We made the call that the Lexus LC500 has the best sounding naturally aspirated V8 we've heard ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AQErIXWTzu8 ), but how does this big luxury cruiser far around the race track? We put the CarExpert professional race driver, Chris Atkinson, behind the wheel to set a lap time and see where it places on our leaderboard.
Lap time leaderboard: https://www.carexpert.com.au/lap-times/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=review&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=other-video
More Lexus content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/lexus
More Lexus LC500 content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/lexus/lc500
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Acceleration and braking figures: 00:30
Initial impressions: 00:48
Hot lap (no talking): 02:23
Hot lap debrief: 03:35
Atko's verdict: 07:03
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#lexus #lc500 #review
Lap time leaderboard: https://www.carexpert.com.au/lap-times/?utm_source=youtube&utm_medium=review&utm_term=&utm_content=&utm_campaign=other-video
More Lexus content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/lexus
More Lexus LC500 content: https://www.carexpert.com.au/lexus/lc500
Skip Ahead:
Intro: 00:00
Acceleration and braking figures: 00:30
Initial impressions: 00:48
Hot lap (no talking): 02:23
Hot lap debrief: 03:35
Atko's verdict: 07:03
We review every new car on the market, bust car myths, cover the latest car tech and answer your burning questions.
Whether you need new car advice, purchase validation or simply love learning more about new cars and technology, we are your car experts.
Subscribe to Car Expert: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7DvMhvy3H7ntEgn9n3xQcQ?sub_confirmation=1
You'll find us dropping new video content three times a week. If you'd like to ask a question about one of our videos, simply leave us a comment. If you'd like to give us any feedback on our content, feel free to email us, or alternatively, hit us up on social media.
Finally, we want this channel to grow with your support and feedback. If there's anything you don't like or would like to see us change, we'd love to hear from you!
Follow us on social media to see what we're up to and to ask any questions!
CarExpert:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/CarExpertAus
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/CarExpertAus
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/carexpert.com.au
Paul Maric:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/PaulMaric
Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/PaulMaric
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/PaulMaric
#lexus #lc500 #review
Category
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MotorTranscript
00:00 Hey guys, Chris here from Car Expert.
00:01 We're back at Queensland Raceway, our test track.
00:04 And today I've got the Lexus LC 500.
00:07 So this is a five litre V8.
00:08 It's quite a big car, 1,900 kilos,
00:11 but it's got 350 kilowatts,
00:12 and that's naturally aspirated
00:13 with 540 newton metres of torque.
00:15 So rear wheel drive, 10 speed transmission.
00:18 So lots of gears there.
00:19 And we'll see how it goes compared to the RC F.
00:22 We've already tested very similar performance wise,
00:24 but a little bit heavier
00:26 and a little bit more comfortable.
00:27 First we'll do the zero to a hundred
00:28 and the braking test,
00:30 then we'll get on the track and try and set a lap time.
00:33 (car engine roaring)
00:36 All right, so initial impressions.
00:50 I love the seats.
00:51 This is a really good example of comfort and support.
00:56 Like most manufacturers just miss it
00:58 either one way or the other,
01:00 but Lexus have done a great job here.
01:01 I'm sitting nice and in the seat, down low,
01:04 but I've got great support as well.
01:06 So it's really comfortable, really supportive,
01:09 and sort of fits with this car.
01:10 So expecting high performance,
01:12 but you still want your luxury.
01:13 So you've got that here.
01:15 Visibility's excellent.
01:17 No issues there.
01:18 I'm sitting nice and low,
01:19 but it doesn't really hurt the visibility at all.
01:23 Steering is good.
01:24 It just initially feels a little light
01:27 because the car's so soft as well.
01:29 It's going to dull some of that feeling you'd expect
01:31 from a more racier car.
01:33 Brakes feel pretty good,
01:37 but you do notice the extra weight of this car.
01:39 It's heavy.
01:40 It's 1,900 kilos, like I said,
01:43 and that's going to hurt you on the track.
01:45 And although there's a lot of good things,
01:47 the weight is always a disadvantage.
01:49 (car engine roaring)
01:52 Engine sounds great.
01:54 It's awesome to have that naturally aspirated sound.
01:57 When it gets high in the rev range,
01:58 it just comes alive.
02:02 Just going to be interesting to see
02:03 whether I can control the car enough
02:05 with that movement on the flying laps
02:07 and see if I can do a good time.
02:09 See if it can match the RCF, actually.
02:10 That was 69.3,
02:12 which I was pretty impressed with that lap time.
02:14 So I've got the engine in power mode
02:17 and the chassis in sport mode, the top spec.
02:19 Traction control off, stability control off.
02:22 All right, let's head into a flying lap.
02:24 Try and get a good exit.
02:25 (car engine roaring)
02:28 (car engine roaring)
02:31 (car engine roaring)
02:34 (car engine roaring)
02:38 (car engine roaring)
02:41 (car engine roaring)
03:04 (car engine roaring)
03:07 (car engine roaring)
03:27 (car engine roaring)
03:30 Well, there you go.
03:36 I got down to a 60.34,
03:38 which is a little bit disappointing.
03:41 I thought I'd cracked the minute mark,
03:42 considering the RCF had already done a 59.3.
03:46 We're in the middle of summer now as well,
03:48 so the track temperatures are higher
03:50 and you're going to lose some grip.
03:51 Let's look at the positives.
03:53 Engine sounds amazing.
03:56 It revs out nicely, super free, really like that.
04:00 Just the fact that you've got so much weight tied to that.
04:03 Hurts a little bit off the corner.
04:05 I just felt like we were a little bit sluggish to get going.
04:08 Once it got up in the revs, then it was no problem at all.
04:10 You can see this is a car built for comfort
04:12 more than the track.
04:13 It sounds great.
04:14 It does a lot of things well,
04:16 but it's just a little bit lazy on the track.
04:18 There's a lot of energy going to different places.
04:20 I couldn't quite get the car to squat
04:22 how I wanted off the corner.
04:24 And the rear just slid that little bit too easily.
04:26 I had a couple of slides there,
04:28 even on the fastest lap on turn two, I lost the rear there.
04:31 And I was just trying to explore the limits,
04:32 but just didn't have the feeling I wanted at the limit
04:36 to really harness the potential of the car.
04:40 I really feel like it could have been much faster than that,
04:42 but I was just held back by basically
04:45 the comfort of this car.
04:46 It is so comfortable, the seating position,
04:49 everything's awesome in that respect,
04:51 but it just lacks the feedback that you want
04:54 for outright performance.
04:56 I also struggled a little bit with the brake pedal,
04:58 and I've noticed this with a few cars,
05:00 that they're so clever,
05:01 and Lexus is right up there with a brand
05:04 that does clever stuff with their cars,
05:06 that it actually interferes with the feedback
05:09 and the feeling you need at the limit.
05:10 So I'd get different results from the same force,
05:14 and that's always a challenge to drive to
05:16 when you're looking for a braking point,
05:18 looking for the limit.
05:19 Sometimes I'd have a firm pedal that would go soft later on.
05:22 Other times it would be the other way around,
05:24 and sometimes it would think I was in a panic situation
05:28 and be jumping on the brakes,
05:29 like it would do more than I wanted.
05:30 So I had to be careful not to attack the brakes too hard,
05:33 because then it would accentuate what I was asking for,
05:36 and then you try and balance that out
05:38 through different corners, and it's hard to do that.
05:40 You're sort of guessing what's gonna happen.
05:41 So that's a bit of a challenge.
05:43 The car was actually surprisingly tail-happy as well.
05:45 I tried with both traction control on and off,
05:48 and stability control on and off.
05:50 Ended up with everything off and trying to deal with it.
05:53 And like I said, I even did the quickest lap
05:54 with the car sliding around a bit,
05:56 because I had to attack.
05:57 I had to go over the limit to know where it was.
06:00 So you do have to be a little bit careful in this car
06:02 in terms of the throttle,
06:04 especially when the weight transfers exiting the corner.
06:07 So you have to manage that.
06:09 It's not a piece of cake to drive at the limit,
06:12 and that comes back a lot to the energy that's going around.
06:14 The 1,900 kilos, the softer suspension,
06:18 the final thing is the transmission and differentials.
06:20 I can't say too much about it.
06:22 It was never really an issue,
06:24 but I would have liked something
06:25 a little bit more reactive on the track.
06:27 Just occasionally it wouldn't shift gears when I wanted it,
06:30 but no big issue.
06:32 I felt like there was maybe a little bit too much slip
06:36 occasionally on the rear,
06:37 and that sort of inconsistency from the rear
06:40 caused some of my concerns coming off the corner.
06:42 I couldn't quite nail the exits,
06:44 and I was just a bit cautious.
06:46 I lost the rear a few times,
06:47 and other times then it didn't slide.
06:49 So it was just hard to really drive on the absolute limit.
06:53 But again, this is a car that's not designed
06:57 for driving at the absolute limit.
06:58 It's a performance car that's comfortable,
07:00 but does it all with luxury refinement.
07:03 So there you go, guys, the Lexus LC 500.
07:08 Now this did a pretty good time
07:09 for what is a big luxury car.
07:12 Now it was fun, but also a challenge out there.
07:14 Rear wheel drive, the thing drifts like a weapon.
07:17 So that was good fun.
07:18 A little bit off the pace of the RC F,
07:20 which we've also tested here,
07:22 but you can understand that.
07:24 It's 1,900 kilos and only 350 kilowatts,
07:28 and not a huge amount of torque.
07:30 So it is gonna be limited there,
07:31 but it does sound fantastic out on the track.
07:33 So my three tips for this car,
07:35 firstly, because it is so big and heavy and lazy,
07:37 which is a positive in terms of comfort,
07:39 but a negative on the track,
07:41 you've gotta be really controlled going into the corners.
07:43 You've gotta be managing that weight,
07:44 smooth with your inputs and not over committing.
07:47 Then you wanna be in a position to use the engine.
07:49 The engine loves to rev freely and be in the top end.
07:51 So you've gotta be in the right gear,
07:53 in the right position in the middle of the corner
07:54 to make the most of that off the track.
07:57 And third, you're not gonna sweat too much in this car.
07:59 This is so comfortable and luxurious,
08:02 air conditioning on,
08:03 go out there, do a good time and have some fun.
08:05 Hope you guys enjoyed the video.
08:06 If you did, hit the like button
08:07 and don't forget to subscribe to our channel as well.
08:10 Lots more cool content to come.
08:11 Love to hear your feedback as well.
08:13 What would you like to see on the track?
08:14 And I'll try and do a time for you guys.
08:16 Hope you enjoyed it and see you again next time.