Lexus RC 350 F-Sport

[DrunkenSano]

I'm not sure exactly why but I've fallen in love with this car when I went car shopping. To me, it's design is one of the best in terms of the shape and exterior. Fun car to drive when I test drove it a couple of times. I know it isn't the fastest or "best" in that price range, but I like it better than the BMWs, Acuras, Audis, and Infinitis, especially since they appear to be a lot more rare on the road than the other brands (maybe not compared to Infinitis). Was thinking of getting it in a couple of months, any glaring reason not to?

 

[monkeydelmagico]

Was thinking of getting it in a couple of months, any glaring reason not to?

Well since you said glaring.......just look at that bottom feeding catfish face. Repeated beatings with the ugly stick. As long as you approach from the rear everything will be fine.

 

[hans007]

well its kinda heavy for its level of power. and the engine in it is a 10 year old design. then again its reliable. and if you like how it looks well i wouldn't call it a bad car. it does look quite unique, the f-sport in white looks pretty badass

 

[zoiks]

I have a 2015 RC350 FSport (or is it 2016? I got it last year). I have all the options including the Mark Levinson sound, Nav, with red interior. I'll try to address what you've put above in a very unbiased manner of what I think.
The car is full of technology. It does well handling wise and is on par with my previous G37 coupe that way. It has a lot of things like the dynamic dashboard that wows people but I find no sentimental or emotional connection with the car. I don't find myself loving it like I did with my G37.
I think for 53k you can do better than this car. I'm not sure what you consider 'fun'? I don't think this car is that much fun to drive. It has a stance of a sports car that's edgy and raring to go and pound through the sound barrier. That persona is fake. It has an old engine which sounds nothing like a sports car and does not get up and go like a real sports car. The engine sound is like someone put sound dampening material over something that's whirring or spinning very fast. It has no grunt, no animal prowness, nothing that will feel like it's about to tear the road up. It's fast, but slow fast. You don't get that boost like you'd get in a G37. You don't get that giddy feeling of adrenaline in this car. That is the main reason I dislike it. I love cars that are fast that are well designed. I have it but won't feel any sadness when I return my lease back.
The car doesn't run that fast but it just drinks through fuel like nothing else. Lexus says that this will do 28mpg on the highway. Nothing of the sort. I've done only 24mpg on extreme long drives when driving gracefully from LA to SF. I drive mostly highway but the highway is about 2.5 miles away from my place and I get an average of 17-18 mpg with city/highway driving. That is atrocious. And my G37 being faster, with more grunt did better than that.
And this is where pedigree comes in. If Lexus was a company that designed high end performance cars or had a history of doing such things, this would have been a different car. That's why BMW's are faster and handle better. This is a technology/comfort mish mash of a car which fakes of being fast.
There are a lot of good things however that I'm impressed with. The trunk is very large for being a coupe.Much larger than even the Q50 sedan or Q60 coupe. I was able to fit stuff in it that I never thought that I would (with the seats folded flat). The proximity sensors are awesome. The blind spot indicators are done right. The sound system is great and the Nav is much better than previous models (no replacement for google maps though).
I wouldn't buy one but my wants are likely different from yours. My next car will be a Tesla since I love the marriage of speed and technology something the Lexus is very poor in.

 

[JulesMaximus]

In that price range you could pick up a low mileage CPO Mercedes Benz E550 Coupe. I paid $42k for one with premium 1 package and sport package a couple months ago. 400hp at the wheels, twin-turbo V8 engine, stylish, upscale and sporty. Car had 23k miles on it and has 2 more years, unlimited mileage warranty. It's not a canyon carver but it is fast and it is fun to drive. I probably should have kept looking until I found one with the premium 1 & 2 package as that adds the cooled seats and a couple other features such as parking assist. The car is very quiet inside when driving with just the right amount of growl from the engine. It's a great blend of luxury and performance and I'm really happy with it.

Mileage isn't great, I typically average 19mpg in mixed driving. I could probably get 23-24mpg on the freeway if I stay out of the throttle.

They are hard to find though and new this car would set you back $65-70k plus tax, title and license. When looking for mine there were only a handful for sale in the entire southern California region. I like the fact that there aren't many of them out there. Most of the ones you see are the E350 coupe or cabriolet.

The big if is the reliability factor. I've only had one minor problem with it so far with the tire pressure monitor but that was fixed under warranty by Mercedes. They ended up replacing the entire control unit for the TPM system. I'm sure the previous owner experienced this and just lived with it as the car was leased. I would be driving it and the warning would come on and the system would say tire pressure unavailable and if you scrolled to the tire pressure menu it would display pressure for 3 wheels but the right front sensor wouldn't display a reading. If you hit OK the system would stop displaying the message and only the amber warning light was on until it reset and picked up the reading again. Mercedes replaced the sensor but the problem reoccurred so they ended up replacing the entire control unit. It has been fine since. That control unit costs around $400 for the part and I'm sure it's something I could have done myself but it was under warranty.

The panoramic sunroof is something I could do without but I don't think they sell this car without it. The entire roof is glass with a structural support separating the front of the cabin from the rear. It makes the interior bright and airy but it also acts as a giant greenhouse when the sun is shining. It has a retractable shade that helps a bit but it still lets light and heat in. I had the entire thing tinted which helped greatly with the heat. Should be fine here in the cooler winter months.

I've already put 4,000 miles on the car and I drive it every day. I find excuses to drive it in fact. I figure I'll keep it for 3-4 years and then trade it for something else. If I put 60-70k miles on it during that time I'm fine with it. These cars were made to be driven, not stored in a garage. If you want the exclusivity, like the looks and aren't scared by the potential maintenance costs I highly recommend it.

 

[evident]

I have a 2015 RC350 FSport (or is it 2016? I got it last year). I have all the options including the Mark Levinson sound, Nav, with red interior. I'll try to address what you've put above in a very unbiased manner of what I think.
The car is full of technology. It does well handling wise and is on par with my previous G37 coupe that way. It has a lot of things like the dynamic dashboard that wows people but I find no sentimental or emotional connection with the car. I don't find myself loving it like I did with my G37.
I think for 53k you can do better than this car. I'm not sure what you consider 'fun'? I don't think this car is that much fun to drive. It has a stance of a sports car that's edgy and raring to go and pound through the sound barrier. That persona is fake. It has an old engine which sounds nothing like a sports car and does not get up and go like a real sports car. The engine sound is like someone put sound dampening material over something that's whirring or spinning very fast. It has no grunt, no animal prowness, nothing that will feel like it's about to tear the road up. It's fast, but slow fast. You don't get that boost like you'd get in a G37. You don't get that giddy feeling of adrenaline in this car. That is the main reason I dislike it. I love cars that are fast that are well designed. I have it but won't feel any sadness when I return my lease back.
The car doesn't run that fast but it just drinks through fuel like nothing else. Lexus says that this will do 28mpg on the highway. Nothing of the sort. I've done only 24mpg on extreme long drives when driving gracefully from LA to SF. I drive mostly highway but the highway is about 2.5 miles away from my place and I get an average of 17-18 mpg with city/highway driving. That is atrocious. And my G37 being faster, with more grunt did better than that.
And this is where pedigree comes in. If Lexus was a company that designed high end performance cars or had a history of doing such things, this would have been a different car. That's why BMW's are faster and handle better. This is a technology/comfort mish mash of a car which fakes of being fast.
There are a lot of good things however that I'm impressed with. The trunk is very large for being a coupe.Much larger than even the Q50 sedan or Q60 coupe. I was able to fit stuff in it that I never thought that I would (with the seats folded flat). The proximity sensors are awesome. The blind spot indicators are done right. The sound system is great and the Nav is much better than previous models (no replacement for google maps though).
I wouldn't buy one but my wants are likely different from yours. My next car will be a Tesla since I love the marriage of speed and technology something the Lexus is very poor in.

Can't believe how they executed the IS350 so well yet dropped the ball on the RC350. My experience w/ the IS is pretty much the opposite of yours. It's a fantastic car that handles very well, but I also agree that the engine is outclassed. I would compare it to something in between a BMW 328 and 335.

 

[sergeatfuture]

if you can afford that go with that. one of the most reliable car on the market