With a small facelift, Lexus has refreshed its hybrid coupe RC 300h after four years. For the bestseller, the Japanese should still not be so.
Coupe-like has been the mandatory buzzword when designers talk about their cars for several years. Real coupes - smart, sleek two-door - but are increasingly out of fashion: too expensive, too impractical, too difficult to get into. The market shares are therefore dwindling, but the premium manufacturers are still holding the prestige vehicles in the bar. Lexus too: The Japanese put on the RC four years ago, now they have refreshed the mid-range coupe. From January 19, the Lexus will cost at least 48.400 euros with a slightly prettier design and improved driving dynamics against the Mercedes C-Class Coupé, Audi A5 and BMW 4 Series.
Whether the freshness cure gives the Japanese a boost, remains to be seen. Not even 60 customers have signed an RC purchase agreement with 2018 in Germany, and the revised front apron with more distinctive corners, new L-shaped LED headlights and tail lights or the fresh air outlets at the rear barely lure shoppers into Lexus showrooms.
After all: In addition to the small retouching on the body, the RC also scores with higher-quality materials in the interior, which should bring him - as well as the new analog clock - closer to his big brother; The good hundred-thousand-euro LC has recently sold twice as well. In fact, some components are really fancy: the brushed surfaces of the climate control, or the leather provided with fine stitching, for example. Unfortunately, they change but with pretty bad plastic buttons off. Also new: The larger knee pads on the center console. Those are absolutely necessary, because the good 4,70 meters long RC is tight cut, and who does not have straight model dimensions, forcibly pushes again and again somewhere; big drivers usually also on the flat roof.
To ensure that the 1,8h, which is not particularly light-weight RC 300h, is going around the corner a bit more dynamically in the future, the technicians have revised the chassis; to be more precise, they have given the coupe new shock absorbers and stiffer suspension mounts. The tighten the substructure something and convey a more direct contact with the road, but his comfortable basic tuning retains the Japanese but. Anyone who reaches for the 57.750 Euro expensive F-Sport equipment, gets adaptive damper, but even in sports mode, the Lexus remains more gliders than Kurvenräuber.
In addition to the basic version and the aforementioned sports version is the Luxury Line in the price list: For 55.650 Euro, there are then, inter alia, Matrix LED headlights, high beam assistant, lane holder, traffic sign recognition and an adaptive cruise control. The only extra extras are a glass sunroof and the Mark Levinson sound system with 17 speakers. For most customers, the facelift even eliminates the agony of choice in the drives: The 341 kW / 464 PS strong RC-F with V8 engine remains in the offer, but the entry-level gasoline 200t - a four-cylinder turbo with 180 kW / 245 PS - the Japanese have deleted. Meaning, most customers will resort to the hybrid drive 300h. The engineers have left unchanged, the coupe is not yet benefiting from the latest development stage of gasoline and electric motor, which was just in the Lexus ES their debut. The combination of 2,5-liter four-cylinder Otto (133 kW / 181 PS, 221 Newton meter) and electric motor (105 kW / 143 PS, 300 Newton meter) developed in RC as usual 164 kW / 223 PS.
This is enough for sovereign, but not necessarily sporty performance: The hybrid occurs supple, accelerates - except under full load - quietly and pushes the coupe evenly in 8,6 seconds to pace 100; the Vmax is limited to 190 km / h. This fits in with the more leisurely interpretation of the Lexus and predestined her to the relaxed cruiser, which should be content with a moderate ride with five liters of fuel on average. However, the RC can not drive purely electrically, the small hybrid battery just stores electricity for one, two kilometers. Especially in urban traffic, where the battery is constantly reloaded when braking and rolling, the Lexus turns off the burner but as often as possible. Toyota says that about half of the distance in the city can be covered without emissions.
Lexus RC 300h - Specifications:
Mid-range coupé, rear-wheel drive, length: 4,70 meters, width: 1,84 meters (without mirrors), height: 1,40 meters, wheelbase: 2,73 meters, empty weight: 1.735 kg, trunk volume: 340 liters
Drive:
2,5-liter four-cylinder gasoline engine, 133 kW / 181 PS, maximum torque: 221 Nm at 4.200-5.400 rpm, electric motor: 105 kW / 143 PS, torque: 300 Nm, system performance: 164 kW / 223 PS, 0-100 km / h: 8,6 s, Vmax: 190 km / h, fuel consumption: 5,0 l / 100 km, CO2 emissions: 114 g / km, emission standard: Euro 6d-Temp, efficiency class: A +, price: from 48.400 Euro
In brief
Why: Because there is no hybrid drive among the competitors.
Why not: Because he has gotten tight and a bit old.
What else: Mercedes C-Class Coupé, Audi A5, BMW 4 Series
When he comes: 19. January 2019