Four wheel drive RC 300.

[GrumpyCat]

Just remembered that whilst I did my Internet research before I bought my RC 300h I found that America had a RC 300 AWD (all wheel drive) that wasn't available in the UK.

Just to confirm I looked on eBay USA & in this listing under 'Item description' it clearly states Full-Time all wheel. 
2022 Lexus RC F 300 on eBay USA:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/276079581827

Anyone else come across this & do any other Countries especially JDM cars have models different from us in the UK? 
 

[ColinBarber]

Lexus often have different engine and drivetrain options in different countries. AWD options are common in the US where some states have weather than makes it much more desired than RWD. IS, RC, GS, ES and LS have all had AWD options in countries other than the UK.

The RC is also available with the 350 with a 3.5 V6, but not in the UK.

[Rabbers]

4 hours ago, GrumpyCat said:

Anyone else come across this & do any other Countries especially JDM cars have models different from us in the UK? 
 

Ray, you may like to have a quick read of my “RC350 AWD” post dated September 25 2017 on this Forum.  I don’t recall reading anything more on the subject by LOC members since that time.

[GrumpyCat]

@ColinBarber What would be interesting is one of the first generation is300 (3.0ltr) Sport Cross (estates) with a supercharger.

@Rabbers Really interesting read, thanks for posting it. Really surprised at the Dealer agreeing to 20 laps of the test curcuit! 

[Rabbers]

42 minutes ago, GrumpyCat said:

…Really surprised at the Dealer agreeing to 20 laps of the test curcuit! 

I thought so too.  Probably he was surprised that someone was courteous enough to ask.

[Linas.P]

20 hours ago, GrumpyCat said:

Just remembered that whilst I did my Internet research before I bought my RC 300h I found that America had a RC 300 AWD (all wheel drive) that wasn't available in the UK.

Just to confirm I looked on eBay USA & in this listing under 'Item description' it clearly states Full-Time all wheel. 
2022 Lexus RC F 300 on eBay USA:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/276079581827

Anyone else come across this & do any other Countries especially JDM cars have models different from us in the UK? 
 

Yes Lexus have offered AWD for very long time, my second IS250 was US import AWD, there are obvious pros and cons for the system. As well just quick translation US RC300 = UK RC200t.

I think the main pros are that Lexus AWD systems tends to be rear biased, so they still feel nice to drive on good surface, but has that added 4 wheel traction when roads are not so good. In theory it as well should give you opportunities to drive in conditions where RWD would struggle, but only in theory.

Now the cons... it just feels "dull" to drive, just kind of lazy and unresponsive, even more underpowered than IS250 and particularly motorway fuel consumption is quite horrible. With quick conversion to MPG, my first IS250 (that was 2012 F-Sport) was doing 29MPG in the city and about 43MPG on motorway, the IS250 AWD (2010 Luxury) did like 24MPG in the city and 29MPG on motorway. Would that translate into RC200t, or RC350... yes very likely, and probably even more so than it was in IS250. Back in IS mk2 times there wasn't much sacrifice in terms of gearbox when choosing AWD, both cars would get 6 speed auto box, but for mk3 IS and RC one would sacrifice 8 speed box to last gen 6 speed... In conclusion I honestly don't think 

Basically, I traded cars specifically because of concerns for winter weather (in the country which actually has winters - not like UK). So I went IS250 RWD > BMW 328 Xi (AWD) hated the hard suspension > IS250 AWD > MB C350 4-matic (AWD) because I wanted more power... In the end of the day, all 4 cars would easily get stuck in snow or mud anyway and the problem was not RWD or AWD, but tyres and ground clearance, in the end I concluded that it is little bit pointless to have AWD on sporty saloon. Yes it gives maybe a little bit more traction in mild conditions, but in serious winter is stands no chance. Putting good winter tyres on RWD IS250 is pretty much as useful as having the same tyres on AWD.

Expanding the context a little bit more - nowadays switchable AWD often find it's ways on "super-saloons" like BMW M5, Audi RS6 or Porsche, but the purpose is entirely different, that allows those cars do sub-4s 0-60 times and it is more about transferring 600hp onto good surface and less about traction in winter.

[GrumpyCat]

13 hours ago, Rabbers said:

I thought so too.  Probably he was surprised that someone was courteous enough to ask.

Probably because they can plug it in to see what it's been up to & where its been?
If it leads to a sale & track days/curcuit days are covered by the warranty then no problem. 

@Linas.P you're so correct about Tyres, it amazes me the number of drivers that don't give them a second thought. 

Just out of curiosity, where abouts do you live? 

 

[Linas.P]

Now in UK... The "real" winters I mentioned Northern/Eastern Europe... 

[Littorio]

21 hours ago, GrumpyCat said:

Anyone else come across this & do any other Countries especially JDM cars have models different from us in the UK? 
 

If you check the companies that import from Japan you can find the RC350 as mentioned by those above, that will give you a performance boost over the 300h but not all out like an RCF but IMO is a more liveable every day car, at least on paper. 

[Linas.P]

25 minutes ago, Littorio said:

If you check the companies that import from Japan you can find the RC350 as mentioned by those above, that will give you a performance boost over the 300h but not all out like an RCF but IMO is a more liveable every day car, at least on paper. 

Well it is quite noticeable performance boost 8.4s vs. 5.1s 0-60... you will definitely notice that... and yes I agree RC350 is much more comfortable car for daily driving that RC-F, lower maintenance costs, more fuel efficient, folding back seats etc. Honestly that would have been perfect car for me like 3 years ago.

As well RC350 price in Japan are now very good, just couple of years ago it was cheaper to buy RC-F in UK than import RC350 from Japan, now you can find RC350s in japan for under £16,000 including shipping to UK. One thing I am not sure about is UK import duties. I think it seems that would be 20% on top. Meaning it is still close to £20,000 to have RC350 imported into UK... not as bad as few years back, but still pricey for what will be higher mileage and likely 2014 car. And I am not even sure if VAT should be payable on top of that, so potentially another 20%.

And then the next step from RC350 to RC-F does not seem as big.. 0.6s will not be that noticeable... obviously you get glorious V8, but you will lose ton of practicality.

Obviously, that is before we talk about AWD... they do have RC350 AWD in Japan, it is rare, but theoretically can be imported, however I just don't think RC really works well with AWD, it is sports car and RWD is probably the way I would want my RC to be. That said I have seen GS350 AWD F-Sport with 4 Wheel steering, just £12,000 and in great condition in Japan... I think that would be the best combination of AWD and 350 engine in the car. I think that one is gone now, but I found this Premier for ~£10,000 as an example:

https://carfromjapan.com/cheap-used-lexus-gs-2012-for-sale-64f1949281f2a7f7e5ac73fb

Sadly, I think import duties are what kills appeal for most "ordinary car". They work fine for £30,000 Supra, GTR or NSX, maybe even RC-F or IS-F, but for something relatively normal it is deal breaker. 

[GrumpyCat]

Having read the above made me think I should have searched out a nice RC350 AWD instead. The link for the
2012 GS from @Linas.P looks like excellent value & I've bookmarked the site for future browsing. 

Even when you factor in the cost of underseal, code the radio/sat nav, rear fog light etc if has good history then it makes sense to me. IF you don't get clobbered for duties & import tax! 

[Linas.P]

At current pricing (RC200t/300h ~ with less than 100,000 miles and without salvage category ~£18,000), I would definitely rather buys RC350 from Japan, not AWD for sure as 6-speed box is extremely lazy for modern standards and all the other undesirable and unnecessary in UK cons that comes with AWD, but certainly nice RWD. 

Even if hit by tax and duty, the car from japan would come ~£20,000-£21,000... and usually they have under 100,000 kilometres. Although the cheapest one for £12,000 had 194,000 (still that is ~120,000 miles, and that is what cheaper UK RCs are approaching anyway). So realistically RC350 from Japan costs approximately £3000 more than British RC200t/300h which in my opinion is well worth the extra cost for the car that is actually fast and enjoyable to drive as GT/Sport coupe.

Sadly when I bought my RC200t back in 2019 that wasn't an option, as I paid £15,500 for it and RC300h would have been closer to £16-17,000 back then, whereas RC350 in Japan was about the same price as British RC-F in 2019 (~£35,000).