The Lexus LFA Is the $400,000 Supercar Nobody Talks About
The Lexus LFA Is the $400,000 Supercar Nobody Talks About
06-28-17, 10:42 AM
#3
Lexus Test Driver
It is still talked about a lot. More so than any other 8 - 9 year old model.
06-30-17, 03:16 PM
#4
The key thing stuff is how he reacts when he is giving the car some gas.
He was smitten with the sound and the fun to drive and the wonderful details.
The car is easy to nit pick at it's price (blah blah blah).
One should note that the car he drove was owned by a dealership owner. I have been saying for years, a large chunk of the folks buyer/collecting LFAs are car dealers.
I wish he got more into the effort it took to build each car, he missed the real luggage (I guess he does not have deep in background knowledge for these) when joking about the LFA embossed bag (for the car cover) and didn't really delve into the exterior design (he was all about the little window behind the door but completely missed the unique wave shaped air intake just below it). He grumped about the hood peg but didn't note that it is a lovely CF piece. The owner should have given him the CF key to avoid the blah blah about the no fob thing.
He was smitten with the sound and the fun to drive and the wonderful details.
The car is easy to nit pick at it's price (blah blah blah).
One should note that the car he drove was owned by a dealership owner. I have been saying for years, a large chunk of the folks buyer/collecting LFAs are car dealers.
I wish he got more into the effort it took to build each car, he missed the real luggage (I guess he does not have deep in background knowledge for these) when joking about the LFA embossed bag (for the car cover) and didn't really delve into the exterior design (he was all about the little window behind the door but completely missed the unique wave shaped air intake just below it). He grumped about the hood peg but didn't note that it is a lovely CF piece. The owner should have given him the CF key to avoid the blah blah about the no fob thing.
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rominl (06-30-17)
06-30-17, 09:39 PM
#5
Lexus Test Driver
Ironic how he claims no one talks about it, yet it has become the most viewed video on his channel in just 2 days. He got to over 1 million views in just 2 days. BTW, the most viewed video on motor trend youtube channel is the LFA vs GTR drag race.
Just goes to show how little credibility his review has. Just a controversial title to gain views.
Just goes to show how little credibility his review has. Just a controversial title to gain views.
Last edited by 05RollaXRS; 06-30-17 at 09:43 PM.
07-01-17, 08:57 AM
#7
Lexus Test Driver
Not sure what that means. He also did a video on the M4 GTS, 570s or C6 ZR1, they have close to half the views on it. That is, only 500k or 600k chose to click on the view and chose to watch those in many months. Here we are saying, 1.2 million in 2 days chose to click and watch it. Whether positive or negative, considering it is a 8 year old car, this is one of the most talked about car on the internet. Every so often, I see videos popping up of best engine sounds and LFA is usually in it. Also, like I said MT's highest viewed video is that of an LFA.
Last edited by 05RollaXRS; 07-01-17 at 09:17 AM.
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05RollaXRS (07-01-17)
07-01-17, 03:32 PM
#9
Actually, I generally like Doug's videos but wouldn't call them real car reviews, as such. He's more into pointing out the unique things about each car, which is cool especially when the car is a little older and rare. He's even taught me a few things about cars I've owned, LFA included. Sometimes he takes it a bit far, though, maybe trying to find quirks that aren't really that strange.
Regarding this video, I think it is pretty fair considering he is loafing around country roads with somebody (the owner?) in the passenger seat. The gearbox wasn't really intended to be used this way. Perhaps he never even dialed it to the fastest shift setting, it is hard to tell. Anyway, he certainly wasn't leaning on the car very much. I can tell you, from experience, that it takes actual practice to shift the LFA using the paddles at 9000+ RPM and Wide Open Throttle. Especially in the lower gears, the engine revs so quickly, at first you either shift early or miss it and hit the limiter. From the sound, it did not appear that he shifted at 9000 correctly even once in that video. Once you have some seat time, it becomes second nature, in part because your trained ear becomes a cue (and because you can change the coloured visual & audio cues on the tach). But even if I don't drive my LFA for a few weeks, I'll be rusty. In any case, if you truly have the throttle pinned wide open and pull the paddle at 9000 or above, the shift is instant and as engaging as any racecar I've driven. Would never trade it for a dual clutch auto which, to me, have become ubiquitous and boring.
Likewise for handling, steering, etc. Unless there is footage of him actually taking some corners at even 7 tenths that he is not showing, I don't think that test drive qualifies to comment on handling. If you take the LFA on a track, there is nothing whatsoever that is vague about the steering or handling. It has the most pinned front end of any road car I've ever driven and the chassis is so sharp, even Chris Harris left the TC on when the road was a bit damp. To get the impression that the LFA is anything but extremely direct simply means that you were not pushing the car to even 5 tenths of its limits.
Oh, and the Doug score idea is stupid, Doug. Please get rid of that or always keep it at the very end, so I know when to turn off.
Regarding this video, I think it is pretty fair considering he is loafing around country roads with somebody (the owner?) in the passenger seat. The gearbox wasn't really intended to be used this way. Perhaps he never even dialed it to the fastest shift setting, it is hard to tell. Anyway, he certainly wasn't leaning on the car very much. I can tell you, from experience, that it takes actual practice to shift the LFA using the paddles at 9000+ RPM and Wide Open Throttle. Especially in the lower gears, the engine revs so quickly, at first you either shift early or miss it and hit the limiter. From the sound, it did not appear that he shifted at 9000 correctly even once in that video. Once you have some seat time, it becomes second nature, in part because your trained ear becomes a cue (and because you can change the coloured visual & audio cues on the tach). But even if I don't drive my LFA for a few weeks, I'll be rusty. In any case, if you truly have the throttle pinned wide open and pull the paddle at 9000 or above, the shift is instant and as engaging as any racecar I've driven. Would never trade it for a dual clutch auto which, to me, have become ubiquitous and boring.
Likewise for handling, steering, etc. Unless there is footage of him actually taking some corners at even 7 tenths that he is not showing, I don't think that test drive qualifies to comment on handling. If you take the LFA on a track, there is nothing whatsoever that is vague about the steering or handling. It has the most pinned front end of any road car I've ever driven and the chassis is so sharp, even Chris Harris left the TC on when the road was a bit damp. To get the impression that the LFA is anything but extremely direct simply means that you were not pushing the car to even 5 tenths of its limits.
Oh, and the Doug score idea is stupid, Doug. Please get rid of that or always keep it at the very end, so I know when to turn off.
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05RollaXRS (07-01-17)
07-01-17, 07:44 PM
#10
Lexus Test Driver
Thanks for your insight. Glad you are enjoying the LFA.
You are right regarding transmission, he was clueless when he switched to sport mode that it was at shift level 5 and not max. He called the transmission speed switch "the gauge cluster brightness control" so it was very clear he was unaware.
Also. his comparison of LFA's steering with Huracan steering is quite nonsensical considering he admitted he was only driving at 30 mph. LFA's steering from what I know, is variable speed ratio steering that is slow at low speeds for easy maneouverability and avoid dartiness and then the rack gets fast around the race track for sharp and quick turn ins.
You are right regarding transmission, he was clueless when he switched to sport mode that it was at shift level 5 and not max. He called the transmission speed switch "the gauge cluster brightness control" so it was very clear he was unaware.
Also. his comparison of LFA's steering with Huracan steering is quite nonsensical considering he admitted he was only driving at 30 mph. LFA's steering from what I know, is variable speed ratio steering that is slow at low speeds for easy maneouverability and avoid dartiness and then the rack gets fast around the race track for sharp and quick turn ins.
Actually, I generally like Doug's videos but wouldn't call them real car reviews, as such. He's more into pointing out the unique things about each car, which is cool especially when the car is a little older and rare. He's even taught me a few things about cars I've owned, LFA included. Sometimes he takes it a bit far, though, maybe trying to find quirks that aren't really that strange.
Regarding this video, I think it is pretty fair considering he is loafing around country roads with somebody (the owner?) in the passenger seat. The gearbox wasn't really intended to be used this way. Perhaps he never even dialed it to the fastest shift setting, it is hard to tell. Anyway, he certainly wasn't leaning on the car very much. I can tell you, from experience, that it takes actual practice to shift the LFA using the paddles at 9000+ RPM and Wide Open Throttle. Especially in the lower gears, the engine revs so quickly, at first you either shift early or miss it and hit the limiter. From the sound, it did not appear that he shifted at 9000 correctly even once in that video. Once you have some seat time, it becomes second nature, in part because your trained ear becomes a cue (and because you can change the coloured visual & audio cues on the tach). But even if I don't drive my LFA for a few weeks, I'll be rusty. In any case, if you truly have the throttle pinned wide open and pull the paddle at 9000 or above, the shift is instant and as engaging as any racecar I've driven. Would never trade it for a dual clutch auto which, to me, have become ubiquitous and boring.
Likewise for handling, steering, etc. Unless there is footage of him actually taking some corners at even 7 tenths that he is not showing, I don't think that test drive qualifies to comment on handling. If you take the LFA on a track, there is nothing whatsoever that is vague about the steering or handling. It has the most pinned front end of any road car I've ever driven and the chassis is so sharp, even Chris Harris left the TC on when the road was a bit damp. To get the impression that the LFA is anything but extremely direct simply means that you were not pushing the car to even 5 tenths of its limits.
Oh, and the Doug score idea is stupid, Doug. Please get rid of that or always keep it at the very end, so I know when to turn off.
Regarding this video, I think it is pretty fair considering he is loafing around country roads with somebody (the owner?) in the passenger seat. The gearbox wasn't really intended to be used this way. Perhaps he never even dialed it to the fastest shift setting, it is hard to tell. Anyway, he certainly wasn't leaning on the car very much. I can tell you, from experience, that it takes actual practice to shift the LFA using the paddles at 9000+ RPM and Wide Open Throttle. Especially in the lower gears, the engine revs so quickly, at first you either shift early or miss it and hit the limiter. From the sound, it did not appear that he shifted at 9000 correctly even once in that video. Once you have some seat time, it becomes second nature, in part because your trained ear becomes a cue (and because you can change the coloured visual & audio cues on the tach). But even if I don't drive my LFA for a few weeks, I'll be rusty. In any case, if you truly have the throttle pinned wide open and pull the paddle at 9000 or above, the shift is instant and as engaging as any racecar I've driven. Would never trade it for a dual clutch auto which, to me, have become ubiquitous and boring.
Likewise for handling, steering, etc. Unless there is footage of him actually taking some corners at even 7 tenths that he is not showing, I don't think that test drive qualifies to comment on handling. If you take the LFA on a track, there is nothing whatsoever that is vague about the steering or handling. It has the most pinned front end of any road car I've ever driven and the chassis is so sharp, even Chris Harris left the TC on when the road was a bit damp. To get the impression that the LFA is anything but extremely direct simply means that you were not pushing the car to even 5 tenths of its limits.
Oh, and the Doug score idea is stupid, Doug. Please get rid of that or always keep it at the very end, so I know when to turn off.
07-02-17, 12:24 AM
#12
Lexus Test Driver
lfahalo: Not sure why Lexus designed it in such a way where when you switch to sport mode, tranny is only in level 5? Any ideas why? One would think, when someone switches to the most aggressive sport mode, everything should be at the max. steering, throttle response and transmission. Looks like it does it for steering and throttle response, but not for tranny.
Besides, it would have taken into account clueless people like Doug who are completely unaware that the transmission is controlled independently from a different switch.
Besides, it would have taken into account clueless people like Doug who are completely unaware that the transmission is controlled independently from a different switch.
07-02-17, 06:45 AM
#13
lfahalo: Not sure why Lexus designed it in such a way where when you switch to sport mode, tranny is only in level 5? Any ideas why? One would think, when someone switches to the most aggressive sport mode, everything should be at the max. steering, throttle response and transmission. Looks like it does it for steering and throttle response, but not for tranny.
Besides, it would have taken into account clueless people like Doug who are completely unaware that the transmission is controlled independently from a different switch.
Besides, it would have taken into account clueless people like Doug who are completely unaware that the transmission is controlled independently from a different switch.
07-02-17, 09:52 AM
#14
Lexus Test Driver
I agree with you that it would have been better for reviews, if the gearbox went to max shift speed when you switch to Sport mode. But level 7 does produce immediate shifts that are a bit harsh unless you are driving flat out. I usually go as high as level 6 when I am driving on the road in a spirited manner. So maybe the best situation, if Lexus was thinking about journalists, would have been another setting called Track where it defaulted to level 7.
07-02-17, 01:48 PM
#15
Moderator: LFA, Clubhouse
The LFA was never intended to be an all-out track car - and that's precisely why it winds up being such a great car. On the track, drivers can manually set it to level 7 if they want.
We have already discussed the shift speed mapping for the LFA many times, including my post about it from more than six years ago with a picture from the owners' manual. In all the reviews in which the topic comes up, the level of depression of the gas pedal has far more to do with the shift speed than the shift speed setting, so the shift speed setting isn't going to affect any of these reviews where the reviewer is just putzing around on open roads.
In the end, I suppose it was a genius move from Lexus' perspective to get so many dealers in on it, which absorbed the huge number of additional units that Lexus brought into the USA region - especially now that we know there are 191 America-region units, which leaves some unaccounted for even if we include Canada in the mix. (Remember that when I first started talking to Lexus about the LFA, they were batting around just 120 units heading to the USA, before upping the figure again and again to the final 179 number.) Lexus corporate was probably able to convince dealers that these would appreciate, and that's why so many dealers in the US are holding on to them - because they haven't appreciated and the dealers are hoping they still will.
Last edited by gengar; 07-03-17 at 01:11 AM. Reason: sorry, meant "unaccounted for"