I’m interested in experience/reviews from former Porsche drivers who are now LC 500 converts. Full disclosure, I’ve owned quite a few Lexus models. LS400, GS 300, 3 RXs. I went full bore into a 2008 911S totally mod’d & tuned. Driving a ‘17 Panamera 4S now, which is incredible.

Thinking about downsizing to a LC 500 coupe. I’d like to know if anybody has a comparison in terms of driving comfort, sophistication of the entertainment system, and Mark Levinson audio quality.

 

disclaimer: this is all my subjective opinions.

i was just in my brother-in-law's 911 4S (a 2008 or so) and had forgotten how awesome 911's are. smooth, fast, incredibly responsive, great handling, etc. having said that, the infotainment was laughably dated of course.

the lc mark levinson system isn't that great, but varies WIDELY based on source. with somewhat older music with less dynamic range, the ML sounds weak to me. with high quality modern recordings and streaming, it can sound pretty good.

about driving comfort, i'd say the LC is VERY good, a great grand tourer, but it doesn't tighten up nicely with sport/sport+ modes. i do wish the LC had laminated side windows though for a quieter highway ride, but it's certainly comfortable, and pretty quiet. the run flats are a bit noisy on bad surfaces though.

hope that helps.

 

Sorry no Porsche experience, but my first day of ownership I drove my new LC home for 16 hour 1000 mile trip - I never needed to stop and stretch it is incredibly comfortable for trips.

 

I have had 2 Porsche's and currently own a 991.1 Turbo S. Previously a 991.1 GTS. I am also considering ordering a '24 LC.

Here's the thing. Even my TTS isn't an apples to apples comparison to the LC even though it is considered more of a GT car. The Panamera would probably be the best comparison.
I love Porsche's..they are unlike anything I've ever experienced. Even with the somewhat dated tech (the 992 is much improved), there is something about the way they drive and handle that is magical.

To be honest, when I test drove an LC in Dec '21, I was a bit underwhelmed. There isn't a lot of tq. And I love to feel that punch! My TTS can rip your face off.

But the more I drove it...the more I wanted to drive it. The car is excellent and the build quality is off the charts. Better than Porsche, which is very good.
People who are wanting a car that leans more luxury, with a V8 engine (which will be nearly impossible to find in 10 more years, I believe) incomparable build quality and extreme reliability....And, also important, rarity and style that seems subtle at first glance, but then smacks you in the face with it's unusual beauty, causing you to crane your neck as it goes by. The LC 500 has all of this.

But it is big and heavy and it's not meant to carve canyons at speed, though with the rear wheel steer, I imagine it could hold its own. It's a highway cruiser and a modern relic of Japanese automaking at its finest.

If you haven't seen any of Savage Geese's many videos on the LC 500, it's worth a watch. He is a very objective reviewer and he loved the LC so much, he leased one for himself. He goes over many of the questions you are asking. Also... test drive or even rent one if you're able. I'd be interested to hear YOUR thoughts 😊

 

apples to oranges but if you enjoy porsches you might not like LC's. If you like bentley's / aston's then thats more inline with what the LC provides in terms of driving experiences. The bonus being its a reliable aston martin that starts up everyday.

 

I owned a 2022 base 911 (992 platform) for almost a year when I concluded it wasn't the right car for me. Its certainly a bada$$ machine and everything you'd expect from a Porsche, but its always a race car and sometimes I'm not in the mood for a race car. There's very little external noise insulation so the cabin is quite loud making it hard to maintain a conversation. Being a twin turbo, the exhaust note is not remarkable even with the "Sport Exhaust" option. The tech is adequate with a nice size touch screen and digital gages (analog tach for the purists). The mid-grade Bose system sounds decent - I never heard the available higher-end and quite expensive Burmeister system. The PDK 8-speed dual-clutch transmission is second to none. I found the build quality to be excellent, inside and out. Then there's the cost - my 911 build was around $25K more than my loaded LC.

Anyway, for me the LC made more sense. It's a great compromise between luxury and sport. IMHO, its a better looking car and more bang for the buck.

 

I can't comment on 911s but I'm coming from a Cayman S and my deal is I go on a lot of road-trips to twisty mountain roads. Like this. When I was looking into LCs earlier this year I did all the research, watched all the savagegeese (and everyone else's) videos, everything but actually test drive one, & I could never answer the question of "is it going to be enough fun to drive spiritedly that I want to keep it long term" - bought mine knowing I'd either sell it after a year or two and go back to a Porsche if it wasn't fun enough, or keep it long term if it was.

Happy to report that (at least as a coupe with the performance package) it totally is enough fun to want to keep long term, for my specific use case of long road trips to twisty roads (no track days). It's obviously much heavier and the handling is objectively worse but even on the bad dunlop runflats (which I'll replace with Michelins soon) it's still a lots of fun to take through tight esses and sweepers. You feel the heaviness in corners but that's not completely a bad thing, for me, it's often a good feeling. The sound is a much bigger part of the fun than it was with my Cayman, similar to how it was with my F-Type R - windows down with the exhaust echoing off the cliff right next to you, hearing the ragged metallic note I seem to only get when going downhill (echoing off the road behind?), it's just a delight to listen to, and so varied - the exhaust, the induction past 4000rpm, the downshifts, the rev limiter, the cracks on upshifting. The LC's automatic is definitely worse than a PDK, but shifts sound so good and the paddles feel so good that it's not a big deal for me.

The LC is far better than the Porsche was at knocking out big miles on the highway - the interior is miles ahead of the highest specced 718, the Mark Levinson sound system is, imo, incredible - like I'm really excited to go on another roadtrip just so I can listen to more of my favorite albums in the LC. Haven't heard Porsche's Burmeister system but it's way, way better than Porsche's Bose system, which I thought was good. LC is better looking than a Cayman or 911, imo, and feels so much more special to be in and to look at. Any 718/911 is just another Porsche to most people, whereas I get people flipping out about my car pretty regularly. Staring and mouthing "oh my god", excitedly pointing it out to their friends, etc. As someone for whom "special/rare" whether it's for music or restaurants or cars is always a plus, the LC definitely has that. Practicality wise the LC is imo underrated, the trunk is at least as big as a Porsche's frunk and the back seats are a lot bigger than a Cayman's trunk. Plenty practical, zero issue going on a 1 or 2 week road-trip with 2 people. I also paid $12k less for my LC (2019 inspiration series with 6k miles) than I was going to for my new 2023 manual Cayman S.. so that's another huge plus.

Overall I think it totally depends on where you want to take the car.. if you plan on doing track days and all-out speed and lap times are important there's no comparison, but even if non-track spirited driving is your priority I think the LC comes close enough in fun-factor that it may well be a better choice considering the other areas it excels at - exterior, interior, engine sound, soundsystem, specialness, reliability, value. And if you're the type to rarely/never get near the limits of the car (like most people), to me there's no contest.

 

In my opinion, going from your current car to the LC500 coupe would be a mistake (although I am a vert owner). It won't be exactly accurate without knowing which Porsche options you have but regarding your points and a few you didn't raise.

The driving comfort of the LC is superior because the suspension is more tuned for that in the Lexus. Despite the huge run flats as default the suspension is pretty amazing and the Panamera up-rated rims are also 21 with even more massive tires than the LC. The normal/sport/sport plus chassis settings in the Panamera are all less-compliant than their counterparts in the LC even when equipped with the air suspension (that the LC does not have).

The sophistication of the entertainment system is no comparison. The 2017 Panamera represents the first year of a new platform with the very latest in technology at that time and it still looks very current. The LC, while launched around the same time was never intended to showcase the entertainment system interface (at least I sure hope not).

The interior's are kind of an interesting comparison, with similar ledges to the right of the infotainment screen and broad center consoles. But, depending on how you feel about touchscreens in cars, the Porsche has a clear advantage. The much maligned lack of hard buttons for seat heat/cooling in the Lexus will probably be a pain point for you, given the buttons to do so in the Panamera. Also despite the coolness of the moving gauge in the LC, it's hard to argue that the 5 gauge presentation in the Porsche isn't superior both aesthetically and functionally.

Regarding the Mark Levinson, it's the best in-car stereo I've ever heard at all volume levels. Some people like to knock it, but I think that's more to prove their audiophile chops than anything else. I've never been particularly impressed with the Bose up-rated stereo in any Porsche that I've heard. For what it's worth, the Levinson has 13 speakers to the Porsche's ten.

I think you'll miss the driving experience of the Panamera. While of course it doesn't sound as good as the v-8 in the Lexus, the twin-turbo v-6 Audi engine in the Panamera (sorry, I had to stick that poke in there) is an awesomely performing engine when paired to AWD which continues to be used in the latest Porsche/Audi performance models (Taycan Turbo/Audi RS5). It's the immediacy of 400 lb/ft of torque at 1700 rpms on the Porsche vs. the Lexus which doesn't get there until 4k plus. Both cars are big (the Porsche is longer and about the same width and weight), but the Panamera shrinks in performance driving - like all Porsches - while the LC always feels big and heavy. The front-end of the LC is also difficult to place at low-speed/parking because the whole front is flat and receding where the Porsche has better visual cues due to the protruding headlights. Both cars have similar braking. Both cars get similarly mediocre fuel economy but have big gas tanks (surprisingly, the Lexus' is smaller).

A few pluses for the LC include a heads-up display (optional but most have) that is OK but not great, adaptive cruise control, and direct TPMS (I don't remember if direct or indirect TPMS comes as standard on the '17 Panamera 4S).

 

I appreciate everyone's input as well as I'm still undecided about moving forward with an LC. But there's just so few vehicles out there that actually excite me and I can't afford Ferrari unfortunately 🤣

I am considering AM...God help me.

 

Don't think, just do!
No Porsche ownership experience here, but I've driven quite a few. What I like about the Lexus performance line is that, especially in the Bay Area, it's not just another Tesla, BMW, or Porsche. That and extreme reliability. Yeah Porsches are precision driving tools and deliver a beautiful experience on and off the track, but this just feels more special - unless of course you're think about a Porsche GT/RS car.

You just can't go wrong with one of last production N/A V8s, and that tuned by Yamaha. That's gonna be something to brag about in a few years.

Tech is a bit behind in the Lexus, but MY2024 is fixing some of that and I almost exclusively use CarPlay which works perfectly. Do a few performance mods on the LC like headers, Loi tune, Hybrid diff swap, better tires, and you won't miss the Porsche too much unless you're a track-head.

Mark Levinson audio quality is top notch, on par with the other premium audio systems. This article explains a bit about the LC audio system and how they're all pretty much the same (owned by the same conglomerate).

If you're considering Aston Martin, the LC is a great contender. Many times I've heard and seen the LC compared to AMs of the current generation. The build quality is amazing.

But none of this will really matter until you drive the options you're considering. Go drive a new LC and and see if it invokes emotion. If it feels right, consider your options and go with the one that fits your life best.

 

16 hours? You must have some bladder?

 

Apples to oranges; feel free to look at my sig. I love the Panamera (I have a LWB Turbo) and love my 911. The LC (and my '09 LS) are leaps and bounds better dailies as far as comfort is concerned.

 

i know this is an old thread. I currently have a 2018 GS 350 F Sport which I love. Considering either the LC or the Porsche Panamera GTS as my next car. I drove the LC when it first came out and was thoroughly impressed with the looks and how it felt and sounded. It was more luxury GT than Sports car which is what I was looking for. The build quality and execution reminded me of the way the old Mercedes SLs used to feel. I have not driven the Panamera yet which by all accounts is a phenomenal car. Tough decision. I know I will be happy with either. I welcome comments from anyone who has compared both. Thanks

 

I had a 2013 GS350. Traded it in for a 2021 GX as life changes required a bigger vehicle. I absolutely love both but I miss my GS like crazy. I recently ordered a bespoke LC and am really looking forward to it. While I know it won't handle like the GS, I'm hoping it'll rekindle some of my love for it. But, obviously different vehicles. Keeping my GX when I get the LC.

​​​​​​Sorry this doesn't answer your question, but wanted to chime in that the GS was (is) a very special car.

 

I’ve driven previous generation Panamera’s and they were admirably solid teutonic build quality vehicles, enjoyable and practical to drive, and certainly more practical and family friendly than the LC500.

I have a LC500 vert that I use as more of an “occasion” car for two people.

If this is a pleasure car purchase, the LC500 might be more appealing.
If more of a daily duty luxury family vehicle, the Panamera might work better.

Suggest that Porsche maintenance will be more expensive.


Separate note: Looks like the OP for this thread purchased an IS500