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The original was posted on /r/cars by /u/windmill09 on 2025-04-21 22:21:49+00:00.
I've seen a ton of people ask which car to recommend between these two cars compared to something like a Nissan GTR or a BMW M3. I guess internet reviews have not made things clear enough so I will offer my driving impressions of them. It should be pretty obvious with the "F" in RCF, however, on paper they do appear very similar. Below are my impressions:
Exterior:
The LC500 looks like an absolute spaceship! It's drop dead gorgeous. I saw one in red and it completely fits in at the front of the nicest hotel with other high end vehicles.
The RCF looks more civilian and sporty. It looks not too different from the RC350 F sport, however it still looks expensive and performance-oriented. I still get stares at my RCF while at the golf course.
Interior:
Both cars have dated tech. As long it has a backup cam, I don't really care about tech. I have a Samsung Fold that does everything I need, including 10-band EQ. However, the Mark Levinson sound systems are fantastic. Great clarity, but needs a bit of tuning to sound the way you want.
The LC500 is covered in leather. Great interior, but it gives no pretenses about performance which basically foreshadows what you should expect once you turn the car on and start driving it. However, it s very nice and sublime place to be.
The RCF, on the other hand, for the most part, looks the same as the RC350 F Sport interior. However, some upgrades change how it feels. It's covered in real leather, instead of pleather. The carbon fiber door covers and the F seats tell you what the intentions are for this car.
Straight Line Performance:
In the straight line, the LC500 doesn't feel as fast as you think a 5.0 V8 and its reported 0-60 times should feel. It feels not much different than my old Infiniti G37 and that's not an exaggeration.
The RCF has a ton of theatre. You feel a lot more torque and the wheels will break traction. If you have driven in a V8 Mustang or Camaro, it pretty much the same thing.
Corners:
The LC500 doesn't want to do turns. Turn-in is slow. There's a TON of body roll. It's just not enjoyable in the canyons. The car also doesn't like to downshift. I like to downshift into turns to get the car into high RPMS in turns so I can be at the limit of traction. Forget it. It won't let you downshift.
The RCF has the complete opposite nature. The suspension was apparently heavily tested at the Nurburgring and Fuji Speedway and it shows. Turn-in is surprisingly quick in this muscle/pony car and the car stays gripped up in high speed back-to-back turns. The car lets you downshift unless it would be past redline or high RPMs in 1st gear. When you are just gunning it, the shifts are near instant. The car can slide in turns in a completely predictable nature. I have heard from other people that it fails as a drift car on track, because it is impossible to shut off the ABS and it will inevitably interfere in long drifts. I can't confirm track performance, but I have done some short drifts (I used to drift a 350Z) and I found it very easy to control and throw in opposite lock.
Ride:
The LC500 is smooth and the RCF is bouncy. Both of the cars are pretty soft and street-tuned. The suspension of both cars softens bumps immediately and reduces NVH, however the RCF rebounds substantially quicker which makes sense as it's more performance tuned. However, this makes the RCF probably too bouncy for some people. The slow rebound on the LC500 makes it a much smoother ride. However, neither of these cars are difficult to daily. There is very little road noise on the highway, unlike something like a Porsche 911, Cayman, or Boxster.
Sound:
The LC500 has a nicer sounding exhaust on the outside, HOWEVER, you can't really hear it on the inside even with the windows rolled down. To enjoy the LC500 exhaust, you would have to do more tunnel runs.
On the other hand, the RCF's exhaust sounds more muted, but it pumps in engine noise from microphones in the engine bay and out through specific speakers (not the Mark Levinson ones) in the front of the car. It replicates the sound tube that are built into the Lexus GS cars. It sounds natural and pretty great, imo. However, it doesn't provide an exhaust sound. I am OK with this compromise since I live near neighbors.
Conclusion:
I eventually bought a carbon fiber package RCF, myself, but I had test driven an LC500 in the canyons first. I almost didn't bother test driving the RCF because after driving the LC500 I thought, "OK. Lexus only makes boring cars" - this is because I used to have a Lexus GS350 which I could not modify it to make it any better of a canyon car. Fortunately, the right spec of the RCF popped up and I decided to drop into the dealership to take a look. So in summary, both cars are excellent daily drivers with low NVH. However, the LC500 will be the gorgeous, comfortable date car to get that 1st class valet treatment. The RCF is basically like a luxurious Mustang or Camaro if they came with sound deadening, with double wishbone and multi-link suspension, and built with Japanese reliability.