Sporting intentions

What we like:

Gorgeous sculpted body. Excellent balance of ride and handling.

What we dislike:

Beefy kerb weight of 1

700kgs which makes it feel lethargic when driven quickly.

The RC 350 has no issues on the handling front but on pace, it loses out to its main rival, the BMW 435i Coupe. Like the IS 250 we drove last year, we felt that the platform is far more capable than its 312bhp that the V6 musters. There’s some lethargy felt when coming out of the bends mainly due to its rather beefy 1,700 kg kerb weight which we feel would be easily overcome in the 5.0-litre V8 variant.

These complaints though are cast aside once the sports coupe is settled down and it becomes a peppy cruiser around town. Despite its sporty underpinnings, none of the Lexus refinement is missing and it gently poodles around town readily with a pliant, comfortable suspension. In comfort mode, the steering weight lightens up which makes it easy to drive around tight carparks and heavy traffic.

Despite similarities in its interior to the IS platform, the richer materials used here gives the coupe a slightly more premium feel. The soft leather clad semi-sports seats keeps your body gently cocooned in an ergonomic fashion which makes it a comfortable long distance cruiser. But even with its 2+2 configuration, some rear passengers will find the rear headroom restrictive which makes long distances for rear passengers slightly uncomfortable.

Akio Toyoda’s vision of a comfortable and sporty Lexus performance model is fully realized in the RC coupe. But unlike the flagship V8 model, the RC 350 F Sport is well suited as a daily driver and grand tourer. Although it doesn’t stand out in performance figures on the spec sheet, that beautiful sculpted body is enough to grant it the attention it deserves.

Credits: Story and Photos by Benjamin G. Kline