Got my 2019 Inspiration Series delivered today after 5 long months without a (fun) car & so far it's just stunning in every way. Everything I expected to be great is great - the interior, the sound, the exterior, the soundsystem. The big question to settle is how does it drive vs. my old 718 Cayman S, or really just is it enough fun driving it spiritedly on twisty roads that I don't miss the Porsche too much to go back to one in a few years - will have to go on some long trips to some great roads this Spring to settle that.

I've got some thoughts on some stuff I want to post:
1. Luggage space: so everyone in reviews mentions how small the trunk is, how it's only good for weekend trips at most, not a single mention in the dozens of reviews I watched while waiting that actually going on a 2 week or longer trip would be no problem whatsoever! I have in the trunk right now 2x carry on suitcases, 4 hiking poles, 2 hiking backpacks, with a decent amount of room leftover, and I haven't even touched the back seats yet! This thing could even carry all that plus our inflatable kayak & its oars with no issue, maybe even our 30lb dog too. I was worried it'd be less practical than my Cayman (which for its size is astoundingly good on storage space) but it's even moreso.
2. Cupholders: the middle one is sort of usable but I was happy to find out my Ultimate Cupholders I had in my Cayman also fit in the LC, zip-tied onto the little net in the passenger footwell and stuck under the plastic trim. Hadn't seen anyone mention these for the LC before but they're a perfect solution if you need 2 usable cupholders.
3. Competitors: I find it odd that everyone mentions the 911 as a competitor when a 911 is 20-30k more expensive minimum (and often much more than that). Seems like the 718 S/GTS 4.0 are much better comps on price (mid 90s to mid 100s respectively for well optioned ones). F-Type R is another great competitor; I had one for 30k miles and absolutely loved it but it's much more impractical, uncomfortable, & unreliable. Incredibly good looking, driving, and sounding though.
4. Downsides: 90% of reviews mention the infotainment and the lack of heated/cooled seat buttons as the main drawbacks but to me so far the Concierge makes the lack of heated seat buttons a non-issue and the trackpad is fine - not wonderful to use but not a problem, & I'm sure I'll get even more used to it in time. I do wish I could retrofit Android Auto on my 2019 but I got a yellow iphone specifically to live in my yellow car, with mobile hotspot automatically enabled on my usual android phone to give the iphone mobile data - seems like a great solution.

Only remaining concern I have is am I going to need to get 20" wheels in order to get all-season tires or are there some available for the 21"s? TireRack shows 0 results on winter or all-seasons. I'll consult the Tires thread for more info.

So far it's been nothing but smiles for my girlfriend (who's not into cars but loves this one so far) and myself in the LC. Extremely excited to get it on some long trips this Spring/Summer/Fall, starting with Yosemite & the Pacific Coast Highway in April. Mostly I just can't believe this cost 13k less than the 2023 Cayman S I had ordered - it's 4 years old but it's CPO and 6000 miles, & seems like a huge amount of car for the $81k I paid.

Here are a few pics from my first little drive today.

 

Seen the exact same car @ our local dealership, very nice

 

Love this yellow tint 😍 wish my grey LC was yellow

 

I passed on the Ford GT back then because you could not do 2 person trips. Easy with the Lexus, as there is plenty of extra room in the back seat.

It takes a bit to learn the Concierge, but once you do it does work great with heating and cooling the seats. Buttons are easier, brainless and more my style. lol

 

You should be looking in your rear view. Because think if you got an inspiration with 6k for that price. You must have stolen it.

 

Had the LC for a week now, took it on a 3 hour trip to Mount Saint Helens, a few pics below.

1 week impressions are this car is basically perfect & I'm super impressed how calm and stable it was at 85% of top speed - my old F-Type R it was terrifying near its top speed, everything shaking like crazy and tire pressure warnings appearing. The LC was perfectly smooth, wouldn't have known it was going over 60. The sound is incredible and so varied, particularly love the really raggedy metallic note I got once when going downhill with canyon walls on both sides - gonna have fun hunting that again. The lights are the best I've ever had, the soundsystem is fantastic, comfort on long trips seems wonderful. Only reason I ended up with this car is the Cayman I ordered had some mystery issues that delayed it for a very painful 3 months after it was shipped to the US, but I'm thinking now that was totally worth it :-)

 

@snowsenses amazing feedback and very true to the LC - especially with the trunk space and concierge settings for the heated and cooled seats. I've been reviewing cars now for about 1.5 years, and this has made me realize how special our LC's are compared to other sports and GT vehicles in general. The build quality, design, engine note, dual personality (sporty and comfortable driving experiences), and rarity make the LC a class of its own. Truly a wonderful machine, that's made me want to keep it longer (5.5 years now and going). I think the only replacement would be an updated LC (if they make one with infotainment and other improvements - 360 camera) or a rumored LF-R. When Lexus wants to make a solid sports/GT car, they usually hit it out of the park (example LF-A or our LC's).

Enjoy it in good health!

 

check it out at top speed on the autobahn... amazing.




really glad you're so happy with it - what's the deal with the stickers on the rear window?

does that year of inspiration series have the rear steering and vgrs? i see it has the motorized spoiler (included on the performance / dynamic handling package on non-inspiration models).

 

Yes to rear wheel steering, and it looks like VGRS was standard starting with all 2019s? It has all the dynamic handling pack features at least as of 2019, that was important for me. The stickers are my own creation, all my favorite roads I've been to over the last few years/few cars (these kinda roadtrips are 90% of the driving I do - it's my only car but I don't commute)

 

Uhh….they are. 2024 model.


https://www.clublexus.com/forums/lc-...l#post11469974

 

i believe vgrs/rws have always been together and only as part of the dynamic handling package.

for some bizarre reason, later inspiration models and now the 'bepoke' ordering doesn't provide those features.

ah, nice! must have been a pain to put those stickers in the sloped back window! and i've been on a few of those too. not with an LC though.

some of those are a loooong way from you!

anyway. congrats again and thanks for sharing your pics and thoughts. fyi, i have a '21 loaded coupe.

 

Yes I saw that @355F1 . But Lexus has done different changes for different markets in the past. For example, they allowed retrofitting Android Auto for non-North American markets as far back as MY18. This was due to a different gen infotainment system fitted into them from the manufacturer. I don't doubt that they would make such big changes and not include them across all different markets.

Nevertheless, I'll have to hold myself back and wait to see what happens on the LF-R news....

 

The more I see the yellow version the more I’m tempted to have a yellow wrapping on my grey LC

 

The LC really needs vibrant colours. It’s such a curvy/edgy/shapely car that darker colours dont really do it any justice. Stupid Toyota should have given us custom colour choices like Porsche. Id rather pay Toyota 6-10k extra for a bespoke colour instead of wrapping the car.

 

For 6-10K I'm sure you can get a really nice aftermarket paint job.