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00:37 - When you see a Mercedes Benz,
00:39 you know exactly what to expect from that car.
00:41 And that consistency is really important
00:43 for a luxury brand.
00:45 Lexus doesn't have that.
00:47 You see a Lexus coming towards you,
00:48 and it could be an ES,
00:50 which is a front wheel drive Camry based luxury sedan,
00:53 or it could be a GS, a rear wheel drive sports sedan.
00:56 So when you see something like this all new LC,
00:59 well, how the hell are you supposed to know what it is?
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01:20 - It's not just Lexus as a brand that's inconsistent.
01:26 The LC is the fourth car in a lineup of halo sports coupes
01:30 that are all over the map.
01:31 The original SC was literally a Toyota Supra in drag.
01:36 It was replaced 10 years later by another SC,
01:39 a sport coupe that was neither.
01:41 And that was joined by the LFA,
01:43 a carbon tub sports car that cost as much as a mansion.
01:46 The LC has a new name,
01:47 but it goes back to the same formula as the original SC,
01:50 two doors, four seats,
01:51 and it ditches the LFA's outrageous price.
01:54 (car engine roaring)
02:03 $92,000 buys you the base LC 500,
02:06 which has a five liter V8,
02:08 or you can spend more money and upgrade to the 500H,
02:11 which is actually a downgrade to a three and a half liter V6
02:14 plus a hybrid system.
02:15 The LC certainly has a bold design.
02:19 Styling is a very personal thing,
02:23 but whether you like it or not,
02:24 the LC is a massive step forward
02:27 for the controversial Lexus design language.
02:29 It has enough styling elements for two cars,
02:33 with half a dozen materials and textures.
02:35 Carbon fiber, polished metal, distressed metal,
02:39 gray plastic, black plastic, mirrored plastic,
02:42 Jaguar door handles, and yet somehow it all works.
02:46 The LC's details all play in and with the shadows
02:49 created by its creases.
02:51 It looks new, it looks fresh, and it looks expensive.
02:54 And that's a very tough thing to do.
02:57 With the proportions of an Aston Martin,
02:59 not only does it look incredibly sporty,
03:01 but it follows the very recipe of a real sports car.
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03:15 So, let's see what that recipe tastes like.
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04:19 It has a naturally aspirated five liter,
04:22 four cam, 32 valve V8,
04:25 that doesn't make its 471 horsepower,
04:28 until 7100 RPM.
04:30 Magnesium shift paddles that control a 10 speed automatic.
04:38 10 gears.
04:42 An actual mechanical limited slip diff.
04:46 Six piston front aluminum monoblock brake calipers,
04:50 and four pistons at the rear.
04:52 Tons of grip, because it has real tires.
04:54 Michelin Pilot Actual Super Sports.
04:59 On paper, it is all there.
05:03 But I'm not feeling it.
05:07 And there are several reasons why.
05:11 Please allow me to allow you.
05:15 If you had 10 gears to choose from in a transmission,
05:18 wouldn't you want closely spaced short ratios?
05:20 Ba-bam, ba-bam, ba-bam, ba-bam,
05:22 so the car felt alive and always had a really good gear?
05:25 Or, would you gear it like a six speed?
05:28 That's what Lexus did.
05:29 This thing gets 40 miles an hour in first gear,
05:31 67 in second, 89 in third,
05:35 meaning you could get a speeding ticket
05:36 on any interstate in the country,
05:38 and 110 in fourth.
05:40 And then you have six useless cruising gears
05:42 on top of that.
05:44 Remember, this engine doesn't hit peak power
05:46 until 7,100 RPM.
05:48 That's 40 miles an hour.
05:50 From zero to 40, this car feels sluggish.
05:53 And then it has Toyota's VGRS,
05:55 Variable Gear Ratio Steering,
05:57 which changes the relationship between the steering wheel
06:00 and the front wheels,
06:01 and adds in rear wheel steering on top of that.
06:03 The more gears and motors and stuff
06:06 you put between the steering wheel and the front wheels,
06:08 the less you feel.
06:09 The steering is dead, like dead dead.
06:13 And lastly, it has a full by wire brake system.
06:15 And I will give Lexus credit for doing it well enough
06:18 that you don't notice it in normal driving.
06:20 However, you need to know when you're approaching
06:22 the limits of adhesion,
06:23 and you don't feel anything back in the pedal.
06:25 You don't feel the ABS system's pushback.
06:28 Luckily, they did put a light on the dashboard
06:30 that flashes anytime ABS is active.
06:33 But really, do I need to be paying attention
06:34 to a flashing light to know that I have a wheel slipping?
06:37 (engine revving)
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06:43 At LC, it may look like a beautiful sports car
06:58 on the outside, but the interior,
07:00 I had no idea Lexus was even capable of such a thing.
07:04 I'm not sure I realized any company was capable
07:08 of making an infotainment system so incredibly distracting
07:11 that it needs to lock you out from changing a radio station
07:14 once you're moving.
07:15 It's that bad.
07:17 But the rest, incredible.
07:19 Lexus calls this interior color toasted caramel,
07:22 and it's not some half-hearted attempt at color.
07:25 Look around, look carefully,
07:26 and there are multiple materials and textures
07:29 all in some shade of regurgitated yam.
07:31 It's about time we're getting actual colors
07:34 in a luxury car interior, and not just the seats.
07:37 The dashboard is simple with a screen, clock,
07:40 and of course, the intricately textured wall of L's
07:43 hidden behind one long piece of clear plastic.
07:45 It's simple, it's elegant, and it's beautifully executed.
07:48 You know, on second thought, I think I screwed up.
07:53 The LC does look like a sports car, but it's not.
07:56 It's really just a luxury coupe
07:57 that happens to be really capable.
07:59 So I need to change my expectations around
08:01 and go back out and drive this car
08:03 and look at it from a different perspective.
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08:08 When it comes to luxury cars,
08:34 one of the most important things is the ride quality.
08:37 And this thing, pfft, I've been driving this road all day
08:40 and had no idea there were bumps everywhere
08:42 until I got out of it and into something else.
08:45 The bumps are just gone,
08:46 and it's not like floaty or bad in any way.
08:49 It's just really well-tuned.
08:52 Steering has great effort buildup.
08:54 The engine is so quiet.
08:56 It just goes back to being a luxury car V8
08:58 with smooth shifts from the transmission.
09:01 It's an amazing luxury car.
09:03 The seat is comfortable.
09:04 The steering wheel feels great.
09:05 The seating position is great.
09:07 The cowl is really low,
09:08 so I can see everything out of this car.
09:11 I was wrong.
09:12 This is a really good luxury coupe.
09:14 It's what Lexus does the best.
09:16 All I want to do is turn up the radio and drive all day.
09:21 Can't change the radio station.
09:25 Nothing's perfect.
09:27 So you'll have to tune to your favorite station
09:30 before you get moving.
09:32 But once you're moving,
09:33 once you reset your expectations,
09:35 this thing is the kind of car that sneaks up on you
09:37 and blows your mind.
09:39 The LC sounds incredible inside and out.
09:41 It feels special inside and out,
09:44 and it looks special, spectacular in fact.
09:47 Maybe even too much,
09:48 as its looks fooled me into thinking
09:49 it would provide a level of sportiness and involvement
09:51 that it just wasn't designed to deliver.
09:53 I use the word spectacular on purpose.
09:58 This is an Aston Martin V8 Vantage.
10:00 It is the most beautiful car
10:01 since 1753,
10:04 and it does a funny trick.
10:05 You park any other car next to it,
10:07 and it makes that car look hideous by comparison.
10:11 Funny.
10:12 You put the LC next to the Vantage,
10:14 and the LC doesn't look bad.
10:16 That's a first.
10:17 By the way, that black hybrid is really good.
10:23 This all brings me back to my earlier point.
10:26 My initial confusion is exactly why it's so important
10:29 to know what a brand stands for.
10:30 The LC, as it turns out, isn't an ES or a GS.
10:34 It's a beautiful, luxurious, composed, elegant,
10:37 and incredibly capable large coupe.
10:40 And that's not only what the name LC stands for,
10:43 but it's also exactly what a Lexus flagship should be.
10:46 This is a brilliant, dare I say, almost perfect Lexus.
10:51 So now you know what to expect.
11:00 Take one look at the LC's interior,
11:03 and there's no doubt it's a luxury car.
11:05 How about that for a terrible delivery?
11:07 - Yeah, a dial-up back on the display.
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11:13 (explosion)
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