05RollaXRS

^^^^

Yeah, regarding the SLK55 AMG, it was boss' car back in 2007 when he bought it brand new. He really wanted to impress me with the top down by asking me to gun that 5.4 Liter V8 at every stop light.

Regarding Doug's review, how could anyone deem this car a "fast luxury cruiser", is simply baffling. The passenger's reaction and excitement says it all.

ZiPPyRCF

I think I've seen like 3 or 4 RCFs on the road since I bought mine. I like the fact my car is so rare on the road. I love to see other cars, especially when they are modded. But with my RCF, I always go back to her and smile when I get in.

konichiwa3

05RollaXRS you are so good at finding RCF videos I have never seen before. That was probably one of most exhilarating one I have seen so far.

As for Doug's review, IMO all these reviewers are like sheep, they go wherever the herd goes. Jeremy Clarkson set the trend albeit quite harsh and the rest followed, they don't want to buck the trend.

The best review IMO of the RCF was the one MotoMan did with Head chief designer Yukihiko Yaguchi. I saw this one back in 2015 when I just got my RCF. Motoman suspended all judgement until he got into Yaguchi's head as to why he designed the RCF the way he did. This review is what made me appreciate my RCF for what it is and never looked back especially considering I had just come out from a much higher powered AMG. MotoMan makes a great point about the similar driving characteristic of the RCF to that of an S2000 in that you have to keep the engine really wound up to get the most out of it.
His comment about "treating the RCF like a naughty gal" cracked me up the first time I heard him say that.

gs400998

Savagegeese:

Deanrcf

iTrader: (1)

I can't believe you guys spent 4 pages discussing a review by a guy with a press pass and a blog. A 12 year old with a smart phone can review a car and post it to youtube. His review is as relevant as you make it. I remember when the G35 came out and all hell broke loose in the E46 camp. In the end, I see 3x more 1st gen G35 Coupes on the road today than any E46. The E46 M3 is in unicorn status about now. Like the turbocharged 335, M4s will be modified to the point of failure to maintain any little performance advantage it has over the competition and will be extinct in 10 years. I wouldn't go near a used M4 for fear of an overworked drive train from "turning up the boost, yo!" In the meantime, I'll just sit back and watch these tools post their "reviews". The RCF is neither the fastest nor the best handling in the group, but it is a solid all around performer built to last. In other words, Lexus built a instant classic before these idiots could figure it out. And by "classic" I mean the RCF will still be on the road 10 years from now.

Uda880

iTrader: (7)

Chris Harris: RCF on the street.

05RollaXRS

It is perfectly valid and understandable, you did not like your RCF. When it comes to subjective impressions, everyone perceives things differently. By the same token, your opinions don't speak for any of rest of our personal experiences who own RCFs. In all of your last few posts, you seem pretty adamant about marginalizing the RCF.

What is next? You are going to post Clarkson's review who only in history prevented one car from being lapped by Stig that happens to be the RCF and then went on to praise the GSF?

p.s. Now to your point, you posted Chris Harris' review who trashed the RCF and said "you should not go anywhere near the track" yet while nicely drifting the RCF in every corner. It was entirely based on a false premise as he kept repeating "why does this have to be 400 KG heavier than the M4?". Well, because it is not. 900 lbs and 400 lbs is a HUGE HUGE difference. I don't remember him complaining about the C63 in the corners that happens to be 4000 lbs. He was going off a placebo effect believing his false assumption that it actually was a 400 kg heavy. How are we supposed to take the review seriously? RCF's track lap times and dynamic handling numbers say completely something that it is a very capable and competent car on the track with respectable times. Numbers don't lie, people do. Also, he trashed the RCF yet, went to praise an inferior performing GSF and declared it the winner over an M5. So how is this even relevant to our personal experiences?

My take? RCF followed the LFA and everyone of these high profile early reviewers like Sutcliffe, Harris, Clarkson wanted to hate the RCF because it was not the LFA lite they were hoping they would see. Due to their disappointment, they went overboard with focusing/exaggerating entirely on the weaknesses and not highlighting enough of it is strengths as it is illustrated in these lesser known reviewers who happened to review with an open mind and not let the stereotypes lead their perception.

1st – Lexus RC F

"But it’s all about the naturally aspirated V8. The big 5.0-litre emits a silky restrained hum down low, and the eight-speed auto flicks off ratios without breaking sweat, but the powertrain still packs enough attitude to let you know it has more in reserve than Fort Knox. Wind it past 3500rpm and it snaps to attention, a deep, bellowy honk – synthesised, yes, engaging all the same – that soars to 7500rpm in one lunging climax. It’s intense and frantic and deeply satisfying, like your favourite guitar god just got a longer fretboard."

Think of the RCF as the place where a Nissan GT-R and a last-gen BMW M3 crossover and you’re somewhere close; the crazy Gundam-robot-like Japanese design, the barking V8, the frisky but perfectly balanced chassis, all of it feeds into a package that feels unique yet somehow déjà vu.

Baffled? Don’t be, the maths are compelling: Nissan GT-R styling and tech + previous-gen V8 M3 bombast and exuberance = winner.

https://www.carmagazine.co.uk/car-re...m4-car-review/


or this race driver driving the RCF for the first time

Uda880

iTrader: (7)

I don't try to assume what someone else's perspectives are. I try to give a balanced perspective, and found a video and posted it. I don't have a dog in the hunt, I liked the RCF for what it represented to me, and I've always maintained my position on the issue without imposing it on anyone else. At the end of the day, we (yes, that included me) all spent a lot of money purchasing a vehicle that represents the ideals and priorities we carry at this time. RCF is a great car if it fits your lifestyle. Perhaps Doug didn't like it, and Chris Harris made fairly good points. Would I have driven my F on the track the same way I do my 997? Probably not. Do I miss it some times driving in day to day traffic on not-as-glassy smooth roads, and opening it up when traffic cleared? Yes, some times I do.

05RollaXRS

Though, Chris' street impressions were 100% valid, his major blunder of claiming RCF was 400 KG heavier than the M4 is totally inexcusable.

Doug looks for controversy. His scoring of RCF being on par with Giulia and M2 are at odds with his claims. He never brought up the weight of the LC500, which happens to be 370 lbs heavier than the RCF. Yet, he made it the central focal point in the RCF review. He drives the car only for 20 minutes on straight city roads, guns it a few times and thinks he knows the car to draw conclusion. As an RCF owner yourself, I am sure you know exactly when I say, RCF is a Jekyll and Hyde car. Feels kind of "meh" when you drive it below 4000 rpm even in sport+/track mode. VGRS steering does not feel sharp and transmission shifts even in manual/sport+ have a herky/jerky feel. Once you push it over 7000+ rpm and then steer/shift and it is totally a different animal ready to pounce in the direction you throw it in and throttle response becomes savage. Case in point, some cars feel different in city/easy road driving and track/spirited driving on challenging roads.

I don't think any reasonable person would expect you to either. It is a 911 afterall and weighs 3300 lbs. You remember me mentioning, it is a pure sports car intended to perform really well around the track. Despite the sizable power advantage, I don't think the gain would be enough for our RCF to overcome the advantage in corners that your 911 has. RCF is a 2+2 GT/luxury sports car that blends practicality and performance/handling together while your 911 is handling/driving dynamics first.

My friends who ask me how my TVD RCF stacks up against the Corvette Stingray with a 6.2L V8 460 HP. I simply tell them, I have 4 seats, luxury with high-revving 470 HP and handling while having a baby seat in the back. Corvette will beat me all around comfortably despite having similar power, but cannot offer the luxury or accommodate the baby seat my RCF does.

TXgearhead

2UR

mk416

Clarification: us accountants merely present the numbers tabulated and formulated from the data provided to us; we can only validate and audit to the original source of data. External audit is someone else's responsibility.

Please do not put that on us. I wish we have THAT much influence on anything in a corporation, lol.

konichiwa3

Lol. Great point there

ragingf80

I shared a lot of the sentiments that Chris Harris did. That's why it came to little surprise to later find out that he had gotten himself an F80 instead as well. I think this goes to show that different people have different perspectives. I don't think anyone of them are particularly wrong, that's like saying I'm wrong for my choice of blue as my favorite color. As far as discrediting Harris because he said 400kg instead of lbs... really? A flub is going to discredit his entire opinion based on his real world experience of driving the car? I'm pretty sure Doug feels what he feels, he can get just as many clicks with a title like "Why everyone's hate for the RC F is COMPLETELY wrong".

05RollaXRS

Yes, to me it is a big deal since I was one of those people who got misled by this review 3 years ago since it made me think of Lexus' brand new sports car as a bumbling, dimwitted, obese pretentious car, which I found to be completely false once I drove it. When someone says "you should not go anywhere near a track" (read: totally incapable of handling) or "why does this car have to weigh 400 KG more than M4", Both of which are factually false statements, it completely makes his focal point of criticism (which is essentially these two points) completely void. All while knowing the average driver cannot even reach 8/10th of the potential limit of RCF's highest capabilities even with the hardest effort. 400 KG or 900 lbs is a completely and enormous difference in weight and his unfair statement to misinform the naïve and gullible viewers, is completely inexcusable. The fact that he did not even realize that is does not "feel" 900 lbs heavier than the M4 while driving, even speaks more to his poor judgement and inability to question his own facts through experiences.

I am sure if he said such an outlandish mistake with an M car, all of the BMW world would rile against him. His whole argument hinged around these two points, which are completely false. To someone who hates the RCF, it is perfectly valid as it fits with his narrative. To someone like the rest of us, no.

To you, it is not a big deal, but to me Doug never made a video of why NSX is a flop or GTR is a flop purely based on the sales figures (since they both are extremely poor sellers). He never criticized the Stinger or many other sports cars for their weight, which happens to be the same or heavier than RCF. Why single out RCF when especially additional weight was to add more reinforcements to the chassis for more rigidity? When someone calls RCF a "luxury cruiser", it applies to cars like ES350 or 550 etc. Not to cars that were tuned for hundreds of hours around the race track and happen to have respectable dynamic/handling stats (0.95g and 73 mph slalom speed) and track times.