Video: Lexus RC F Feature on Top Gear

[krew]

krew

The RC F made its feature appearance on Top Gear tonight, and it was an absolute bloodbath.

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[DDas]

Wow. That's horrible. The RCF is honestly an excellent vehicle. Yes, Lexus still has to work on things (like weight) but other than that, Lexus has done a fantastic job with it. I suggest everyone go on YouTube and dislike this video. It deserves it.

 

[DoingDamage]

Damn shame. I've heard other reviews that weren't fond of the car either.

At the end of the day, it will probably be more dependable than the others in the segment, but if it's not as fun as the others, then why buy it? I'm still cautiously optimistic about the GS-F.

 

[corradoMR2]

As predicted, he was going to trash the weight, handling, and acceleration. What he (and some of the purists) fail to evaluate and notice is the RCF is a superior real world car.

 

[Hamed Al Ketbi]

I kinda agree about this ...
Because people in here Middle-East specifically the UAE.
It is REALLY HEAVY for an amazing car like this WORST then that it is a COUPE car!
but still I would LOVE to get it for my daily drive!!

 

[mikeavelli]

I cringed watching that review. And having driven the RC F while it might be "heavy" I honestly didn't feel like he did driving it at all. I liked the more linear feel of the RC F to the M4. The M4 will be the faster car with the turbos no doubt. I also don't think that just because you love a LFA means you should beat the crap out of anything built not LFA. And to not have the RC F tested by the STIG is ridiculous, I would like to see the time, its hard data.

So instead of hard data, we have his opinion which makes it seem like the RC F is the worst car on the planet which simply isn't accurate. And I am a Clarkson fan!

 

[ACEtheOG]

The RC-F is a good car, but it's achilles heel is it's weight. Imagine the conversation right now if the RC-F (1800ish kg) weighed in M4 territory (1600ish kg)? To put the differential into perspective, thats two, 200+ lbs adults! While I agree the RC-F does a great job at hiding the weight, the laws of physics remains. Clarkson was over the top and he does paint an unfair picture, but Lexus chose to make this thing heavy and it's what everyone is pointing at.

I'll wait till I drive it, but I think the new C63 is going to crush this segment.

 

[Gecko]

Ouch. Not sure really what else there is to say... and it's hard to disagree with him.

 

[phm14]

The RCF "review" is exactly the type of drivel I expect from Clarkson. He did the same thing to the ISF, which I own and love. He drools all over the BMWs he drives, which makes me wonder what kind of compensation he receives for being such a pathetic shill. The RCF and M4 were timed around the same track with Randy Probst driving with a .3 second lap time difference. Clarkson is an ######. Buy a new BMW today, and within a year, the stats indicate you'll be on a first name basis with your local service adviser inside of a year.

 

[LexusSteve]

Jeremy Clarkson proved, he doesn't get the point of Lexus F. He complained about the 1.) weight 2.) power 3.) looks. I had a good laugh watching him put it into expert and put it in the grass. I also re-fell in love with the LFA. Clarkson had a negative opinion of the car before he even drove it, and it shows. If he did a blind test drive of the car, (i.e. no logo's, not knowing the weight) I bet his review would be different. Anyone can purposely drive a car into the grass, by purposely trying to make the car handle worse than it does. It was a rather childish 'review' in my opinion, if you can even call it that.

 

[DoingDamage]

I think I get it.

Lexus prides itself on dependability. It wants all its cars to be daily drivers without having to bring it in to repair this and that.

So, its F cars are more sportier versions, but they won't go crazy. The LF-A showed what they could do, without limits. The LF-A was meant to be owned by millionaires. The F cars are for regular people looking for a more dependable sports car than your M class or AMG. While the beemers and benzes will beat them in a straight line, how happy will the owners be after 3 years?

While i think this is small wake up call for Lexus, having people complain about the weight and lack of spirit, they do what they do well: make dependable cars. Lexus is the tortoise in the race.

 

[krew]

While i think this is small wake up call for Lexus, having people complain about the weight and lack of spirit, they do what they do well: make dependable cars. Lexus is the tortoise in the race.

I'll admit, it was difficult posting this Clarkson review without tearing it to shreds -- rewatching it today, his showboating and exaggeration in the corners is super irritating, as is his decision to bring the LFA into the segment. It's all very artificial, drama for drama's sake.

What I find MOST irritating is that this review will dominate popular opinion of the RC F until Lexus does something to address the weight issue. And that's not going to be easy.

 

[krew]

And to not have the RC F tested by the STIG is ridiculous, I would like to see the time, its hard data.

So instead of hard data, we have his opinion which makes it seem like the RC F is the worst car on the planet which simply isn't accurate. And I am a Clarkson fan!

This is the biggest hole in the entire episode -- you know the Stig drove the RC F, but the results likely didn't fit in the Clarkson narrative to publish the numbers.

(Who's up for a Twitter campaign calling out Clarkson for not publishing the Stig RC F numbers? )

 

[RCF Grandpa]

The RCF is a fantastic car. I had an ISF, owned Corvettes and other muscle cars. This tops them all!

 

[LexusSteve]

And to not have the RC F tested by the STIG is ridiculous, I would like to see the time, its hard data.

So instead of hard data, we have his opinion which makes it seem like the RC F is the worst car on the planet which simply isn't accurate. And I am a Clarkson fan!

This is the biggest hole in the entire episode -- you know the Stig drove the RC F, but the results likely didn't fit in the Clarkson narrative to publish the numbers.

(Who's up for a Twitter campaign calling out Clarkson for not publishing the Stig RC F numbers? )

He totally had The STIG test it, and when he saw the numbers, he was like "I can't trash the RC F with those respectable numbers. Lets not show that segment." This is mass media at it's finest. I still laugh when he switched it to Expert mode, and my immediate thoughts were: "Clarkson, you're no expert. SMH." Clarkson did 2 things to make the RC F look bad, and he failed in doing so. He 1st tried to show how bad it handled, which was really a display of how he cannot actually drive, and then he tried to compare the RC F to a $400,000 car. So yes. The RC F sucks... but only when compared to the LFA. Not bad for a ~$70,000 car.

 

[GSCT]

The sad truth is that most of the enthusiast media have commented on the RC F being overweight and therefore not "class leading". My take is their comments really reflect the massive change in Lexus' image over the last few years. Let's face it - before the LF A Lexuses were seen to be very well made, very quiet old folks cars ( the IS 300 notwithstanding). Now the IS, GS and RC are being seen as comparable - and being compared to - BMW, Mercedes, Audi etc. and it's sad the RC was saddled with a convertible chassis, making it overweight and than "the best" for handling.

I don't think that the GS F, combining one of the best sedan chassis with really strong horsepower will get the same disappointed reaction.

 

[PaulA]

Question: Which weighs more, the RC F or Clarkson's ego ?

Every time I watch one of these "Genius in Residence" shows, I forget this is a television show. Television shows need money to keep the power turned on. That money comes from advertisers and industry sources. Those advertiser's, in supporting the show, have tremendous influence over the shows content.


It just so happens when I watch this guy I have the urge to jump into the screen and ask him how many customers on their way to school drift their RC at every turn in the road? When was the last time your Uncle bought a new car only to later see Clarkson's show and find out the car is to heavy!!!! Now that is a real slap in the face! "My car is too heavy and this man say's that's bad.....I'm not sure what parts are to heavy? Is there a support group for an obese RC F?"

Paul
LOC

 

[phm14]

Anyone got a link to the video where Randy Probst takes timed hot laps in the RCF and M4 back to back? Clarkson did the same thing when he "tested" the ISF. It's funny because he trounced the new 8 speed, and now 8 speed trannys are everywhere. I looked for that video also but couldn't find it. I've learned not to give too much weight to subjective opinions from the auto media.

They typically seem eager to point out minor faults in Japanese cars, while ignoring important elements like reliability. Personally, I consider lap times to be a much better measure of the complete car, where as 0 to 60 is largely one element-power to weight ratio. I love the NA V8...something that is all but gone in this segment. My RCF will be mainly a street car. I won't be taking it to the drag strip, or even the track very often.

With experience, one learns not to track anything he can't afford to wad up and walk away from. If I ever get serious about track time again, I'll probably build a dedicated Miata for that purpose, not beat up a $75K street car. It's easy to let the auto-press do your thinking for you, but it's important to distinguish fact from opinion. I looked at M3, Audi and AMG C63 before I bought my ISF. In the end, for me the enjoyment to headache ratio prevailed, and I don't regret my choice one bit

 

[Ion Adrian]

How long it takes for Lexus to make a (very) good turbo engine for RC F and put it on the car to teminate the BMW M4, because I think will do easily ?!!!? ....

 

[mikeavelli]

(Who's up for a Twitter campaign calling out Clarkson for not publishing the Stig RC F numbers? )

Let's do it....