Review: 2018 Lexus LC 500h at Circuit of the Americas

By Derek Shiekhi - May 15, 2017

Quick Drive: Club Lexus hits the track in the flagship Lexus coupe.

There’s a first time for everything. The 2018 model year marks the first year of the Lexus LC line of coupes. The LC 500h is the first hybrid coupe in the Lexus portfolio. And this past weekend was the first time I drove the 2018 Lexus LC 500h.

Lexus brought it out to the Circuit of the Americas (COTA) to have it compete in the Texas Auto Writers Association’s Texas Auto Roundup. The two-day event featured over 40 vehicles from a variety of manufacturers, all vying for various titles, including the top three of the competition: “Family Car of Texas,” “Performance Car of Texas,” and “Car of Texas” (the LC 500h went on to be named the top “Performance Coupe” of the contest).

Predictably, the line for the LC was long. As irritating as it was to constantly find the LC unavailable when I wanted to drive it, I couldn’t begrudge my fellow automotive journalists for being drawn to it, if only on a visual level. Although it’s not a 100-percent perfect translation of the LF-LC concept car, it’s pretty damn close. Sure, the grille and the headlights and the not-a-chance-in-hell side mirrors are a little different, but for the most part, Lexus now offers an auto-show car for sale to the public. The muscles are still taut and the lines of the slashes are still sharp.

Although it’s not a perfect translation of the LF-LC concept car, it’s damn close.
For the most part, Lexus now offers an auto-show car for sale to the public.

My patient waiting to be the next person to drive the LC 500h finally paid off. With a Lexus representative riding next to me, I pointed the spindle grille toward the entrance to the 3.4-mile-long course. It was divided into various stations to showcase each vehicle’s capabilities in a variety of exercises, including tight corners, sweeping curves, a 0-60 mph run, and a slalom course.

Multi Stage Hybrid System

With a total output from its 3.5-liter Atkinson cycle V6/electric motor combo of only 354 horsepower, the LC 500h didn’t flatten wrinkles in my face with its acceleration (that should be one of the 471-horsepower V8-powered LC 500’s strong suits). However, it did pleasantly surprise me in a couple of ways. Most hybrids use a continuously variable transmission (CVT), which often ends up being a noisy distraction that makes it difficult to tell how quickly the car is gaining speed. The LC 500h, however, uses the new Multi Stage Hybrid System.

According to Lexus, “The new system keeps the planetary-type continuously variable transmission from Lexus Hybrid Synergy Drive and also adds a unique four-speed automatic transmission. Working in concert, the two gearsets alter output in four stages to utilize the V6 engine across the entire speed range. In ‘M’ mode, the two gearsets act together to provide the effect of 10 ratios.”

When I took the LC flat out on the straights that were long enough, the gearbox combo felt more traditional auto than CVT. I was able to feel the LC 500h build power and speed without being harassed by an obnoxious sound. The ability to do that in a car that starts at $96,510 shouldn’t be a luxury. Luckily, in the LC 500h, it isn’t.

Whipping the LC through the cones of the slalom course, I discovered the LC handled a lot like how it looks. I expected a car as low and sleek as the LC to perform its dance through the orange cones accordingly. It didn’t disappoint. It was flat. It was planted. Body roll was nowhere around.

Practical power and performance

As pleasant as the LC was to drive around the track, I anticipate most Lexus LC 500h owners will keep it on roads and highways. That’s exactly where I took it after I finished the stations on the course. COTA’s employees set up a loop around the grounds of the facility that gave me and my fellow writers a chance to see how the vehicles in the roundup would perform on regular, imperfect pavement with numerous turns and elevation changes. I headed toward it with one question in mind: Lexus is going into new territory with the LC 500h. Has it forgotten where it came from? It’s important that the LC 500h is still as quiet, civilized and serene as Lexus vehicles are known to be.

At the end of my journey over potholes, dips, manhole covers, loose gravel and ripples, I concluded that Lexus has not lost its way on its path to higher prestige and new market segments. The cabin was quiet. The suspension neutralized the worst parts of the road surface with a balance of float and firmness. I felt calm and relaxed. That wasn’t the first time I felt that way, though. I’d driven a Lexus before.