2021 Lexus LC500h Hybrid Review

2021 Lexus LC500h Hybrid - Lexus's sensational LC sports car, which starts at $92,995, is an excellent accomplishment because it looks and feels as distinctive and unique as you could hope for a car approaching $100K-- or, with options, also cresting that quantity. Beyond its wild designing and also beautifully provided with interior, the 471-hp LC500 we drove earlier this year acquired a big quantity of personality from the free-revving, naturally aspirated 5.0-liter V-8 mounted up front. That fact made us rather wary as we came close to the subject of this test, the LC500h hybrid, which costs $4510 even more however has 117 fewer horsepower from its gas-electric drivetrain utilizing an Atkinson-cycle 3.5-liter V-6 as well as two electrical motors.

It's not that we cannot value the LC500h's drivetrain, called a Multi-Stage Hybrid in Lexus-speak. It incorporates the V-6 with a set of electrical motors with a fascinating transmission that's essentially two gearboxes in one. It includes both a two-motor crossbreed constantly variable transmission (CVT) and an Aisin four-speed automatic to broaden the hybrid operating array; have a look at our complete description of just how it works right here.

2021 Lexus LC500h Hybrid Review

On the road, the Multi-Stage Hybrid system's procedure is distinct from various other Lexus and also Toyota crossbreeds that make use of the acquainted Crossbreed Harmony Drive arrangement. Because of the special transmission, there's an experience of stepped gears changing whenever the gas engine is running, which is preferable to the high-rpm droning we're commonly compelled to endure from crossbreeds outfitted with CVTs. Yet the LC500h's power delivery still isn't fairly suited for hard driving; even in Sport or Sporting activity+ mode, the "changes" are oddly slurred and also man-made, keeping the powertrain from really feeling really responsive as well as producing a strange soundtrack. It certainly can not compare the acoustic thrills of the LC500's V-8 as well as the crisp changes of its conventional 10-speed automatic.


All this hybrid complexity adds up to a vast aesthetic weight of 4521 extra pounds for the LC500h, 143 pounds more than the LC500 and also just 62 pounds less than a Honda Odyssey minivan that is almost 16 inches longer. As expected, this interferes with the LC500h's velocity, with the zero-to-60-mph sprint taking 4.8 secs, 0.2 second slower compared to the LC500, and the quarter-mile can be found in at 13.6 secs at 103 mph compared to the V-8's 13.0 seconds at 112 mph. Neither number is sluggish, yet one must take into consideration that entry-level, $110,000 Porsche 911s are kipping down 11.9-second quarter-miles and also 3.4-second go to 60 mph.


On a brighter note, the way that the LC500h comports itself when the going obtains twisty is remarkably gratifying given its mass. Its actions are crisp as well as the vehicle is eager to transform direction, with sharp turn-in from the nicely heavy steering. The structure really feels extremely stiff and there's simply sufficient compliance programmed into the dampers that the flight is completely civilized, also in the stiffer Sport setting.

Our test automobile was outfitted with several performance-enhancing options, consisting of $1440 for 21-inch wheels covered in Bridgestone Potenza S001L run-flat tires, a $390 limited-slip differential, as well as the $5960 Performance plan that brings a carbon-fiber roof, an energetic back looter, rear-wheel guiding, and variable-ratio steering. These extras likely contributed to the LC500h's 0.91 g efficiency on the skidpad and its 165-foot quit from 70 mph. Once again, nonetheless, those numbers pale beside the base 911, which struck 1.06 g as well as 135 feet in the very same metrics.

2021 Lexus LC500h Hybrid Car Review

If the LC500h doesn't prove its guts in regards to outright efficiency, after that it must make up for that with its gas economy, right? Yes and no. The crossbreed's combined/city/highway EPA rankings of 30/26/35 mpg are substantially above the V-8's 19/16/26 figures. Although the LC500h's average of 24 mpg in our hands fell short of its EPA integrated number, it still beat the 17 mpg we received from the LC500 by a considerable margin. We were more let down in the hybrid's efficiency in our 75-mph highway examination-- unquestionably a situation where hybrids tend to underperform-- where it attained 30 mpg, only 1 mpg far better compared to the LC500.


If we were investing our $100K on among these Lexus coupes, there's no question it would certainly be the V-8. While the two LCs share the same striking shape, the same perfectly built interior (unfortunately consisting of the exact same frustrating infotainment system managed by a finicky touchpad), and the exact same remarkable visibility when driving, the more expensive hybrid gives just a little fuel-economy advantage while compromising excessive of the speed and also audio that make the LC such an extraordinary piece to start with.

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