2021 Lexus LC500 track test and performance review
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TechTranscript
00:00Hey guys, Chris here from Car Expert. We're back at Queensland Raceway, our test track,
00:04and today I've got the Lexus LC500. So this is a five litre V8, it's quite a big car,
00:101,900 kilos, but it's got 350 kilowatts, and that's naturally aspirated with 540
00:14newton metres of torque. So rear wheel drive, 10 speed transmission, so lots of gears there,
00:20and we'll see how it goes compared to the RC F. We've already tested very similar performance-wise,
00:24but a little bit heavier and a little bit more comfortable. First we'll do the zero to 100,
00:29and the braking test, then we'll get on the track and try and set a lap time.
00:48All right, so initial impressions. I love the seats, this is a really good example of
00:55comfort and support, like most manufacturers just miss it either one way or the other,
01:00but Lexus have done a great job here. I'm sitting nice and in the seat, down low,
01:04but I've got great support as well, so it's really comfortable, really supportive,
01:09and it sort of fits with this car, so expecting high performance, but you still want your luxury,
01:13so you've got that here. Visibility is excellent, no issues there. I'm sitting nice and low,
01:20but it doesn't really hurt the visibility at all. Steering is good, just initially feels a
01:26little light, because the car's so soft as well, it's going to dull some of that feeling you'd
01:31expect from a more racier car. Brakes feel pretty good, but you do notice the extra weight of this
01:39car, it's heavy, it's 1900 kilos, like I said, and that's going to hurt you on the track,
01:45and although there's a lot of good things, the weight is always a disadvantage.
01:52Engine sounds great, it's awesome to have that naturally aspirated sound.
01:57When it gets high in the rev range, it just comes alive. Just going to be interesting to see whether
02:03I can control the car enough with that movement on the flying laps, and see if I can do a good time,
02:09see if it can match the RCF actually, that was 69.3, which I was pretty impressed with that lap
02:13time. So I've got the engine in power mode, and the chassis in sport mode, the top spec,
02:19traction control off, stability control off. Alright, let's head into a flying lap,
02:24try and get a good exit.
03:13Engine sounds
03:35Well there you go, I got down to a 60.34, which is a little bit disappointing, I thought I'd
03:42crack the minute mark, considering the RCF had already done a 59.3. We're in the middle of summer
03:48now as well, so the track temperatures are higher, and you're going to lose some grip.
03:52Let's look at the positives, engine sounds amazing, revs out nicely, super free, really like that.
04:00Just the fact that you've got so much weight tied to that, hurts it a little bit off the corner,
04:05I just felt like we were a little bit sluggish to get going. Once it got up in the revs,
04:09then it was no problem at all. You can see this is a car built for comfort more than the track,
04:13it sounds great, it does a lot of things well, but it's just a little bit lazy on the track,
04:18there's a lot of energy going to different places. I couldn't quite get the car to squat
04:22how I wanted off the corner, and the rear just slid that little bit too easily. I had a couple
04:27of slides there, even on the fastest lap on turn two, I lost the rear there, and I was just trying
04:31to explore the limits, but just didn't have the feeling I wanted at the limit to really harness
04:38the potential of the car. I really feel like it could have been much faster than that, but
04:43I was just held back by basically the comfort of this car. It is so comfortable, the seating
04:48position, everything's awesome in that respect, but it just lacks the feedback that you want
04:54for outright performance. I also struggled a little bit with the brake pedal, and I've noticed
04:59this with a few cars, that they're so clever, and Lexus is right up there with a brand that does
05:04clever stuff with their cars, that it actually interferes with the feedback and the feeling you
05:10need at the limit. So I'd get different results from the same force, and that's always a
05:15challenge to drive to, when you're looking for a braking point, looking for the limit. Sometimes
05:19I'd have a firm pedal that would go soft later on, other times it would be the other way around,
05:24and sometimes it would think I was in a panic situation, and be jumping on the brakes,
05:29so it would do more than I wanted. So I had to be careful not to attack the brakes too hard,
05:33because then it would accentuate what I was asking for, and then you try and balance that
05:38out through different corners, and it's hard to do that, you're sort of guessing what's going to
05:41happen, so that's a bit of a challenge. The car was actually surprisingly tail-happy as well, I
05:46tried with both traction control on and off, and stability control on and off, I ended up with
05:51everything off, and trying to deal with it, and like I said, I even did the quickest lap with the
05:54car sliding around a bit, because I had to attack, I had to go over the limit to know where it was,
06:00so you do have to be a little bit careful in this car in terms of the throttle, especially when the
06:05weight transfers exiting the corner, so you have to manage that, it's not a piece of cake to drive
06:11at the limit, and that comes back a lot to the energy that's going around, the 1900 kilos,
06:16the softer suspension. The final thing is the transmission and differentials, I can't say too
06:21much about it, it was never really an issue, but I would have liked something a little bit more
06:26reactive on the track, just occasionally it wouldn't shift gears when I wanted it,
06:30but no big issue, I felt like there was maybe a little bit too much slip occasionally on the rear,
06:37and that sort of inconsistency from the rear caused some of my concerns coming off the corner,
06:43I couldn't quite nail the exits, and I was just a bit cautious, I lost the rear a few times,
06:48and other times then it didn't slide, so it was just hard to really drive on the absolute limit,
06:54but again, this is a car that's not designed for driving at the absolute limit,
06:58it's a performance car that's comfortable, but does it all with luxury refinement.
07:05So there you go guys, the Lexus LC500, now this did a pretty good time for what is a big
07:10luxury car, now it was fun, but also a challenge out there, rear wheel drive, the thing drifts
07:17like a weapon, so that was good fun, a little bit off the pace of the RCF which we've also tested
07:22here, but you can understand that, it's 1900 kilos, and only 350 kilowatts, and not a huge
07:29amount of torque, so it is going to be limited there, but it does sound fantastic out on the
07:33track. So my three tips for this car, firstly because it is so big and heavy and lazy, which
07:38is a positive in terms of comfort, but a negative on the track, you've got to be really controlled
07:42going into the corners, you've got to be managing that weight, smooth with your inputs and not
07:46over committing, then you want to be in a position to use the engine, the engine loves to rev freely
07:50and be in the top end, so you've got to be in the right gear, in the right position in the middle
07:54of the corner to make the most of that off the track, and third, you're not going to sweat too
07:58much in this car, this is so comfortable and luxurious, air conditioning on, go out there do
08:03a good time and have some fun. Hope you guys enjoyed the video, if you did hit the like button
08:08and don't forget to subscribe to our channel as well, lots more cool content to come, love to hear
08:12your feedback as well, what would you like to see out on the track and I'll try and do a time for
08:16you guys. Hope you enjoyed it and see you again next time.