Lexus LC 500 Coupe 2020 Review

In the absence of a replacement for the LFA supercar, the Lexus LC 500 Coupe is the Japanese luxury brand’s top-shelf sports car.

Available with a heart-pumping petrol V8, which we’re testing here, as well as a pricier petrol-electric hybrid option in the LC 500h, it will also be available in drop-top form when the all-new LC 500 Convertible arrives in October.

Our test car is brand-new, with a 2020 model year range of updates that arrived in June this year.

Upgrades include extra body reinforcement, lighter suspension components, revised front and rear spring rates, a recalibrated transmission tune designed to be responsive and lighter rear forged-alloy wheels, just to name a few.

Lexus says the LC 500 Coupe’s shock absorber lengths have also been modified so the adaptive dampers can deliver better comfort and control, while additional instrument cowl bracing is said to improve steering feel.

The throbbing 5.0-litre V8’s generous 351kW/540Nm outputs remain unchanged and continue to drive the rear wheels via a wonderful 10-speed automatic transmission.

Lexus doesn’t offer an official 0-100km/h sprint time, but take it from us: this is a quick coupe. Although the Lexus LC 500 is more about the journey, rather than how quickly it gets you to your destination, it feels every bit as its rivals.

Key competitors for the Japanese car-maker’s flagship 2+2 coupe include the BMW 8 Series Coupe, top-end versions of the (two-seat) Jaguar F-TYPE and even entry-level Porsche 911s.

The Lexus LC is also available with a hybrid drivetrain and the LC 500h is priced literally a few dollars higher at $194,553 plus ORCs.

Power comes from a 350Nm 3.5-litre V6 petrol engine helped along by a 300Nm electric motor and 650-volt battery, which together produce 264kW of combined power.

To get your bum into the semi-aniline leather seats of the Lexus LC 500 Coupe, you’ll need to fork out more than $200,000, thanks to a starting price of $194,393 (before on-road costs).

For that you get a generous list of standard equipment, including LED headlights with auto high-beam and cornering, heated and cooled 12-way powered front seats, dual-zone climate control, 13-speaker Mark Levinson sound system, a glass roof (which sadly, doesn’t open), rain-sensing wipers and an electrically-adjustable steering wheel.

A coloured head-up display comes standard and if you ever drive barefoot – which isn’t recommended by law, BTW – you’ll be treated to some of the most lush, plump carpet you may ever experience beneath your trotters.

There’s also a heated steering wheel and ‘easy access’ front sliding seats to help passengers get to the (tight) rear seat; both are new features for the updated LC 500 Coupe.

Safety and driver assistance gear includes autonomous emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, lane keep assist, blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, tyre pressure monitoring and eight airbags.

An enhancement pack can be added for another $15,000 (our test car wasn’t fitted with this) and it includes an active rear spoiler, carbon-fibre roof and kick plates, sport front seats, Variable Gear Ratio Steering (VGRS) and Alcantara/leather-accented trim.

One of the least impressive features on the Lexus LC 500 Coupe has to be that ancient infotainment unit that the Toyota premium brand insistently employs in its cars.

The touchpad on the centre console is too sensitive and quite frankly, sucks. It requires too much of your concentration to complete simple tasks such as turning the seat heating on or changing a song.

On a positive note though, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto connectivity now come standard, making the touchpad largely redundant anyway. Alas, I must admit I couldn’t get the phone-mirroring system to work in the few hours I spent with the car, which goes to show how user-unfriendly the infotainment system is.

The Lexus LC 500 Coupe comes with a four-year/100,000km factory warranty, while servicing over the first three years will cost $1785 every 12 months or 15,000km.

Purchasing a new LC will also grant you access to Lexus’s exclusive Encore Platinum owners club, which offers a range of enticing benefits.

Sure, you’ll get used to the Lexus LC 500 Coupe’s irritating cockpit controls in time, but this car feels like it deserves more.

Even the 8.0-inch instrument cluster (borrowed from the LFA, mind you) isn’t as awe-inspiring as the car’s price tag suggests, displaying the same boring speedo, fuel gauge and engine temp information you get in most garden-variety cars.

OK, enough nagging. Truth is, you could drive the LC 500 all day and never get sick of it. The cocoon-like cabin is so quiet, even on coarse-chip surfaces, that road and tyre noise is almost non-existent.

The exhaust note – which is enhanced by special sound-control valves – is rich and gutsy, yet understated during normal driving.

Flick it into Sport S+ mode and that gorgeous V8 screams as you shuffle through the gears.

Speaking of which, the 10-speed automatic is calibrated perfectly and always super-smooth, whether you’re tootling slowly around town or punching it down country roads.

The shift paddles are wonderfully weighted and it actually lets you drive it manually, too, without overriding your inputs like lots of automatics do in an effort to put less stress on the powertrain.

There’s more than enough mumbo to get the LC 500’s rear-end wiggling and dancing as you power out of corners and over wet bits of road, encouraging you to tango, but this big coupe never feels out of shape.

Even in its sportiest setting, when the steering is sharper and damping stiffer, it continues to float quietly and evenly over bumps in the road. Yet around corners it remains surprising flat on the road and feels lot more energetic than you’d expect for a car of its proportions.

In Comfort mode, the suspension can feel a little too floaty, taking too long to settle after big bumps, but the trade-off is lush ride quality even on the harshest of surfaces.

The Lexus LC 500 Coupe doesn’t feel instantly quick off the line, instead taking its time to deliver max power (at 7100rpm) and peak torque (at 4800rpm) in a more relaxed kind of way, but roll-on acceleration is strong brute force is there for the taking upon downshifts.

Given its near-two-tonne bulk and broad footprint, the LC 500 Coupe isn’t overly menacing or intimidating to drive.

That said, the swoopy rear-end and thick B-pillars make for heinous blind spots and the sun visors are almost too small to be of use.

That aside, the classy leather seats are stitched in a contour-like pattern that’s carried over to the door cards and looks very swish. The seats are comfy despite being moulded only slightly at the sides and base.

Electric lumbar adjustment is a win and you can adjust the seats to sit nice and low in the cockpit and just about every touchpoint inside the cabin is layered with supple leather or suede. This is a classy interior, no arguments.

As much as it’d make an enjoyable daily, the Lexus LC 500 Coupe doesn’t earn any brownie points where practicality is concerned.

The boot holds just 197 litres, there’s not much in the way of in-cabin storage compartments and the rear seat looks like it’d struggle to accommodate a 10-year-old.

On the road, you certainly feel its width (1920mm), not to mention its 1970kg mass on narrow and twisty roads like those of Sydney’s Royal National Park, where we drove the updated LC.

Admittedly, its size makes it a little difficult to keep within the lines on narrow roads, like those of the Nasho (as it’s known to locals and beyond).

There’s a broad range of people this sporty grand tourer would appeal to – but well-heeled singles or couples who are successful executives or looking to reward themselves in retirement are the most likely candidates.

The Lexus LC 500 is a glorious piece of machinery that almost anyone would be proud to own and show off.

Not only because its price tag demands the kind of social respect most aspire to, but because of its unique styling, outstanding craftmanship and the fact it oozes more class than royalty. Which isn’t that hard these days.

Clearly, the big, brash LC isn’t for everyone. If you’re anything like my brother, you’ll be deterred by the fact that -- although it can be turned off -- it has the same lock/unlock ‘beep beep’ as a $25K Toyota Corolla, and for him, that’s just not good enough.

For everyone else, the Lexus LC 500 Coupe’s few and far between flaws simply add character to a very solid offering in a rarefied and privileged part of the market.

How much does the 2020 Lexus LC 500 Coupe cost?
Price: $194,393 (plus on-road costs)
Available: Now
Engine: 5.0-litre naturally-aspirated V8 petrol
Output: 351kW/540Nm
Transmission: 10-speed automatic
Fuel: 11.6L/100km (ADR Combined)
CO2: 267g/km (ADR Combined)
Safety rating: Not tested