Lexus LC review

The Lexus LC lives in a curious corner of the car world, particularly in the present day, but it’s certainly a rather pleasing corner. Here’s a GT car with nearly as much majesty and head-turning potential as an Aston Martin DB11 or a Bentley Continental GT, but with a 50 per cent price cut on those cars. Naturally its performance, materials and badge kudos don’t live up to those rivals, but when a car looks this good, you really mightn’t care.

The petrol LC 500 starts at £95,660 with 20-inch wheels, basic seats and a pretty featureless drivetrain (save for that wonderful V8 of course), while the hybrid LC 500h won’t save you much as it kicks off at £95,515. That perhaps illustrates why 75 per cent of buyers stick with the traditional V8 – despite Lexus largely advertising itself as a hybrid brand. Clearly anyone spending ninety grand (plus) is less bothered by their fuel bills. No major shock.

So what should I actually pay to get the right spec?

Once you’ve chosen an engine (cough V8 cough), it’s then time to choose a spec. There are base, Sport Pack and Sport+ Pack options for each, and each climb of the ladder adds around five grand, meaning you’ll pay £106,510 for a Sport+ Pack LC 500 which brings the Torsen limited-slip differential, the four-wheel steering and the variable ratio steering which you really need if you want to fully enjoy driving your LC. 

The middling Sport Pack option is more a cosmetic thing, bringing larger 21-inch wheels, a carbon roof and Alcantara interior bits. Nice, but you’ll need Sport+ if the bark is to match the bite. And it won’t add much if you’re leasing, perhaps putting another £40 on your already bolshy £1,600 monthly bill.

Oh, and have a serious think about speccing one of the brilliant optional colours. They’re all just £500 and there are some fantastic options including Naples Yellow, a lovely dark green called Terrane Khaki and a bright Sonic Red. 

When it comes to reliability, Lexus has an impeccable track record and has a habit of topping surveys for customer service and ownership experience. But even given the drama, quality and dependability baked into the LC, it’s a niche old choice here in the UK.

Lexus sold nearly 3,000 LC coupes and convertibles back in 2020, of which a princely 82 were on British shores. As we write, there are only double figure numbers for sale in the classifieds, priced from around £50,000. Which does at least suggest such rarity helps strengthen residuals a bit – some of its rivals are infamous for shedding thousands almost as soon as you’ve driven your brand-new car out of the dealer’s postcode.

What about this 2024 update?

Lexus has lightly changed the LC a couple of times during its life so far, with a geeky update in 2020 removing 10kg of unsprung weight and sharpening the steering, while also adding Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. 

The 2024 update will bring a new touchscreen and a slightly different interior, but it’ll also include gearbox changes to allow it to be a little cleverer and more reactive in auto mode, while the brake-by-wire system will be retuned, the suspension will be slightly modified and the engine mounts will be beefed up. Sounds like we’ll need another go – purely for consumer advice purposes, of course.