@LEXCROMAGNON, I had covered that in the article on the IS200. There was a miniscule MPG difference between my current F Sport and that of the upcoming 4-banger turbo.
I am looking at the ability to dip the MSRP by thousands of dollars, helping to bring the availability of the RC to more prospective buyers such as myself.
Philosophically, I still hate Lexus dumping 4-cylinder engines into everything from an RC to a full-sized GS. Yeah, the turbo has more HP and torque, but the advertised gains in gas mileage (3-4 mpg stated) will never justify me giving up a normally aspirated RWD V6 engine.
I'd have to drive an example of an IS, GS and
RC to convince me otherwise.
Lexus maintains CAFE compliance and lowers the entry level price for some models to gain more sales.
I, personally, have no interest in a 4-cylinder anything, turbo or not. But when my current leases run out on my pair of 2015's, I'll most likely be forced to accept the 4-cylinder since it seems to have become the industries go to engine du jour for all entry level models.