Test drive Lexus LC500 against Jaguar F-Type
Sports cars for every day - does it happen at all? Checking out how good the Lexus LC500 and Jaguar F-Type R are in a city that seems to have seen everything and even a little more.
On the first day I even liked it: I constantly caught smartphone lenses around me, thumbs up and for some reason the kind envy of others. But by the end of the week, it began to annoy: it is simply impossible to drive up to the supermarket unnoticed - they will certainly discuss you in an undertone at the checkout, and constant shooting in traffic jams force you to put on your hood and wear sunglasses even at dusk. The situation would have been saved by a dull toning, but for it in Russia they are now put in an isolation ward.
While Moscow was carefully examining the Lexus LC500 from the outside, I, sitting inside, could not understand what it was all about: a Gran Turismo, a sports car or a supercar? Here, rear-wheel drive, an old-school V8 of five liters (477 hp) and no turbos. When the LC500 catches the hook (this usually happens after 30-40 km / h), its acceleration becomes like a computer simulator: a lot of sound, special effects, an incredible feeling of the car.
But there is a problem: the actual results are very different from those written in the booklets by the Japanese. On 100 gasoline, Lexus managed to accelerate to a hundred in 5,1 seconds - good figures by the standards of the auto industry in 2020, but they are far from the world of supercars.
There would be a compressor and a rapid-fire "robot" instead of a 10-speed "automatic", but it would be a completely different coupe and, apparently, even from another country.
But the rear-wheel drive LC500 with a self-blocking Torsen knows how and, most importantly, loves to drive sideways. With the stabilization system turned off, he tries to expose even where the driver did not plan. Acceleration from a standstill with an imitation of the launch control and a disabled stabilization system ends in long black stripes on the asphalt, and each turn is a triathlon: set, held, stabilized.
Moreover, the excitement is only growing: Lexus already smells of burnt rubber and brakes throughout the entire South-West Administrative District, but it seems that only a burning fuel lamp on the tidy can stop me. And all the while, the LC500 growls menacingly, almost deeply, thanks to the electronically controlled wastegate at the inlet to the rear muffler. Um, is this really a Lexus?
By the way, you have to maneuver between pits in the city, of course, but much less often than on a Jaguar F-Type or a Porsche 911. In general, the monumentality with which Lexus passes bumps and potholes is striking.
The heavy coupe on forged 21-inch wheels does not shake all the little things out of the trousers, even where I slowed down on the Toyota Land Cruiser 200.
There is only one problem - the joints on the Third Transport, which most likely were not told to the Japanese engineers.
In general, you quickly get used to the Lexus LC500: dimensions, chassis settings, deliberately nervous exhaust sound, smooth traction and dude interior. Yes, he is exceptionally good inside. During filming, we switched from Lexus to Jaguar several times, and you know what? This is a completely different dimension, where aluminum, Alcantara, hand-stitching and delicate leather are elevated to a cult. If you still think that the Japanese do not know how to make cozy and expensive, then urgently look at at least these photos.
The fit of the details, the quality of workmanship, the color scheme - everything is made as if this interior was carved from a valuable species of wood, and not assembled from thousands of different parts. The only element that seems foreign here is a multimedia system with outdated graphics, inappropriate performance and the absence of Apple Carplay (it appeared in later versions).
Of course, it's silly to think of the Lexus LC500 as an everyday car in a country where it snows 150 days and rains 100 days. But in other moments, when it's dry, under the wheels there is smooth asphalt, and there is 100th gasoline in the tank, Lexus is capable of feats. He also knows how to surprise, which is especially valuable.
The post-quarantine summer locked me up in stuffy Moscow, and a week in the company of the new Jaguar F-Type R became a kind of mini-vacation. This time we immediately decided for ourselves: no track, no time trips and dialogues about steering effort and information content. Therefore, Jaguar in my hands mostly spent evenings in the city center.
It would seem that there is nothing to surprise Muscovites with anything, but that was not the case. In one of these warm July evenings, I drove for "coffee to go" at the very institution where the football players and the official once met.
It is easy to guess that the best representatives of the world car industry have probably been in the parking lot nearby, but the Jaguar F-Type R did not go unnoticed here either.
- What's this? Ferrari?
- No, Jaguar.
The casual interlocutor was young enough and, in general, it is forgivable for him not to distinguish cats from Coventry from stallions from Maranello. But he immediately moved on to the next question: “Is it expensive? How much did you buy it for? "
“I didn’t buy it, but it’s expensive. More than $ 157 ", - answered him and, looking down, got into the car. At such moments, I felt embarrassed.
This compartment is already screaming about its money with all its looks, and in this bright orange color it becomes the center of attraction.
But what else does the owner of such a car get for $ 157, except for a permanent high point in all traffic jams and in all parking lots? At least the crazy 193-liter compressor V5 with 8 horsepower, which migrated here straight from the pre-reform version of the F-Type SVR.
Alas, it no longer has such a loud exhaust as to scare the neighbors downstream in the tunnels on the TTK, but it still accelerates the car to "hundred" in less than 4 seconds. Moreover, the car jumps from its place so that it darkens in the eyes. "Lexus" with its atmospheric "eight" never dreamed of this.
However, the crazy dynamics of the F-Type is due not only to the supercharged V8, but also to the all-wheel drive. Still, the British know firsthand what motorsport is. So they clearly understand: a pair of driving wheels is not enough to realize such power. Therefore, this Jaguar, like a true predator, pushes off the ground with all four paws.
Jaguar's wild nature is evident not only in acceleration, but almost always. Especially if you put mechatronics into a "dynamic" mode. The accelerator pedal becomes so sensitive that even from light stroking on it, the motor instantly spins up to the red zone of the tachometer. The box begins to switch nervously and at the very last moment, when the tachometer needle almost rests against the cut-off.
F-Type R in this mode is a real sports equipment. Any action with the machine requires the utmost concentration. In general, driving with such settings is incredibly exciting, but, alas, it is impossible to hold out for a long time without proper preparation. Fortunately, by pressing just one key, the car can be returned to "normal" civilian mode.
Of course, the Jaguar does not become very smooth and delicate, but the rage and nervousness seem to evaporate. And the body, although not even noticeably shudders in small cracks on the asphalt (especially in comparison with Lexus), but the stiffness of the dampers is no longer so annoying as to shake out the soul.
Yes, many will say that the LC500 has a longer base and has two seats in the back, but let's agree: there are a couple of dozen much cheaper options on the market for transporting passengers and installing a child seat than a coupe for a dozen million rubles.
Well, the main argument with a more attractive price of "Lexus" can also be very quickly dispelled. The R car isn't the only one in the Jaguar lineup. In Russia, in contrast to Europe, an intermediate version with a 380-horsepower compressor "six" is still available, which will still be faster than the LC500. Moreover, the initial 300-horsepower version of the F-Type P300 starts at less than $ 78. And her squint will be exactly the same as that of this red-haired F-Type R.
| A type | Coupe | Coupe |
| Size (length / width / height), mm | 4770 / 1920 / 1345 | 4470 / 1923 / 1311 |
| Wheelbase, mm | 2870 | 2622 |
| Curb weight, kg | 1935 | 1818 |
| engine's type | V8, benz. | V8, benz. |
| Working volume, cubic meters cm | 4969 | 5000 |
| Max. power, h.p. (at rpm) | 477 / 7100 | 575 / 6500 |
| Max. cool. moment, Nm (rpm) | 540 / 4800 | 700 / 3500-5000 |
| Drive type, transmission | Rear, AKP10 | Full, AKP8 |
| Max. speed km / h | 270 | 300 |
| Acceleration from 0 to 100 km / h, s | 4,7 | 3,7 |
| Fuel consumption, l / 100 km | 12,3 | 11,1 |
| Price from, $. | 112 393 | 129 580 |
