Experienced by Adrian McQueen
Photos by Adrenaline Lifestyles
The Lexus RC is one of my favorite looking vehicles, inside and out. Getting a week to review it, would let me get some seat time to determine if the drive matches the look. The Flare Yellow hue that it arrived demanded a lot of attention the entire time that I had it. The first comment that I received from most onlookers was that “It must be fast, right?” Well this is the week that I will surely find out.
The Lexus RC is a compact executive two-door coupé manufactured by Lexus, Toyota’s luxury division. The RC stands for “Radical Coupe”. The Lexus RC is offered as RC 300 and RC 350 with both models available as rear wheel drive or AWD.
Upon fist look you notice that the exterior has 19-in split-five-spoke alloy wheels, F Sport Calibers, Flare Yellow premium paint, sharp tail lamps with LED light strips, shapely exterior mirrors and a sporty front and rear fascia. This Lexus has a gorgeous interior complete with soft-touch surfaces and high-quality materials. This two-door coupe seats four people on synthetic leather upholstery. The front seats are comfortable and spacious, but as expected in a coupe, the rear seat passengers do not have much legroom at all. The RC comes with 10-way power driver’s seat, including 2-way lumbar. The passenger’s seat is an 8-way power seat. The F Sport addition includes heated and ventilated front seats, front sport seats, and a heated steering wheel. The RC has about 10.4 cubic feet of trunk space.
Lexus equips the RC with a great infotainment system. The RC that I tested came with a 10.3-inch split-screen display with a built-in navigation system and Lexus’ Remote Touch controller, and a 17-speaker Mark Levinson premium surround-sound stereo. Bluetooth, a USB port, satellite radio, HD Radio, a Wi-Fi hot spot, Amazon Alexa, Apple CarPlay, Siri Eyes Free, and the Lexus Enform app suite are available but the RC lacks Android Auto and wireless charging.
The RC 300 comes with a 241-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged inline-four engine that makes 258 pounds-feet of torque with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Lexus recalibrated the turbocharged engine to improve responsiveness and revised the suspension to enhance performance. The RC 300 isn’t the fastest vehicle out but once you get going you have enough power to keep up with traffic. You have the option to use the paddle shifters to get more out of the gears but even that option doesn’t give it the jump that I expected. I felt that it handled well in the corners and when commuting, the ride was smooth and comfortable. The standard drive setting on the RC 300 is Normal, but there are also Eco, Sport, Custom Settings and Sport +. Sport + is the most aggressive setting of them all. It is the setting that you use when you want to get the most out of the ride.
Every RC model comes with a rearview camera and the Lexus Safety Suite+ that includes a pre-collision warning and braking system, pedestrian detection, automatic high beams, lane departure warning, and adaptive cruise control. Front and rear parking sensors, blind spot monitoring, and rear cross traffic alert are available. The Insurance Institute of Highway Safety uses extensive crash tests to determine car safety. The RC 300 tested Good on the Side Impact Test, Roof Strength Test, Rear Crash Protection / Head Restraint, Roof Strength Test, IIHS Small Overlap Front Test and the Moderate Overlap Front Test. The RC also received the highest rating of Superior for the effectiveness of its front crash prevention features. I am a parent of young children so it was important to me on if a child safety seat would fit. It was a tight fit but I am still grateful that this vehicle has 2 rear seating positions with complete child seat attachment (LATCH) hardware.
The 2019 Lexus RC is sitting in a highly competitive class going up against the Audi A5, BMW 4-Series, Mercedes-Benz C Class and the INFINITI Q60. The RC F Track Edition was unveiled at the January 2019 North American International Auto Show as the even more track-focused variant of the RC F. The RC F is true fast version of the RC models featuring a V8 engine that puts out 467 horsepower and 389 pound-feet of torque.
Lexus offers a 4 year – 50,000 mile basic warranty and a 6 year – 70,000 mile powertrain warranty. Lexus is currently running deals and incentives on the RC such as $459 per month for three years with $3,999 due at signing on 2019 RC 300 AWD, 1.9% APR for five years on 2019 RC 300 AWD and up to $3,000 cash back on 2019 RC. Each of these deals expire on February 03, 2020. Why not save a few bucks when you can? The model reviewed came in at $53,580.00. Enjoy the photo gallery.
