Rabbers

Peter: Thank you for the pictures. As non-OEM appendages go, the mud-flaps are acceptably unobtrusive, and better still, when imagined on a Titanium car, they would probably look even better suited than on Red because of overall colour continuity between body and wheels, strakes and exhausts. Effectiveness and aesthetic acceptability are a persuasive combination, so much so that next time the car gets particularly filthy - if not earlier - I'll probably be on the phone to my dealer about prices and fitting.

Rayaan: I had been thinking along the same lines, though my own choice, having used it successfully for many years on alloy wheels, would be Collinite Insulator Wax on the bumper section.

Peter: I'll certainly take another look at the protection pack, some bits of which I think I already have, e.g. the boot liner, and non- slip mats including rubber ones inherited from the IS which fit the RC only at the front. What I need to overcome is my specific dislike for mud-flaps. I too use the inside grab-handle to close the boot, and have done so almost religiously ever since some past owner's manual told me that I should. However, it's the last bit of the closing operation when you are supposed to press down on the lid that I find irritating. Maybe I'm being overly neurotic but I have now developed a new technique whereby, in order to minimize epidermal soiling and limit the amount of forensic evidence I leave on the lip of the boot, I centre my little finger on the top edge of the numberplate and then, combining a firm initial push with a final flick of the wrist, gently complete the operation.

The title did get your attention though, didn't it?

Road surfaces that have been varying from damp to wet because of persistent high-humidity fog and smog these past few weeks have highlighted the problem of large amounts of spray kicked up by the RC's rear tyres, practically coating the entire rear section from the boot down after even short drives. The IS had a similar issue but not as great, probably because of narrower tyres and different aerodynamics. Apart from unsightliness, the main annoyance regards the need to frequently clean the rear-view lens as well as one's hands after closing the boot or opening it from the outside and leaving finger-prints on the dirty surface. I see no solution to the problem other than to fit splash-guards, which I am not going to do, so I guess I must learn to live with it.

Right enough. Winter tyres are something you probably don't fully appreciate until you find yourself in a situation where you really need them, which, in effect, means situations you should try to avoid but, for one reason or another, cannot. As for myself, quite apart from the snowy and icy conditions for which they are specifically designed, they also give me greater confidence in temperatures of 10°C or lower in the wet, which could be anywhere in Europe in winter, even in a mild one like last year. My only complaint regards the expense in terms of purchase, storage and substitution (I've just grudgingly paid over €1,100, discounted, for a set of 19" Pirelli Sottozero's), but this, as usual, will be largely offset by the prolonged life of the summer ones. As far as I know the only country where winter tyres are legally required (as an alternative to carrying chains in your vehicle) is Italy, with some regional variations in seasonality but generally from November to April. More cleverly, Germany, Austria and Switzerland make drivers formally responsible for equipping their cars to cater for adverse weather conditions, and by so doing, actually force them, in practice, to fit winter tyres or carry chains under threat of heavy fines or even an invalidation of their insurance if they cause or are involved in weather-related accidents without them. I don't know how true it is, but I have heard the story of zealous local German police forces fining drivers for recklessness if they are caught without winter tyres or chains on board even if snow is merely forecast. Which I suppose makes some kind of sense if you believe the police seriously has the safety of the motoring population at heart.

A good characterization of an enthusiastic RC300h owner (like me) that might also shed some light on the differences of opinion contained in the present thread is to be found in a review on www.wheelworldreviews.co.uk by one David Hooper. He writes, with considerable insight: "You could be forgiven for thinking that a hybrid car and a sports coupe body aren't natural bedfellows, but when you consider the average Lexus buyer, sports coupe or otherwise, is unlikely to be seen wearing reversed baseball caps, then it starts to make more sense".......

I suppose it depends on your local climate and where and how you park your car. I too never worried about hardened rubber seals until, some years ago, in a motel car-park in Germany in the middle of winter I yanked open the door of a frost-covered rental Ford Mondeo and detached the rubber seal from the entire length of the door-pillar. Getting the rubber back into position before I could close the door and drive off was a job I would not have wished on my worst enemy. When I returned the car to Hertz later in the day, the guy told me that this should not have happened because it was company policy to lubricate the seals in preparation for winter. They had apparently missed this one since the seals looked very dry and almost white. He then disappeared into a back room and came back with a spray can of Einszett which he presented me for use with my own car, and I got into the habit of using it ever since.

Linas: If I shared half the opinions in your review I would not only not have bought an RC300h but would also already be anxiously consulting second-hand values with a view to getting rid of it. Seriously, though, I addressed many of the negatives in your review to my own satisfaction before deciding to trade in my IS300h for the RC (see RC300h v. IS300h Part 1 & Part 2 threads in the IS300h Forum). I agree with Rayaan that your reason for saying the "engine sound is just awful" could lie in the ASC, which I myself leave permanently switched off as I also did in the IS after coming to the conclusion that it is no more than a useless piece of acoustic bling. Personally I like quietness in a car and, really, the only noise that annoys me in the RC, as it also did in the IS, comes from the tyres. Incidentally, I have just switched to Pirelli Sottozero winters from the OEM Dunlop SportMaxx summer equivalents and, strangely enough, subject to further evaluation after a bit of wear, they seem to be quieter. As regards noise at motorway speeds (130-160kmh), were I to close my eyes (metaphorically speaking, of course), I would probably not know that I was not driving an IS even though I would hazard the opinion that the RC is marginally more quiet because the mirrors deflect the wind better, perhaps as a consequence of their position as much as their design. While 8.6' might be considered "sluggish acceleration" to 100kmh from a standstill, the only negative bearing this may have on real life is for anyone who enjoys racing away (and gulping fuel) at lights, especially if the neighbouring cars are BMW or Benz coupés (which are pretty enough but as common as muck). As noted by Rayaan, mid-range acceleration is impressive and, in the absence of comparative figures, probably at least the equal of most same-segment competitors. Nor do I quite understand the phrase "when you kick the pedal nothing comes out". There certainly can be a noticeable albeit slight lag in throttle response in ECO and NORMAL modes, but if you want lag-free acceleration, SPORT and SPORT+ modes deliver more than adequately, so much so that you may be forced to immediately brake in order to get down to a regular speed after a quick piece of overtaking. I won't disagree that the number of drive modes could well be reduced from four to three or even two, though switching between the four according to your preference at any given time is hardly a complicated matter. As regards cornering, this is where I find the RC markedly superior to the IS as the combined result of the adaptive dampers and a stiffer chassis - and in spite of the higher weight. I can exemplify this by my experience three or four times every day with a couple of fast-approach 90° turns close to where I live, which, perhaps a little too daringly and usually feeling a need to widen the angle, I used to take at around 65-70kmh in the IS but now take comfortably and with a feeling of complete stability at 75-80kmh or even more. That the steering is "light and uninformative" on motorways is not my experience. Quite the contrary, in fact, although I have noticed that the relative firmness of the ride on slightly uneven and porous surfaces can give rise to fairly frequent tiny directional adjustments especially if, like myself, you have developed the habit of keeping the wheel as still as possible on stretches of straight road. My version of the RC has Premium Navigation and the 10-speaker Pioneer audio as standard. The latter performs acceptably but lacks the depth and power of an ML system, the latter being available as a stand-alone optional but with an unacceptably long waiting-time. Yes, anyone who has had an ML system (as all my previous five Lexus's did) will miss it. To cut a long story short, I have no regrets about having opted for an RC instead of another IS. I loved my IS but love the RC even more, mainly - but certainly not only - because of its good looks.

It's a good idea to lubricate all the rubber seals a couple of times a year, especially around now before winter sets in causing them to harden and maybe to stick. For many years I've been using a specific German rubber-care product with its own pad applicator called Einszett Gummi Pflege, and have always been impressed by its effectiveness. I believe the name in some countries including the U.K. has recently been changed to Nextzett, but the product is the same.

That looks extremely annoying, and it is not readily understandable why your dealer could not have done anything about it. Did they try before saying so? Might something as simple as a strategically placed squirt of silicone not have done the trick?

I have used a lot of leather cleaners and conditioners in my time, including some mentioned in this thread. The last brand of cleaner in a long line has been Dr Leather Wipes, which are supposed to clean the surface (which they do admirably, especially in the case of denim stains) without affecting the coating (which is a claim I am less sure about). But, then again, I wonder if a mild soapy solution applied with a bit of cotton-wool or a make-up remover pad does not yield exactly the same result but without the same nice new-leather smell that Dr Leather advertises along with others of its competitors. Personally I no longer proceed beyond the cleaning stage simply because creams, conditioners, foods etc., ultimately fail to deliver on their claims, at least demonstrably, and in the longer term they all inevitably leave some degree of undesirable sheen that was not present when the seats were new. This, I think, has less to do with unwelcome chemical additives (of which the worst is silicone, which is to be avoided like the plague) than with the cumulative effects of even the gentlest rubbing when the products are repeatedly applied. I have never seen a non-F Sport IS300h without length-wise creases in the outer bolsters, though I daresay there must be some snake-hipped owners out there who do not have the problem. The lengthening and deepening of the creases can be delayed somewhat by upwards massaging with the thumbs which has the effect of restoring some plumpness to the flattened foam, but to undertake this operation on a regular basis is clearly to risk neurosis.

Peter, Rayaan, thank you for your replies. I once again confirm that the G-Sensor is not visible anywhere in the instrumentation, and nor have I found any mention of it in the owner's manual. So, as evidenced in Rayaan's illustration, its presence would indeed appear to be limited to the 200t (and, I would surmise, also the RC-F). Not, I must confess, that I am greatly bothered by its absence. In fact, I wouldn't be able to comprehend the graphics, let alone the technology behind them, this being, like much else in the car's electronic devilry, way beyond my feeble scientific grasp. Still, it would have been nice to impress passengers with macho phrases about "pullin' lotsa Gs" etc. Incidentally, some early reviews of the new-gen RC mentioned that it was going to get a wireless smartphone charger that would have freed up one of the USB ports, but this also appears not to have materialized.

In a brochure promoting the RC - a pre-launch one from 2015 - I came across a mention of something called a Gravitational Sensor G among the features exclusive to the F-Sport model. Does anybody know what this is, and if it is indeed present, what purpose does it serve? I have found no visible trace of it in the instrumentation, which could mean that it may be lurking somewhere deep in the car's electronics. Or maybe its mention in the brochure was a mistake insofar as it never made it into the car's final specifications. While acknowledging that the measurement of g-forces is of interest to fighter pilots, Formula 1 drivers, passengers on lifts in Dubai high-rises etc., I frankly don't see the purpose in a passenger car, and if the RC is capable of defying gravity, I probably don't want to know about it.

Geoff: My new RC (see my post of today) has this version. The car was produced in Japan in June and delivered to Europe in September, so I assume it was fitted with the latest version. Another clue that it is up to date is the presence on the satnav maps of speed-cameras that I know for a fact were not there until early this year.

Following are some pictures of my RC300h, which I have had for nearly a week now. I confirm my original impressions, especially with regard to the precision of the handling and the marked differences between the individual drive modes. I have not yet got a firm fix on the fuel consumption but, at the moment, this looks to be 10-11% higher than for the IS whereas a comparison between Lexus' declared figures for the two cars on the combined cycle was leading me to expect only 6-7%. I suspect that recent cold weather could partly account for the disparity. All in all, the RC has been a pleasure to own, except for a malfunction in the rear-access mechanism, unnoticed at the time of delivery, which cost me an 80km round-trip to the dealer for what was fortunately a quick repair. It has been nice to have up-to-date firmware (version VD12103A, which I presume is the most recent). A source of annoyance that has nothing to do with the car itself is Lexus' abandonment of a good old-fashioned printed owner's manual of the type that has always provided me with instructive bed-time reading for the first few weeks after buying a new car. I suspect the claimed need to save paper is yet another instance of green credentials being exploited for financial gain. Anyway, I have been busy downloading such chapters as I think might be useful, thus creating a fair amount of pollution of my own in the form of used ink-cartridges, wasted print-outs of warnings and waivers and manufacturers' specs etc. During the week I came across a couple of snippets of information that were new to me though maybe not to hoarders of Lexus trivia. Having always thought, wrongly it appears, that the initials designating individual Lexus models are meaningless, I was surprised to learn that "RC" actually stands for "Radical Coupé" or perhaps, if you trust other sources, "Responsive Coupé". Frankly, both names are a bit hokey (as well as open to debate, maybe more in the former than the latter case). Equally trivial was the discovery that "Sonic Titanium" (i.e. colour code 1J7) is known as "Atomic Silver" in the U.S. and, more surprisingly given the unfortunate historical connotations, in Japan itself. Lexus Australia, on the other hand, takes a no-nonsense approach and favours plain "Titanium" without any adjective at all. Anyway, whatever name it goes by, 1J7 was judged Japanese Auto Colour of the Year for 2014 by a local research institute called JAFCA, which studies the psychological and marketing aspects of colour. To the gawking motorists mentioned in my OP, I can add numerous pedestrians who also gape at the RC without a thought for their own safety as I sit there trying to banish visions of an activated pop-up hood from my consciousness. Having several times found nose-prints on the side-windows, I have once again taken to carrying disinfectant wipes just as I used to do in my early days with the IS300h. Sometimes the persons attached to the noses are still present or sheepishly sidling away unless they feel encouraged to chat. One memorable encounter of the latter kind occurred only this morning with an individual who revealed himself to be as much of a tactless wit in the Clarkson mould as a discerning student of car aesthetics. After confessing that he had not seen an RC before except in pictures, he proceeded to express his astonishment at its "extreme elegance" before concluding that it was not, as he had previously expected, "the sort of car Russian billionaires buy for their girlfriends". My suspicion that he might not have been wholly unfamiliar with the social milieu in question was confirmed a few minutes later when I spotted him driving away in a sinister-looking purple Panamera Turbo with Monaco plates.

It won't be delivered until the middle of the month - will post some pix then.

Earlier this week I ordered an RC300h F-Sport in Sonic Titanium/Dark Rose leather with only the ML audio (regrettably) and the Sunroof (less regrettably) absent from an otherwise full-optionals spec inclusive of the Safety Pack (= ACC & PCS), and I will be picking it up in ten days or so. As an alternative for similar quick delivery I could have chosen Sonic Red/Grey leather, but although the red is a lovely colour and very suited to the car (not for nothing does Lexus push it in its advertising), I finally decided it is a bit raffish (and maybe too similar to Mazda's highly-touted Soul Red) and went for the comparatively tame but dignified Titanium, thus proving to the world that I require no higher dose of automotive Viagra than the RC already delivers regardless of its colour. Before signing on the dotted line I took several of the posts in the original RC300h v. IS300h thread into account. In order to see, for example, how much the RC's extra weight makes it less able than the IS to be "chuck[ed] around corners" (see rayaans, Oct 23) or how generally "sluggish" it might be (see doog442, Oct 23), I took an F-Sport for a test-drive of some two hours/120km on mixed roads. And while the pointlessness of comparing two cars with "the same hybrid system" (see Wallace, Oct 23) was broadly confirmed when it quickly became clear that differences in performance were indeed slight, I am glad to say that the RC nevertheless emerged as the all-round winner, thus relieving my doubts about buying a car almost entirely on the basis of its good looks, even though, admittedly, this remained by far the most important motivating factor. As regards acceleration from a standstill, I detected no difference in respect of the IS, leading me to think that the declared 0.3' separating the cars in the 0-100kmh comparison (8.6' for the RC v. 8.3' for the IS) is not perceptible to a "normal" driver (though it might be to ones more expert or speed- oriented than me). Mid-range acceleration was impressive, indeed startlingly so in Sport and Sport+ modes, causing me to think that they have been tweaked in order to better exploit the adaptive dampers and considerably sharpen the throttle response while adding some desirable weight and feel to the steering. As regards higher speeds, at no time did I exceed the 130kmh motorway limit, not that this mattered since I doubt if the declared lower maximum speed of 190kmh against the Is's 200kmh will bother me on any rare occasion when I might get close to it on an autobahn. Of course, the RC's actual performance does not live up to the expectations of dynamism and power aroused by its athletic appearance (and arguably over-hyped in Lexus' advertising), and if the consequent risk of the driving experience being considered "underwhelming" (see Martin F, Oct 23) was already high for the IS in its guise of a "sports saloon", it can only be higher upon its evolution into a "sports coupé". However, as long as you know what to expect from the hybrid system and CVT - and anyone familiar with the IS obviously does - the RC does not disappoint, and it delivers as much predictable power as needed in the vast majority of situations likely to be encountered outside a race-track and within the boundaries of the law - with some allowance, of course, for occasional flexibilities and rushes of blood. As specifically regards stability and handling, I thought them improved as the result of a stiffer chassis and the appreciably more direct and responsive steering resulting, I am told, from a redesigned platform borrowed, in part, from the GS. Body roll was minimal at all speeds. Frankly, I could not detect whether the 19" tyres provided more grip than 18" ones, which, in theory, they obviously must. Their presence worried me a bit in terms of the prospectively firmer ride but, reassuringly, this was smooth and comfortable and gentle on the vertebrae even on several stretches of very nasty road. Interestingly, the car was fitted with with Dunlop Sportmaxx tyres, as mine will also be, and this, not displeasingly, will be my first new Lexus without OEM Bridgestones. On the negative side, the 265/35 rear size, especially, brings the metal worryingly close to the ground, which does not bode well for the very attractive rims on bad stony surfaces, rough gravel etc. While I always thought the seats in the IS provide good anatomical support, those in the RC hug you even better. I quickly became a fan of the memory- foam upholstery, which I had previously only experienced on short rides. I am surprised that Lexus has not adopted it on all models. Since I rarely carry passengers the cramped rear cabin space was not an issue. Clearly, leg- and head-room are not abundant, though I have seen and experienced worse in other coupés and/or 2+2s. Personally, I would expect long-trip claustrophobia to be as big a problem because of the tiny rear side- windows. The electric seat sliding mechanism for rear access is effective but slow. Or, rather, it is as fast as it needs to be except when it's raining. But then again, its slowness allows you to pause and admire the car while you are waiting. For those of us who are not getting any younger (sometimes referred to on this Forum as "old farts"), getting in and out of the front seats of the RC is maybe a bit easier than in the IS because of the wider opening. Be this as it may, I have myself long regarded the bending and stretching necessary for access as a welcome form of exercise, and I have learned not to grunt at the strain when other people are around. My main grievance, and particularly my wife's for long trips, concerns the smaller boot space, which, for us, represents a return to IS250 and 200 sizes after a happy period with the generous 430 litres of the 300h. Forward cabin space is practically the same, which is to say that the main problem is insufficient storage for small loose objects. Materials and build quality are in the best Lexus tradition, and I was especially happy to see the boot-hinges tucking away into their own housing as they did in the pre-300h ISs. The overall quality impression is high, perhaps higher than that of the IS, though I would be hard put to define and list the reasons why. Maybe it has something to do with longer and thicker doors which close with a more resonant thunk. The point that their size may be problematic in tight parking situations (see Deadlock and steveledzep, Oct 25) was well taken, and I am not looking forward to the experience when it occurs. Although I am told most people disagree, I liked the touchpad and found it as easy and instinctive to operate as the "mouse". Because my hand fell naturally on it, I did not need to consciously learn its position and keep glancing downwards as I feared. It did occur to me, however, that right-handed drivers in l-hd cars will always be favoured for longer tasks such as, for example, the entering of satnav data with it. The time I spent with the RC confirmed my belief that it is as good-looking a car as any on the market today outside of the supercar segment and, pending the arrival of the LC500, probably the best-looking one Lexus has ever marketed. I have mixed feelings only about the fake extractor "combs" at the lower rear extremities. They put me in mind of the side strakes of the Ferrari Testarossa of three decades ago and, as such, I find them a bit naff in a retro sort of way. Presumably they are intended to decoy the eye away from the long rear overhang that results from a shorter wheelbase under a lengthened body. As expected the RC attracted a lot of curiosity because of its looks and rarity. However, I had not anticipated the possible danger from gawking oncoming drivers or their counterparts who speed up from behind in order to take a closer look. My conclusion was that Lexus have taken their well-proven proprietary technology and created a thing of beauty around it.

How could you in good conscience partake of Christmas good cheer at the sight of Jack Bauer and other CTU operatives being forced to use cruddy no-optionals government-issue Fords or Chevvies to successfully chase down villainous Lexus owners?

Having noticed that some dealers are looking, presumably because of low sales, to shift the RC300h with substantial discounts (up to 17-18%), I have been vaguely toying with the idea of replacing my present IS300h, with 75000km on the clock, with one. To be honest, my attraction is based entirely on the RC's looks, the differences in performance, at least on paper pending a test-drive, appearing to be fairly marginal. Should I perhaps better wait for the IS facelift and then think again, or should I go ahead and take a closer look at the RC now?

There was a brief thread about Lexus cars in TV shows a couple of years ago (see 300H on TV, started by Dixgas, October 2014, 300h Forum). My own theory about Lexus U.S.'s product placement strategy was that the baddies in TV shows were used as part of an attempt to cultivate a non-benign image and thus hopefully mitigate the brand's reputation as the choice of dull and boring solid citizens.

I don't suppose that many 300h owners worry too much about gastronomic delights perishing in their boot but I must admit that I am one of them. I too was concerned about potential heat from the batteries, especially when I first saw the cooling vents inside the rear door-frames. Like BigChange, I carry foods and wines in the boot on long motorway drives, usually at the request of relatives and friends at destination (or for personal consumption on long stays). For security's sake and as a matter of aesthetic principle, I never put bags or parcels on the back seats on long journeys even when the contents would benefit from the aircon. My stubbornness in this regard as often as not led me to curse the boots of past IS generations, particularly the 250, which had areas of quite intense heat generated by the brakes and axle, the oven effect being compounded from above in hot summer sunshine. To my relief, I found the boot of the 300h to be significantly better not only because the batteries appear to be well insulated - in my experience they can be warm after long drives but not alarmingly so - but mainly because its greater depth means that anything loaded towards the back is tolerably well insulated from the sun by the rear cabin shelf above. Nevertheless I invested several years ago in a set of heavy-duty thermal bags, settling, after being disappointed with various other cheaper products, for a German brand called BECool, which has never let me down.

Of course the 300h is not a sportscar. Beyond its satisfactorily lively day-to-day performance on normal roads it is, however, perfectly suited to long-distance driving at cruising speeds that are as high as you are ever likely to require given even the most liberal national speed limits you will find anywhere today. I drive the length of Germany several times a year, entirely on the autobahn network, and have no trouble cruising relaxedly at 150-160kmh (=93-100mph) and, if the traffic is sufficiently light and I am inclined to do so, which is rarely, I can easily increase this to 180kmh (=112mph) without straining the 300h. Once or twice, on a downhill stretch on which I look forward to driving, I have seen the speedometer touch 210kmh (=130mph) without apparent effort, and while I was aware of the speed my passenger was not. Of course the actual speed was lower, probably by 5% or so, meaning that the declared limitation to 200kmh(=125mph) is accurate enough. In practical terms, long-distance autobahn driving in the 300h putting your foot down whenever you can while broadly observing the speed limits wherever these are present (which is increasingly frequently and which the police and most of the population take seriously) means that the approx.1000km between the Swiss and Danish borders can usually not be done in under 10 hours, the main obstacle to a higher average speed being extensive and extremely irritating roadworks which can bring you to a complete stop at regular intervals over the entire route. While I wouldn't claim to feel as fresh as a daisy at the end of this kind of drive, it nevertheless always impresses me how nicely the car has performed.

10% seems high and could be a U.K.-specific setting. Two Italian motoring magazines routinely measure Actual v. Speedo differences in their new car reviews and, as regards the 300h, Quattroruote, October 2013, gave a deviation of 4.8% at 130kmh (which was surprisingly high compared to 1.3% for the VW 2.0 TSI and 1.4% for the Audi A3 1.8 TFSI reviewed in the same issue). Panorama Auto, August 2013, recorded actuals of 47kmh at 50kmh, 88kmh at 90kmh, and 127kmh at 130kmh, namely deviations of 6.0%, 2.2% and 2.3%. These were largely similar to the figures for other cars reviewed in the same issue, e.g. VW Beetle TSI, Chevrolet Malibu, Renault Captur, though the 300h was closer to actual at higher speeds than any of them. Personally, as a rule of thumb, I keep 5% in mind regardless of the speed, this being what experience in several countries tells me to be, give or take, a fairly customary difference between my speedometer readings and the figures shown on courtesy speed monitors in the expectation that the latter are accurate (which, really, I trust them to be only in Switzerland).

Yes, plain water is effective in cleaning glass and, if you add a little mild soap, also plastic and leather. Not only does it create no unwanted gloss but, provided the cloths are properly washed and dried (or new), it is odourless and chemically neutral. Of course, this minimalistic approach to cleaning the car interior (and some of the exterior for that matter) does not work in the case of serious filth and grime when the use of special-purpose products may be largely unavoidable.