FIRST RIDE IN THE NEW LEXUS LC

The new Lexus LC 500 meets tough competition, but the Japanese have prepared their luxury coupe optimally. On the first trip we tested the V8 petrol engine and the hybrid model.

It is not just the golden livery that leaves the new Lexus LC 500 impressed on the first ride. Behind the car is Koji Sato, a very courteous man, and he does not let anything come to his role models - certainly not when they come from the competition. But as high as the Japanese from the 6er from Munich swarms, the Bavarian Flachmann could soon fall. Because Sato is the chief engineer of the new Lexus LC 500 and wants nothing less than to overthrow the icon of the joy of their throne. Five years after the surprisingly little changed study from Detroit the Flachmann from the far east in the summer 2017 comes at prices just under 100,000 euros in the trade. For the struggle for recognition and attention, Sato has put a 4.77-meter-long coupé on the wheels, which on the other hand wants to be a Gran Turismo, but on the other hand looks like a super sports car. After models such as the RX and the NX have adopted the features of the manga hero, the new Lexus LC is even more marked and thus becomes the aggressor in the tailor-made: No car in this class looks so cheeky and challenging and none leaves so undiscovered The muscles play like the sharp-cut LC. Even an M6 or S 63, on the other hand, look good and brave and the standard models are even completely turned into spitters in pinstripes.

NEW LEXUS LC 500 SURPRISED ON THE FIRST RIDE

While the new Lexus LC wants to spread fear and fright, he prepares his inmates a warm and comfortable reception. The leather shells in the second row are not even as an alibi for the self-deception of supposedly caring family fathers. Because even before the schooling is ending with funny. But in the front, you float over the soft cushions in spite of the low center of gravity, let your fingers wander over hand-sewn leather and the eyes wander over a cockpit landscape dominated by the digital instruments and the large screen. The passenger is indulging in the clear space, but the driver is formally caught between the steering wheel and the middle tunnel and is thus already optically taken into the duty. It does not have to move much, however, because all the controls are arranged so that they can be reached comfortably from the steering wheel. This is not always nice because, for example, the rotary control for the driving mode from the cockpit grow like the steam tap of an espresso machine. But it is all the more practical. Because this is not the way to drive a driver.

NEW LEXUS LC COMES WITH V8 POWER AND AS HYBRID

The driving force here is optionally a V8 petrol engine, which draws its imposing 477 hp and 540 Nm according to old fathers' custom from the blissful combination of large displacement (5.0 liters) and high speeds (far more than 6,500 tours) or - so much Reason and responsibility is Lexus then but guilty - a hybrid line with a 3.5-liter V6 petrol engine with 299 hp and an E-engine of 179 hp, which come in the team to 359 hp. Both engines are basically known from other models. However, for the use on the brand-new luxury platform of the Toyota group, Lexus has once again put a hand on them: the Japanese are therefore coupled with the world's first 10-speed automatic transmission, which with its very harmonious translations allows wonderful rhythmic gear changes. And in the hybrid buffer the current finally in a lithium-ion battery and cut the rubber band of the CVT automatic with a downstream four-speed transmission. This makes it possible to drive the business elite, which is likely to cause frauds. Even the hybrid accelerates in 4.7 seconds from 0 to 100 km / h and creates effortlessly 250 things. And for the new Lexus LC 500, project manager Kojo reports values ​​that can only be achieved at BMW by means of the M GmbH: 4.4 seconds for the standard print and 270 km / h for full throttle.

LEXUS LC 500 DOT WITH COMFORT AND DRIVING DYNAMICS

But as close as the two motor variants on the datasheet may be, the differences on the road are as big as this: here the serene overseer with the cultivated Grandezza of a Gran Turismo, whispering quietly over the left lane and ironing the highway to the cloud trail The greedy bite-biter with the hot starter of a super sports car, which cuts all serpentine with four-wheel steering and roars and bumps over narrow country roads during a fast ride, sprints and smacks and screams, that one can probably still hear it until Stuttgart or Munich. No wonder Sato is enthusiastic about a symphony for eight cylders and talks about the soundpipes from the engine to the interior longer than on the high-end audio system. But as long as the two cars are used generically, the so different engines fit well into the concept. But when you change the genre, it becomes difficult - especially for the hybrid.

ALSO ON THE MOTORBIKE SHINES THE V8 OF THE NEW LEXUS LC 500

Because the V8 of the new Lexus LC 500 also beats on the highway, you are surprisingly casually rolling around in the comfort mode and the striking sound can even cover with the sinfully expensive Mark-Levinson system, the part-timers does with the lane change heavy. Although the additional four-stage supercharged transmission actually cocks the annoying rubber band of the CVT automatic. But the gear changes do not fit properly with a heavy gas foot. And where the petrol engine sounds like a distant thunderstorm that is approaching every kickdown, the hybrid reminds of a vacuum cleaner that has someone flashed a turbo and produces more riot than power. Beautiful sounds in any case different. Although there is no luxury brand that sells as many hybrid models as Toyota. But Ferry Franz does not have any illusions at the LC. Anyone who has the choice between a delightful V8 petrol engine and a sensible hybrid that knows how to choose, the Lexus Germany boss is convinced and fears that the price advantage of about 5,000 euros for the hybrid Would not have a significant impact on this distribution. At least at this point, project manager Koji Sato should have looked at the competition from Munich perhaps more closely. Because there is a good reason why the Germans offer a plug-in hybrid for their luxury limousines, but with the noble coupés always without battery burn.

video : lexus LC500h