Gadgetory

the Lexus RC part of my dynamic duo along with the new NX crossover and making Lexus younger sporty air but also delivering on that custody thing they did let's see how all that's working out as we drive this 15 RC 350 all new models and check the tech now the RC as you can tell is all about one thing a stylish sporty self-indulgent two-door coupe slot it in your mind against let's say a BMW 4-series or an Audi v in general proportions lines and Mission now we have a 350 that means you have a v6 we'll get to know in a minute there's also an RC 300h a hybrid version of this car but unfortunately here in the u.s. neither our carbon awareness nor our current gas prices are high enough to warrant its importation now inside the RC is a handsome tidy cabin with some of these Lexus cues that I love you've got this nice laid back console with great ergonomics they do this so well that's your LFA inspired instrument pod with that moving video Tekamah tur in the middle that physically moves to the right under certain modes to give you more information screens on the left it's frankly a bunch of gimmickry but it's cool now your LCD up here in Lexus fashion is looking a little dated it's not widescreen it's still kind of a 4 by 3 ish ratio however you've got a new controller driving it you know I've been hating the remote touch controller which is this sort of upside-down puck they used to have here now look what they've done they've got a trackpad too really nicely calibrated cursor control and then when you get to what you want just click it's very laptop light you also get these glowing zones that remind you where the cursor is to keep it easy to digest while you're driving a cursor is not ideal in a car unless you make it do this little trick this is a well featured system with the exception of navigation and Mark Levinson the two main options you'll want to consider to add to this and speaking of interfaces you've also got Siri eyes free supported on this Vee go through the voice command buttons if you've got a 4s or above Lexus in general just really loves radio you've got satellite radio of course HD radio you've got HD radio tagging also the ability on this vehicle to do some pause and play of what you're listening to on the radio now controlling drive modes in the RC is pretty straightforward you've got a rather traditional looking shifter here for your automatic transmission with a manual gate to the left here on the wheel paddles that are split down shift up shift left and right respectively and then this is the rather familiar lexus drive mode control that is pretty simple push it to go to normal turn it to the right to go to sport mode or again to go to Sport Plus and then the other way counterclockwise gets you into eco mode up front on the RC 350 you've got a three and a half liter v6 feeding those cylinders is a combination of injection method which is notable they've got multi-port fuel injection which is kind of riding shotgun on top of the more modern direct injection but they serve different purposes in the engines operational range and Lexus has put them both in here no turbos or other fancy artificial trickery your power goes out to the rear wheels base and you can see the engine is sitting longitudinally of course 8-speed automatic if you get rear-wheel drive six-speed automatic if you get all-wheel-drive either way the power is the same 306 horsepower and 277 pound-feet of torque now if you go all-wheel-drive you pick up a couple hundred pounds you also get a bit of a haircut on acceleration at mpg your zero to 60 goes from 5-8 up to 6o and all-wheel drive and your mpg goes from 28 highway to 26 all-wheel drive city numbers stay the same under way you definitely buy a Lexus hype about how stiff and rigid this car is pushing it through corners on twisty roads it definitely feels of a piece it's got real guts it's got good power it's got a nice overall layout of its dynamics and the way things respond but it's always civilized shifts are not that quick and I'm in sport now I'm in Sport Plus and I spent a lot of time in both modes and I find the suspension is also very compliant that's gonna throw some people who come to this car and look at its outsides and say wow this is gonna be a sharp edge surgical experience to drive I don't know that it is on the other hand it's very liveable mile after mile which a lot of the more gutsy highly taught cars are not unless price this guy you're at nearly forty nine thousand dollars in F Sport trim now the F Sport adds a fair amount of money and a fair amount of toys as well including heated and cooled sport seats a very different adaptive smart sport suspension you've got 19-inch wheels and of course that very slick LFA inspired instrument panel and quite a bit more if you want all-wheel drive 'it's another two grams navigation and Levinson Nutter 2600 a moonroof is optional interestingly if you really want to go track purist you'll delete it it's 1,100 bucks to take it that exotic variable steering and rear steering is two thousand dollars more add in some adaptive cruise and pre-collision LED fog lights now you're seen that style and now you're also pushing in the mid 57,000 you