Hard to Find All the Power - 2015 Lexus RC F Long-Term Road Test

Edmunds.comEdmunds.com Member, Administrator, Moderator Posts: 10,316
edited January 2015 in Lexus
imageHard to Find All the Power - 2015 Lexus RC F Long-Term Road Test

There's more than enough power available in our 2015 Lexus RC F, but it's not always there when you want it.

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  • redskinsdmvredskinsdmv Member Posts: 52
    Interesting, most reviews suggested that the RCF puts the power down very well. I don't expect it to be nearly as responsive as the turbo charged cars though.

    How it handles and rides is more important to me.
  • diigiidiigii Member Posts: 156
    What a waste of power if there is no manual transmission on a car marketed as a sports car.
  • kcaikcai Member Posts: 15
    Seems M3 / M4 is a better choice. lol
  • throwbackthrowback Member Posts: 445
    That's disappointing. A naturally aspirated engine should always put the power down. Perhaps they should have bought some L S3 crate engines.
  • allthingshondaallthingshonda Member Posts: 878
    I would like for Edmunds to compare the 5.0 V8's in the Kia, Lexus, and Ford. Which one is the smoothest, has the best power delivery, sounds the best, easiest to do maintenance on etc.
  • arcticbluetsxarcticbluetsx Member Posts: 79
    diigii said:

    What a waste of power if there is no manual transmission on a car marketed as a sports car.

    I agree with you 100%, but tell that to Ferrari and Lamborghini who don't even offer manuals anymore. It also seems that Porsche is beginning to lose their way as well since their highest performance 911 is only offered with an automatic. It's not always about acceleration- when did DRIVER INVOLVEMENT become secondary? Well, at least Lexus is remaining consistent...
  • arcticbluetsxarcticbluetsx Member Posts: 79
    I meant to say that the highest performance version of the 911 is only available with an automatic. I did not mean to imply that all 911's are only avaulable with automatic transmissions.
  • vin207vin207 Member Posts: 1
    In a search for optimal fuel economy. I wonder if its a computer delay from switching between the Otto vs Atkinson cycles.
  • yellowmiatayellowmiata Member Posts: 23
    Interestingly enough, its us (all those commenting and reading) armchair critics that are likely fueling the lack of manual transmissions. We let a few journalists evaluate the cars and then judge based on numbers. Then decisions are made based on numbers (think of the 1/2 ton truck comparos over towing capacity, or the pony car comparos regarding HP with a special key). As long as numbers keep making headlines, then automatics will keep "winning" because rowing our own gears will be slower.

    +1 to the journalists who keep the faith by not just toting BHP numbers and 0-60 times, but by how a car feels as one is driving it. Dan Edmunds posted long ago about how referencing a Miata's handling characteristics is a compliment. Miatas aren't in the HP race, but surely bring smiles to racers' faces. And Miatas continue to come in manual trannies.

    I plan on buying a manual when I get a new car, and I will focus on driver involvement just as articbluetsx notes above. 2012 was the last year the BMW 6 series offered an actual manual - now I just have to wait for used car prices to drop into my range :).
  • chol92594chol92594 Member Posts: 208
    Couldn't agree more with yellowmiata. Obviously, it's in human nature use statistics to compare cars, but numbers don't always tell the full story. Yeah, most modern automatics will provide better acceleration and fuel economy than a manual transmission, but for some drivers, the physical act of shifting gears is part of the experience. I've driven plenty of cars with great automatic transmissions, but they still don't provide quite the same level of engagement as a manual gearbox would.

    As far as the Lexus, I almost wonder if the problem could be with the fact that it has a drive-by-wire throttle. Theoretically, these systems are supposed to be quicker and more responsive, but that's not always the case. It could also just be one of those annoying first-year imperfections that will be addressed during the next model year, although that seems very uncharacteristic of Lexus.
  • allthingshondaallthingshonda Member Posts: 878
    The manual vs automatic war is over and the automatic has won. Automatics, especially DSGs, can shift faster than even the best professional driver. When the last generation CTS-V was timed on the the Ring it was the automatic version that got the best time. Cadillac test manual and automatic versions and then tested the automatic in manual shift mode and full automatic. The best times were achieved when the gear shift was dropped in drive and the computer did all the shifting. This is why Porsche, Lambo, and Ferrari all have DSG only transmissions.
  • gregnvgregnv Member Posts: 9
    Edmunds, you have the Mustang GT and the RC-F please do a bit of a comparison even though the prices of these two cars are not in the same range and they probably don't compete for the same customer. What we have are two coupes, both with 5 liter v8s, both with four seats, both marketed as performance coupes, both with over 430 hp. It would be interesting to know how similar and different these cars are. Badge prestige aside, would be interesting to learn if the differences in performance, livability, quality, drivability and refinement are reflective of the large difference in price. - Thanks
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