Mike Hagerty
Jan 25, 20232 min
My neighbor Phil (good guy, car guy, owns two classic Porsches) kids me that I keep writing nice things about the Lexus LC 500 so that Lexus will keep sending them to me.
Yeah? So?
Five-plus years in, the LC 500 has lost exactly----carry the three----none of the impact it had on me the first time I saw one. And the reviews I've written of every one I've driven (this one and this one and this one and this one and especially this one ) make that abundantly clear.
I mean, just look at it. It is the best-looking car on the road today and (my website, my opinion) can hold its own against all-time designs like the original Jag E-Type, the '63 Corvette and the '63 Buick Riviera.
And the LC 500 isn't just sculpture. Under the hood is a 5.0-liter, 471 horsepower V8 mated to a ten-speed automatic transmission. Zero to 60 happens in 4.4 seconds. Active sport exhaust, performance brakes with aluminum calipers, adaptive variable suspension.
A ferocious track machine? No. A grand tourer with some serious power and the ability to put it to good use? Absolutely.
The LC 500 has two weak spots---a tiny trunk (5.4 cubic feet) and a near-useless back seat, unless the driver and front passenger are 5'5" or less. But that's true of most of the cars the LC might be cross-shopped against (BMW 840i, Mercedes SL, Corvette, Jag F-Type).
The base price of the 2023 Lexus LC 500 is $94,600 including destination. Standard equipment includes 20-inch 10-spoke wheels with run-flat tires, triple-beam LED headlamps, power-folding, auto-dimming heated outer mirrors, a glass roof with a sunshade, Lexus' comprehensive Safety System+ active safety suite, navigation, a 12-speaker audio system, heated and ventilated leather-trimmed power front seats, and a dual-zone climate control.
Our car was treated to extra-cost options---$900 for a head-up display, $1,220 for a 13-speaker Mark Levinson Reference surround sound audio system, $595 for the Cadmium Orange paint, and $9,750 for the Dynamic Handling Package (21-inch forged alloy wheels, a Torsen limited-slip differential, active rear steering, variable gear-ratio steering, a speed-activated rear wing, intuitive parking assist, Alcantara sport seats and headliner, a carbon fiber roof (replacing the glass roof), and carbon fiber door scuff plates).
That brings the as-tested price of the 2023 Lexus LC 500 to $106,885.
So, no---I'm not objective about the LC 500. I fall in love again every time I see one. And again every time I drive one.
Phil gets me.