I am looking at the RC 350, RCF, and IS 350.

Going to be my daily with a lot of stop and go traffic at times.

I am thinking RC 350, however I found the IS 350 seats incredible. I love the styling of the RC's but found the RCF side bolsters kinda uncomfortable. Ar the RC 350 Fsport seats less tight on the sides? How do RC 350 owners feel about the cars performance. I found the RCF to have more of a muted feel than I expected, is it worse with the V6? My guess would be it's about the same when not testing the upper limits of the car.

 

RCF is wildly different from the 350, with that being said, i am more than happy with the 350's power for daily driving. The RC seats are more bolstered then the IS seats, from what i remember from my old IS, also my stylish. RCF seats have even more styling than the regular RC seats.

With every lexus, you can expect a smooth delivery of power, which may be the muted feeling youre referring to. Lexus's are buttery smooth. Driving the car, wether it be a 2GR or 2UR, in manual will help some of this sluggishness.

If you ever have plans of drag or track or road course, go with the F. That is my only complaint on my car, is power at the track...

As for strictly daily driving, pick one of the 350's. Pick the IS if you need the space, pick the RC if you can sacrifice that.

 

Well, I had a 2015 and 2017 IS350 F Sport and now own a 2019 RC350 F Sport (not the RCF) - Honestly, the seats in the IS350 and RC350 are pretty much identical - I can not detect any noticeable differences. I have not an RCF but comparing a V6 to a V8 is not apple to apple....As a daily driver, the IS/RC350 would be more than adequate.

I think the question is whether you want 4 doors or 2 doors are OK for your daily use - I see that you are in Florida so I don't have to warn about avoiding the RC350 AWD as you will get the RWD....That is my biggest gripe about the RC, the AWD has an unacceptable front gap.

Both the IS and RC are styling and you can't go wrong with either - The RC is NOT a 2 IS since the underpinning is totally different but the engine.tranny are similar as with the overall interior layout...

 

I dunno, I found the IS seats more comfortable.

 

Also consider door length and entry/exit if this is your first coupe.
I really like my RC350 FSport, but the doors are a bit troublesome in tight parking. This will depend on where you park frequently.
Long doors need more room to open. In a tight parking space they create a smaller opening to enter/exit.
In a tight spot, I need to lift my self out of low seat and exit to the rear of the vehicle. That small door opening is kinda behind the seat. I'm in my 50's and have figured out some good methods, but it is one area where I wonder if I'd been better off with 4 doors. Even if I didn't need those rear doors.

Most of the time I mitigate this by taking a few extra moments to park some where adjacent to a curb, pillar, fire lane etc. where I can swing my driver door out more easily. Not a big deal. Just not always an option.

fwiw: My wife's first impressions of the seats were that they hugged a bit. This later turned into comfort. I have a few passengers that are prone to motion sickness on longer trips, and they say they don't experience it in the RC despite some multi day trips into the mountains. Don't know if that's the seats keeping people in place, less body roll, lower to the ground, smoother everything. Not sure, just happy about it.

 

^^ Great point about the longer doors....I will that I was pleasantly surprised by the outward visibility in the RC. I was sure that being a coupe, the visibility would be really bad but that is not the case at all....

 

Yea, I'm happy with the visibility. No issues there.
I drove midsize pickup trucks for 25 years before the RC, so those had their own visibility and maneuverability challenges. Short doors though :-)
The other big change for me was seeing lines on the road. High in the truck, and even the motorcycle is fairly high I could see a overhead view of everything.
Down in the coupe, I have to really adjust to nearby navigation. Especially in certain weather/darkness conditions and with my 50's eyes. Finding those left turn lane entry spots can be tricky somedays. That would be similarly true of the IS as well, so not a significant variable here.

 

Just to add my 2c, since you said you will be driving in a lot of stop and go traffic... I had an RC350, (briefly had an RCF) and now I have a RC300 RWD. I was pretty much set on another 350 until I drove the 2019 RC300 (2.0 turbo). Lexus changed the tuning on the 2019 and up turbo models and now they are much more responsive with more low end torque than the 350. I found that the 2019+ 2.0t is better for quick acceleration and passing in stop and go traffic. With the TTI tune that I have on it now (especially the TCU tune) makes it a blast to drive, and I much prefer it over my old 350. Again, this is just my preference and I recommend you test drive both

 

^^ That is very interesting - Thanks for sharing

 

May I ask what made you decide to leave the RCF and get into a RC300/350?

 

I have a very long commute to work so the combo of the poor gas mileage and it not being suited for stop and go traffic contributed to my decision. I could rarely use the ~500hp to its full potential. It was an absolute beast and I enjoyed the highway pulls, but ultimately settled for something a bit more practical that was still a Toyota/Lexus 2dr RWD (I was pretty pissed the new supra turned out to be just a rebranded BMW Z4). Also, ever since I had my JCW, Ive been addicted to turbo setups, and tuning them. If you have the $$ and not a ton of traffic, the RCF is unbeatable on the trifecta of power, style and reliability