H3XME

Yeah I guess this sums it up pretty well..

What is it? Very very good looking coupe with a great driving position, decent chassis, full of tech and potential. RC itself is great, there are amazing options such as the RC350 (3.5l V6) or RC-F (5.0l V8). What I was getting at in this post is the hybrid version. In my opinion it's a lazy, unresponsive, heavy coupe that does not suit me personally. This car would've been a lot better as 450h if hybrid is what you're after. 300h drivetrain is enough for IS or maybe even ES, but it just does not suit the sportiness of the RC. Are you telling me you wouldn't go for 450h version instead if it was available for extra ~£7000? e.g. The price difference between GS300 and GS450h was only £3k for base spec of either option back in 2006.

Yeah definitely.. 300h or even is250 may be fast enough.. But fast enough for what? Daily commute? Absolutely Fast enough for over taking? Not really. At the end of the day it depends on what you expect from a car.. and you & me expect pretty much the same things but unfortunately the europe-available RCs can't give it to us unless it's the F. So F this and let's end this thread on the fact we're too poor to own the RC we really want.

Yes, old cars didn't have a lot of power, but it's because they didn't need it. Those 50s, 60s sports cars would weight easily half of the RC. Bashing through the rev counter with no assists. That's a true fun factor and an experience of its own.. Power to weight ratio is one thing, but that's not my point. The point is that 300h drive train is not very well suited to an RC chassis due to what it represents. A grand tourer, or even a sports car some would say.. (I'd have more fun driving it even with the 4GR engine that's in the IS250 that technically makes less power at 208hp) No doubt your car attracts attention and turns heads. It's a beautiful car, that's what I'm saying. It's so beautiful and the lack of "middle" ground engine option is a real shame because I feel like it would've done a lot better sale-wise if there was the middle ground. Let me use BMW as an example again. We have something like 420 - the base spec engine for people that want a nice car and don't care about economy. Then there's the turbo 6 cylinder 435, the middle ground for people who want a bit of performance but can't afford the M4. With the RC you only get the Base spec engine or the top tier. A whole category of buyers was forgotten about or ignored. You say you have fun driving around country lanes and going cross country. I don't doubt it, but I'm sure you and me have a different idea about having a blast on country lanes. I like to stretch its legs and I can tell I wouldn't enjoy doing that in RC300h because the car wouldn't enjoy it. RCF is unfortunately the only way but that's too expensive for most of us.

Nobody says they're bad, they just don't suit a sporty car. Of course, people want a sporty looking car without the performance of one because it just looks good and unfortunately that's the world we live in. I'd be embarrassed being seen in a good looking, fast looking car even, such as the latest C class coupe or RC if it was a diesel or something underwhelming with 150hp that cannot backup its looks

Yeah it's a shame, I think they fully missed the boat with this.. We've had Nissan 350Z & 370Z forever here (decent engine GT car), Toyota didn't really have a sports car in the UK until the GT86 and Supra, and even then, those two cars are in a different league to Lexus RC. So by having RC350 here, I think it would appeal to people who ended up with BMW 440i instead. There is no middle ground for this car in the UK. It's either a hybrid (lets ignore 200t since it's almost non-existent) or the extremes of RC-F. I honestly think RC350 would've been such a popular coupe if advertised well. It's true what you say, I talk to my friends about this weekly.. There is virtually nothing to choose from for middle-class enthusiasts as it's either a ****ty engine + looks = affordable or good engine + looks = not affordable. Like I say, almost no middle ground on the UK market these days. If we're talking in New Car terms.

Perhaps, and it is something people can get used to, it's just that driving the 300h felt like I had to put more effort into speeding up even if its just by 10mph.

Yeah of course, but it is what it is.. can't expect a top tier car, especially from a manufacturer like Lexus to be cheap in the servicing department and I don't. I don't have issues with that at all, it's not what I'm saying. Hell, having £35k will get you Nissan GT-R and you'll run into the exact same "issue" - running cost. Having driven a GT-R, I know I wouldn't enjoy it day to day as much as RC.. There's nothing luxurious about the GT-R, yet it comes with premium price tag for parts just like the RC-F. Gotta pay for performance - and that being said, RC is something that never should've been available with less than 6 cylinders.

Thanks for the input, Phil. I would agree there, I had a loan car, IS300h for two days when mine was in for a recall, and I enjoyed it, not going to lie. I can forgive the IS300h for everything I mentioned above, it's an entry level executive saloon, no issues. I just can't help but dislike everything about the RC300h that I didn't mind in the IS300h purely because of what the car represents - a grand tourer. I think Lexus nailed it with RC350 and perhaps even RC-F, but as a hybrid, it's just a no no for this car in my opinion. I didn't think it would be an issue, on paper, but after driving it, I do think it's a problem personally.

EBC sell a pair of OE-replacement front discs for £441.. I wouldn't worry. They aren't grooved like the factory ones, but grooves help with heat minimally, it's about the vents in the discs. Also, this would only be an issue should you go on the track, which I wouldn't. Pads are ~£120 a set. Where there's a will, there's a way. We all know it's always cheaper to DIY. Brakes are brakes, there's no need to all of a sudden start going to the dealer for brakes change just because you have a nice car.. Peugeot 106 or RC-F, brakes are brakes. Going to the dealer is nice should something go wrong, but for basic servicing, I trust myself more than some technicians who don't care.

The sales guy said the rear seats do fold on the 300h. As for the older RCF.. I wouldn't worry about warranty. It's a fairly old school V8.. I think the engine will be the last thing to go wrong on that car.

I've liked these since they came out. I never bothered driving one because they were out of my budget, but you can get one for reasonable money on PCP now.. Anyway, I actually went to Lexus Birmingham on Saturday and test drove RC300h they had in. I'm glad I did because now I can forget about the hybrid version. Car looks amazing, I really like it. Test drove a white 2017 car, but they also had 2016 red & blue in. As soon as I got in the car, I adjusted the seat and I was very happy with the seating position. Nice and low, reminded me a lot of my GT86, which was surprising because these high end luxury coupes sometimes struggle with it, e.g. 4 series. I liked the interior vibe I was getting, once you're behind the wheel and you shut the door, it's really nice in my opinion. Again, you don't often get it with other cars. Even the new Supra isn't quite like this inside. Anyway, time to actually drive the car. Gently drove off, it was fine, as you'd expect from a hybrid, nice and smooth, didn't notice any of the annoying electric motor sound you normally get from a Prius when you're in a taxi 😄 That's a positive. However, leaving the island from Lexus and joining a dual carriageway was very underwhelming. To be fair, I didn't floor it, I was going at it in a normal manner, as I would in my own car. The car felt very lazy. When I gave it some beans, I had time to look at my wrist watch and back before it started doing something. Almost as if there was a very bad turbo lag, except silent until the petrol engine kicked in. Then I realised that I was in the eco/normal mode. I changed to sport mode, the dash turned red, the accelerator was suddenly a little sharper, similar to the PWR button in an automatic IS250. So in sports mode everything got a little better, but it was still laggy compared to a normal linear power delivery of a naturally aspirated petrol engine. It's still awful really when manufacturers do this to cars to make you and the car drive as economically as possible for the cost of driving experience. I think the car handled quite well, from the limited short test drive. Seems like a nice, rigid chassis and with the right power train this car would be a good fun despite its weight. I drove sensibly throughout the test drive. It was a mixture of 30, 40 & 50 roads with single lanes, traffic lights, dual carriageways and some roundabouts. This "lag" I'm talking about, happened again at 40mph, the car was honestly struggling to get to 50mph without me having to step on it. The way I would normally accelerate from 40 to 50 in 4th or 5th gear, was not enough pressure to the pedal in the RC. The car felt like it was in 7th gear which is non sense since it's a CVT. That being said might be just because I'm not used to it and it needs to be driven differently, however at the end of the test drive we arrived with 22.8MPG. Ridiculous, my V6 would do the same. To wrap this up.. RC300h is definitely not the car for me, or anybody else who is into cars on a higher level than your neighbour Fred who has an M badge on his 520d. It doesn't drive the way a proper car should. The RC300h I drove did not drive the way I'd expect, it did not achieve the fuel economy I'd expect and it did not perform the way I'd expect. I was only looking at hybrid because it looks good and if it was as good on fuel as the official figures claim, I'd get over the way it drives. It would be my daily driver, just to work and back, not a fun weekend car, but I do 35 miles on the motorway each day and my IS250 will have very similar MPGs at 42mpg on the run.. Sure, it will drive differently, it's a hybrid with a lazy 4 cylinder under the bonnet, but the way it was, the looks & driving position are the only things it's got going for it in my opinion. I think it's good enough for people who aren't petrol heads because they can enjoy the looks while not being fussed about how different it drives. There is not enough benefits for me to justify spending £370/m on a car with this powertrain. I don't see any point in having hybrids to be honest, the difference is minimal for people like me who commute on the motorway. I'm yet to drive RC200t like I said to the sales guy, because the 300h experience leaves me with only two options. 200t IF I like the way it and drives (a lot of people seem to dislike the gearbox) or wait some more for RC-Fs to be around low £20s.. in a couple of years. It's a shame, and I must agree with @Linas.P I'm really jealous of USA & JAPAN because of the availability of RC350 which seems like the perfect engine for this car. Importing one from Japan will work out more than buying an RC-F here so not feasible.

It's being sold in Birmingham.. says it all😂

Do we really care about environment that much though? I think it's just running costs for most people. Purely environmentally speaking, EVs are worse for the planet overall due to batteries. Not to mention, cars contribute by only ~5% of the world's C02, so emissions and this EV/Hybrid hype makes very little difference to the planet.. I suppose for the people making these decisions it's easier to target this than targeting industrial sector which is the biggest contributor to pollution.

Shop around for a local specialist. They're normally competitive enough so it's worth it. As long as you service it every year and get the stamp, I don't think it matters whether it's Lexus or independent garage that does the servicing. 400EUR for oil n filters is a lot..

Get some from a low mileage breaker.. it'll be okay. Mine were still relatively okay on 130k miles when I changed to coilovers.

I use the standard 3mm sticky pads from Halfords and it's worked very well over the years. Never had a plate off. I was thinking of magnets so when I go to shows I can go plate less (at least on the front) without any hassle, but I haven't tested it yet.

Perhaps. I'll check it out.. I also just found an old thread:

Let me know how you get on. My washer jets stopped working too..I can still hear the pump when I pull the stalk so that's fine, there must be a blockage somewhere though.. Jets under the bonnet look clean so it might be the valve like Steve says above.

Budget lowering 😂

The manual gearbox can handle it, you won't be at 300lbs/ft by using the supercharger. Unless you're planning on tracking the car, I wouldn't worry too much. And if you was to start thinking about a new box.. BMW conversions are cheap enough. However.. CREST Motorsports offer something around £5-6k drive in & out 3UZ conversions for IS200s.. and when I spoke to them they were very interested in getting into this platform and doing a deal, so if you're in a position where you can fork out ~£5k cash, you'll have V8 IS250 for a lot less than spending money on IS-F.. The ECU is the biggest problem of doing anything on this car. You need a LINK or something.

Leicester

Meh, tyre companies have to go through some tests. You say some Chinese tyres are bad.. look at Michelin Primacy that come on GT86 & Prius from the factory. Worst tyre ive ever experienced. (everyone will say the same thing) No grip what so ever, yet it's a good brad.. it all depends on compound. I've used Landsail budget tyres - £60/pop at 225/40R18 and I found them stickier than Proxes TR1 I normally go for. Mismatch tyres on the same axle are worse than a set of cheap tyres in all 4 corners.

@HoofHearted To be honest, if the car is a good nick inside out, looks looked after, the lack of SH wouldn't really put me off. I do my own servicing so no stamps in the book.. however, 112,000 miles for £5k+ is too much and I wouldn't pay that... My friend is selling his ~60,000 mile facelift in the same colour - automatic, screen, black leather if you want? I think he's asking for £6k? He bought it for that much last year, but going back to an estate as figured out it's not the most practical car for him because the rear seats don't fold..

Good point. It just didn't work out in the UK.. there is a couple of RC-Fs around 30k which is the same money you'd pay for 300h with only a bit less miles on it.. Not to mention, big V8s can do hundreds of thousands of miles, that engine is fairly old school, in theory it should be a hassle free ownership if you can get over the fuel bill around town. For example, 5.0 V8 mustang GT we have here does ~40mpg on the run (in a real life test) which is insane for such a big engine. RC-F is a no brainer if I had £30k to spend, but unfortunately £20k is more realistic for me.. guess I'll just wait. It's not exactly a great time to buy now anyway.