Motor Australia — January 2018

The Garage

Long term diaries

HERE are few things worse

than being shown up by your

younger sibling. The Lexus

RC F is only three years old,

but compare its interior to that of the new

LC500 and you’d think the gap between the

two is an entire generation. Granted, the LC

is a good $50K-plus more expensive than

the RC F in its basic form (though our long-

termer’s optional carbon pack narrows that

gap to $25K), but it also looks and feels it.

Not that the RC F is terrible, it just lets

itself down with some baffling control

interfaces, while some areas of the cockpit

smack of the corporate accountants having

too strong of a say. There are positives,

such as the comfy, supportive seats, widely

adjustable driving position, build quality

and fit and finish, equipment list and the

way certain functions are operated by the

press of an obvious button.

Heating or cooling the seats in the RC F,

for instance, takes one second to press a

button, whereas in the LC500 it takes about

10 minutes and a degree in neuroscience to

find the appropriate sub-menu buried in the

infotainment system.

The infotainment controller is by far the

biggest problem in the RC F, or any Lexus

for that matter – it’s an ergonomic disaster.

Perhaps it’s slightly easier for left-hand

dominant people, but operating the tracking

pad diverts significant attention away from

the road and selecting the desired button is

often little more than pot luck. – SN

Liked

MONTH

Disliked

Cooledseatsina

Melbourne summer

Tr y i n g t o o p e r a t e

thedamntrackpad

THIS ISCLEVER

Want to adjust the

temperature? Simply

slide your finger up

or down the silver

bar. Lights are touch

sensitive, too. Cool

FUEL THIS

MONTH

12.35L/100KM

AV E R AG E

12.35L/100KM

DISTANCE THIS

MONTH

1506KM

TOTAL

7017KM

The inside scoop on the good

and bad of the RC F’s interior

Mixed Bag

1. GRAND DESIGNS

The triple decker design theme

works well enough, though

the centre dash is very bland,

but hopefully some of the

LC’s swoops and curves are

incorporated come update time

2. CHAIR IN THERE

Seats are comfy, well-bolstered

and offer welcome heating

and cooling functions, though

a number of passengers have

commented how the red leather

clashes with Lexus’s signature

blue F model stitching. Rear

seats will accept adults for short

journeys, but it’s pretty squishy

120 january 2018 motormag.com.au