Sporty F Sport models feature mesh inserts.
We love the curved roof and very slick sides and rear three-quarters.
But many observers reckon the real strength of the Lexus RC 350’s design is the rear-end – the scalloped bumper, angled tail-lights and integrated bootlid spoiler certainly add some muscle.
Lexus RC 350 On The Road
Australian motoring writers know every strip of bitumen on the roads north-east of Melbourne so there was certainly familiarity regarding the route for the Lexus RC 350 from the airport out to Lake Mountain and return. During the day www.carshowroom.com.au drove F Sport and Sports Luxury models – with overnight rains leaving some annoying puddles on-line in some corners still in the shade - and we put a Luxury model down the Lake Mountain slalom course with racing ace Rick Bates in the left-hand seat.
That slalom course was designed to showcase the Dynamic Rear Steering of the Lexus RC 350 (we went back-to-back with an F Sport variant). Familiar technology (at speeds below 80km/h the rear wheels turn in small increments in the opposite direction to the fronts) the Lexus version did feel more obvious than others we can recall – giving a more dynamic feel to the rear-end during those back-to-back swerves.
In the ‘Sport +’ setting, the Lexus RC 350 delivered the sportiest driving dynamics of any Lexus since the LFA supercar. Aided by Adaptive Variable Suspension, the F Sport and Sports Luxury models delivered crisp turn-in, nice mid-corner sets and snappy throttle response and gear changes.
But even in the regular ‘Eco’ setting, while everything was that much softer, body-roll was not intrusive and the Lexus RC 350 was untroubled by mid-corner changes in road surface. In fact we reckon Lexus has the RC 350’s chassis so well sorted it could easily handle more grunt that the current 3.4-litre V6 provides (and of course that is coming with the RC F next year).
In fact Lexus says the RC 350 borrows chassis technology from other models. The front double wishbone layout (which allowed the V6 and eight-speed automatic) comes from the GS range, the mid-section comes from the IS C while the multi-link rear-end comes from the IS (renowned for its traction). Of course it’s not just the automotive equivalent of ‘cutting and pasting’ but we get where they’re coming from.
Around town the V6 and slick-shifting eight-speed automatic made light work of peak hour crawl and the hallmark Lexus refinement was obvious with a ridiculously quite interior.
Lexus RC 350 Issues
The excellence of the Lexus RC 350’s chassis could do with a punchier engine than the current 3.4-litre V6. We’re also deducting a few points for the interior style – it’s nice, well-finished and beautiful but just a little too conservative/traditional given the pin-sharp exterior looks.
Lexus RC 350 Verdict
Wow! Lexus has certainly made a spectacular return to coupes.
The all-new RC 350 has instant ‘kerb-appeal’ with those to-die-for looks, is kind to those who ride in the back and rewards enthusiast drivers with great response in the twisty stuff. And those smart cookies at Lexus Australia have nailed the pricing – the RC 350 is astonishingly good value.
From Lexus, we shouldn’t have contemplated anything less really.
Lexus RC 350 The Competition
For a V6-powered Audi A5 Coupe the starting price is $98,400 for the 3.0 TFSI Quattro. However the 1.8 TFSI ($67,190) and 2.0 TFSI Quattro ($75,700) are in the price range of the Lexus RC 350. Obviously significantly outgunned by the Lexus’ V6, the A5 is gorgeous to look at inside and out and exudes Audi’s hallmark quality.
Similar story for the BMW 4 Series Coupe. You have the 135kW/270Nm four-cylinder 420i priced at $69,500 or the 180kW/350Nm four-cylinder 428i stickered at $80,500 (six-cylinder models start at $108,500 for the 435i). But boy-o-boy does the BMW 4 Series reward in the driving dynamics department.
Infiniti’s Q60 Coupe ($64,400 and $70,400) with Nissan’s 235kW/360Nm 3.7-litre V6 is a cracking drive and you get a lot of car for your coin. It’s certainly a car performance drivers will get their teeth into but those shopping for pure luxury may find the Q60 a tad too hard core.
Closest rival from Mercedes-Benz is the C250 Coupe which is priced at $70,400. Sure there’s an all-new model due soon as we write but we still love the looks of the current C-Class Coupe. And it’s a brilliant drive.
