Lexus

I love this car, but I've encountered numerous issues since getting it. First, I want to note that the luxury is not that luxurious; the car is quite… Read more

simple inside. However, for that price, it could be more elegant. Funny story, there is no place to put my phone. I even tried buying a sticky holder, but there's nowhere to stick it. Absolutely, zero! So my holder stayed unused. Second, my phone and other objects keep falling into the hole between the seats, which is too narrow for you to reach in and retrieve them. What a luxury! (Being sceptical now).

After three years, I started experiencing a dead battery, which seems to drain quickly in this car. My battery died too often in inconvenient places, like airport parking. For a luxury and expensive car, this feature is not particularly practical. I mean, really? If you have an insurance or annual check-up, it costs so much, and replacing a battery costs me $ 300.

The car is comfortable and smooth to drive, but its minor drawbacks make it impractical. I'm even considering selling it for a more conventional, non-hybrid vehicle that's more comfortable—a real disappointment.

Always serviced well and staff are friendly to help with anything. Good amount of stock to browse at Perth dealership

By far the best car I’ve owned. I bought it second-hand with 140,000 km on the clock, and it hasn’t missed a beat since. The only maintenance I’ve… Read more

done is a transmission fluid change. It averages around 11L/100km on the highway. Being a front-wheel drive, it can surge a bit under acceleration, but other than that, I’ve had no issues at all. I’d highly recommend the Lexus RX350.

Mechanical excellence combined with disgraceful interior and cosmetic parts failing – I've had this car for over 5 years now, I purchased it from a stint of European cars, with the intention to have a sensible and reliable car whilst I… Read more

save for some important things. At the tail end of owning this car, it has been absolutely rock solid mechanically. I loved getting it back from each service with a generally minimal list of repair notes. Apart from expensive rear tires, (F Sport 2012, $500+ AUD a pop) it's been a breeze. It has one of the best sound systems that I've heard. In terms of costing me for essential things such as keeping it roadworthy, it's been a gem.

Driving wise, it's a relatively smooth ride. The brakes are good, the seats are comfy and most of the interior is a nice place to be. Performance wise though it's uninspiring. RWD is lovely however the engine, whilst very smooth, is thirsty as all heck and is by no means fast. The car can barely hold country speeds up a hill, without having to shift in to a lower gear and hit 3500+RPM. The transmission I will comment as excellent. Very smooth and relatively responsive however spoiled by a boring engine. This is the IS250.

Now onto the annoying things. It kills me that this list is so high for what was a relatively expensive Lexus. Some of these issues should not exist, especially on one of the final years of this generation of Lexus.

-4 out of 4 door lock actuators failed. This is a well documented issue that Lexus refuse to accept. The front actuators I bought 3rd party for roughly $100 each and installed them myself. The rear ones were going to be over $250 each so I did some research and found that it's just a tacky motor that almost always failed. I have since pulled apart the rear actuators, replace the motors and got them working again. I will highlight here that if I was to do this in the dealer, I know that the actuators went for at least $400 a pop and that's minus labor.

-The F Sport spoiler has abysmally thin paint. Whilst the rest of the car has stood up great to the WA sun, the spoiler was an eyesore and I ended up repainting myself.

-The sunroof has 2 separate rattles. I was quoted a simply hilarious $5,000 to repair this. Seriously, Lexus?

-The leather seats are a joke. Both front seats have major tears and require re-upholstering. A local leather shop is doing this and commented on how many F-Sport's he sees with this exact issue. This should not be happening in a car as prestigeous as Lexus. Note I maintain my seats religiously, the car came to me with the seats in decent condition too.

-Sticky Dash. Yep. On a 2012. This was supposed to be fixed. This is a recent issue that has crept up and Lexus are refusing to acknowledge that their "Fix" dash is also a pile of garbage. Feel free to give this one a google, it's widespread.

-Typical crap Toyota grade headlights. Be ready to have to de-cloud these every few months. They are garbage.

To sell my car for what it is truly worth in good condition, I've had to invest nearly $3000 on repairs that shouldn't be happening in the first place. I totally get that this is not a new car but some of these issues are just unacceptable.

I did reach out to Lexus of Australia with the above list, to which I was promised a "reasonable quote" to rectify the issues by Lexus of Perth. That was promised 2 months ago and now they are dodging my emails.

I'm now jumping back to team Europe for my next car. I'm aware that I will likely be going back to spending more money on maintenance and repairs however I'm OK with this.

Pretty fun to drive for a hybrid. Suspension is firm, steering is direct, motor has decent torque to make up for the smaller engine used. I also got… Read more

5.4L/100km fuel economy which is half the fuel used for similar size vehicle previous owned. I didn’t get fatigue from driving this for long trips which I usually get that from small cars. Overall pretty happy with this purchase.

I am having the new car from Sutherland Lexus for two weeks now, its quite good to drive around, enough power, not noisy and comfortable. The… Read more

drawbacks are: as we know, the boot space is too tiny, it does not come with spare tyre, so if I want to buy a donet spare, the boot space even worse; I still don't like the Run Flat Tyre idea. Then, the 12v battery so small and hiding at the back. Other then that, all good.

Great hybrid car – I love my CT200h ! I recently sold due to an upgrade but I had the car for over 5years and it had been such a good investment. I have saved so much… Read more

on petrol as it is a hybrid. When service is due they never find any issues which puts my mind at ease. The moonroof is an amazing addition and the leather interior looks great. Such a reliable car and highly recommended for anyone looking for a cheap affordable car.

Amazing luxury and sports car – Have had my 2013 GS350 F Sport for around 2 years now. Beautiful car to drive, great performance with rear wheel drive V6 and F Sport suspension. No… Read more

mechanical issues, just normal service and maintenance so far. Such a big shame they have discontinued this model, will keep mine for many years for sure. The only downside I would think of would be back seat not folding down making it less practical to fit longer items if needed.

Following my car and caravan accident in my LX 570, and having been towing with my LX 500d F Sport, I am answering some follow-up questions. The… Read more

below vehicle is my 5th Lexus and 4th LX. After 3 brilliant LX models, either 470 or 570, this twin turbo diesel is nothing short of motoring excellence. The running costs are far less than my previous petrol models, especially considering the super responsive motor with peerless F Sport specific performance enhancements. See Lexus.com.au for specifics. I was incredibly fortunate to be insured with RACQ at the time of my accident. RACQ has been my insurer for the last 40 years. Never having had an accident in this time, I was absolutely thrilled with RACQ and their staff who had my back in an incredibly challenging situation and I simply cannot be more grateful. This company went above and beyond for my little family and I received personal support, the benefit of a customer-based best practice policy and I will never be insured with anyone else. Accidents may be unavoidable but buying a Lexus and being insured with RACQ meant certain disaster was averted.

The milestone when Japanese made better cars than the rest of the world – Best car I've ever owned. Legendary reliability, with many examples lasting over a million miles without rebuilding the engine. Way ahead of its time. My daily commute to work has become a pleasure.

Still Got This Car From 1 Year And Still Have A Lot If Pain When I Sit In This Car :: After Driving This Car For 20 Minutes I Can Start Feeling Pain… Read more

In My Left Leg Near Hip N Under The Thigh :: I Complaint To Lexus But They Never Helped Me With This :: I Will Never Buy This Car Again In Future .. This Car Seat Is Low And This Car Has So Much Less Head Room its Not Comfortable For 5 Foot 11 Inch Height Guy :: ❌ DONT BUY THIS CAR : U WILL REGRET UR DECISION ❌

A refined luxury coupe with an old-school motor – Main competitors in this space include BMW, Mercedes and Audi. These types of cars represent the old-school aspirations of those looking for a sporty… Read more

car that can also allow you to commute to your job as a business executive, while providing both daily comfort and a bit of flair for the weekend drive.

Lexus’ best foot forward is its build quality and high attention to detail. This is an essential part of Lexus’ success in the luxury car market, and it's certainly a highlight in the RC. The panel gaps are kept to a minimum, reflecting the high attention to detail on the outside. There’s a considerate use of quality paint and materials that impress you before you even step inside. The interior of the RC is the absolute highlight of this car. The craftsmanship found throughout the cabin is divine, with the quality and accuracy of the stitching being the biggest giveaway. The doors are trimmed with what feels like an art installation of leather with flowing stitches that just leave you gawking at the door trim. No squeaks or rattles can be heard even when cruising over the bumpier surfaces.

The whole cabin allows the front passengers to almost be in a reclining position, never really having to lift an arm past their reach. All of your controls are easily reachable and found when driving, without having to strain yourself to reach for buttons or a distant touch point on a screen. There’s an infotainment display far off into what feels like the distance. In reality, it's a non-touch full colour display that possesses all the information you’d expect in a car like this (navigation, audio controls, DAB, and Apple CarPlay/Android Auto).

Controls for the screen are found just in front of the arm rest, and you operate this system like you would a laptop. Swiping on the Lexus branded trackpad is greeted with a haptic response, to help confirm your input.

It was priced from $70,739 before on roads, which was a fair price back then.

I say fair, as even though this is a relatively special engine in today’s world, not many people are going to appreciate the V6 over the similar performance they might get from a 2.0L turbocharged four-cylinder motor. Therefore, if you’re not looking for a unique power plant, you might find a better deal on either the cheaper RC200t ($67,990) or even some cheaper European variants.

Lexus offered a strange ‘in between’ warranty of 4 years/unlimited kilometres, which is more than the European 3 years, but less than others offering 5 years or more.

I was astounded at the level of sound isolation the RC was capable of. You really are in your own world when driving around in an RC. There’s minimal bleed of road noise and no wind noise intruding on the cabin’s ambiance.

The RC’s powerplant is able to remain at low revs when cruising, even under mild acceleration. The gearbox does its job effectively to ensure that the V6 delivers a premium sound experience when you don’t want to be listening to it roar. When listening to music, you’re engrossed in whatever you’re playing thanks to absolute clarity, depth and minimal amounts of distortion of this audio system. Adjusting the balance of the system, you’re able to get ridiculous levels of bass - enough to rattle your mirrors and shake your core.

There’s enough brake feel in the Lexus to give you the feedback to come to a complete stop seamlessly. There’s no need for a jerky initial brake bite, instead, you’ll have a buttery smooth stop at the lights - how elegant. This is a heavy car, weighing in at over 1700kg. This means under heavier braking you will start to feel the mass of this vehicle.

As I’ve alluded to already, the RC350 possesses a 3.5L naturally aspirated petrol V6, producing 232kW and 380Nm. As per a few publications, 0-100km/h times are claimed to be in the low 6-second range; around 6.2 seconds to be precise. Despite lacking a turbocharger, the V6 has plenty of get-up-and-go, as the engine rewards you when revving through to the redline, where you’ll access all of this motor’s power.

The 8-speed automatic used in the RC was a perfect pairing with this engine and platform. Similar to the brakes, you’re able to get the RC to perform with relative smoothness and precision when driving around town or out on the highway. What really sells the driving experience in the RC is its suspension and handling. This suspension setup is one of the best I’ve been in a while. Almost magic in its performance, you are kept in total comfort travelling down a bumpy street- you glide over speed-bumps, and traverse driveways seamlessly. I’ve been in plenty of cars down my own street, but none have performed quite as well as the Lexus RC did. It surprises me, as in tighter corners, you’re able to have the RC show off its performance chops as it can become direct in its handling. This is all thanks to possessing adaptive suspension, which changes depending on which drive mode you’re in. This allows for that duality of comfort and cornering performance.

Unfortunately, a unique motor like this is not long for this world due to its ability to guzzle petrol. This V6 was able to return some respectable consumption figures, but not without its moments. There’s a claimed consumption of around 9.1L/100km, but I just don’t think many city-dwellers will see this figure. Most of the time I was in the realm of 16L/100km, and only after some more conservative driving and highway stints, I saw that figure rest at around 10L/100km.

You’re greeted with 374L of boot space when you open the boot of the RC350. The boot is manual in its operation, however you can release the boot from either the key, the latch or from inside and it’ll ‘spring’ open. There isn’t a bunch of room back there, as the opening for the boot space is limited, unlike some vehicles that possess a hefty trunk. Rear seats can fold down in a 60:40 split, even though the second row houses only 2 seats. There’s enough space in here for a couple of suitcases or golf bags, but not quite enough for more than 2 people to head away on a long trip.

The RC offers you, the buyer, a financially more palatable version of the drop-dead gorgeous LC. For that, you get a car with style and plenty of substance.

I’d certainly recommend you go out and buy an RC against its current competitors for these reasons. If that fuel bill concerns you, I’d then skip any hybrid options and move onto getting an EV instead.

*Disclaimer - I work for ProductReview as their independent car and motorbike expert. I borrow new cars and motorbikes from manufacturers and owners to review. I am not paid or incentivised by these brands to post reviews. I write and create content to provide insight and information about any new or used vehicle I can get my hands on.

no spare parts – I hit a POTHOLE in NSW.. the tyre was ruined and no one had any tyres. This car does not have a spare ! I had to get the only one available in… Read more

Melbourne especially brought up . Secondly I lost my key card. Lexus no longer make replacement key cards , nor do they stock them and they do not have any key Fobs either, nor can they obtain any. My car cost $230,000 and they do not have spare keys!! Say I was in Alice Springs !! These cars are not suited to Australia in my opinion