Wow !!!!!!!!!

 

I was in that boat where E90 M3 sedan was my original car of choice. I started thinking about potential next cars in 2015. I test drove a E90 M3 sedan with 6 speed manual and absolutely loved winding out the engine to 8400 rpm and the sound that came with it. The chassis was well balanced and inspired a lot of confidence. Though, the engine was lacking below 4000 rpm severely and was a laggard part throttle, but it felt very special when winding it out. I liked driving a 2012 ISF as well and in some respects it felt better than the E90 M3 especially in engine flexibility, but winding out the small V8 E90 M3 sedan to 8400 rpm could not let me gravitate towards the ISF. I could not forget the howl of the engine and the back seat was more usable in the M3. I did not care for the outdated interior of the M3 since the driving experience iand practicality was all I cared about.

I started looking for used 2013 E90 M3 sedan and then RCF came out shortly after that. I loved the exterior and interior and was smitten by the engine. From 2015 to 2017 I went back and forth between E90 M3 and RCF, which I had never driven. I had actively been involved in discussions on RCF and reviews like Clarkson's where he trashed the RCF, which is why I thought 4 doors, 8400 rpm and 3700 lbs E90 M3 sedan would be the car for me. I also took a short test drive of BMW M4, but I ruled it out because while it felt much quicker, E90 M3 felt more exciting to drive than the M4 when winding the engine out.

As soon as an RCF came up for sale that had the ideal combination with the right color, wheels, performance package etc., I decided to go check it out and it happened to belong to a member named Rage2 on this board. As soon as I test drove it, that was it. Nothing else really matter. Rage2 revved the engine out a few times to 7300 rpm and took a few really hard turns kicking the tail out several times turning at 70 mph through long sweeping turns. I drove it myself and found it more confidence inspiring as the E90 M3 sedan I drove. Though, it felt wider than the E90 M3 or the ISF, it felt incredibly tossable and willing to turn. The engine howl is just as memorable as the E90 M3. It also felt a lot more torquey than the E90 M3 at low revs. The interior cockpit feel like being in a fighter jet cockpit surrounded by all of the controls made it a more multi dimensional experience for me.

The interior, exterior, technology and the engine all made it a very easy decision to me. Just when I was about to leave, I already told Rage2 I was buying the car because I knew there is nothing more I need to ponder over. I am glad this long search culminated in such an awesome find. I will be keeping this car for a very long time knowning there won't be another V8 Lexus compact sports car. I also think it will age well and turn just as many heads even years from now.

 

 

All you guys whining about the Jaguar not being a fair comparison or "just get a Hellcat" well, do a simple search for a coupe on cars.com with the parameters 2015 or later at $45k to $55k within 250 miles of Atlanta where I live and guess who shows up to the party? A 2015 Jaguar Type F R and a few Hellcats and a whole lot of Corvettes and Mustangs with less weight and more power. I couldn't care less what the original price was, as it means nothing when buying used. Selling your 2015 RC F is competing with these cars.

I'm using simple searches and coming up with cars that "aren't in the same class" for the same money. That's my whole point. The RC F absolutely SHOULD be in that class and SHOULD be competitive. The only reason someone spending that kind of money would buy the RC F over the other cars is because that someone believes Lexus is more reliable and values reliability over all else. Otherwise, it's going to be a Corvette, a Hellcat, a Mustang, or the odd ball Jaguar every time because every one of these cars puts down the numbers the RC F doesn't.

I used to have this in my signature: Emotional Arguments - they're not just for chicks anymore. I might need to put it back.

 

Clarkson called it "for idiots" and refused to let Stig do a lap around the track (knowing Stig's lap will prove him wrong). He has never done that to another car. It had a very negative impact on me and I defended Clarkson on this board, but after driving the RCF I realized he was dead wrong. Also, he loved the GSF one year later calling it better than the M5. Aside from the fact that he likes performance sedans, he contradicted himself there considering RCF according to Lexus itself is more leaning towards performance while GSF is better balanced in practicality and performance than the RCF.

Dude, chill out already. It is getting comical. Lexus does not compete with any of the car other than Mustang GT you mentioned. There are comparisons of RCF winning over the GT so that takes it out. You sound emotional as well. You cannot get into our heads as buyers. At first, I was fully decided on buying E90 M3 as I stated above. BMW is a German brand that is not famous for its reliability. Still I liked the car so much that I was willing to give a chance. I will count out Mustang GT (not GT350) because it does nothing better than the RCF.

I can tell you why I purchased RCF over Stingray, Jaguar because I needed back seats. None of those have it. The balance of luxury, quality, practicality and performance in no way can be matched by those cars. Also, I stated above, I love high-revving, high-strung N/A engines. I was fascinated by RCF's 95 hp/liter specific output from a 5.0 Liter V8 engine.

 

Comical is seeing all the owners telling me why they bought an RC F and why I can't compare them to cars of the same year, same configuration (yes, the Jag is a 2+2), and same price on the used market. People will always decide to spend their money as they see fit, but if you want to complain about the used car values as I have seen in this forum, just do the search to see why the RC F is not holding value well. Exact same story with the GS F, and I own one, but that's only because I paid $66.1k for it brand new. I would never have paid sticker for it.

 

Well, you said the following did you not? You make sweeping generalizations about us owners, but when we try and clarify our side as buyers, you say it is "comical"? LOL Not every performance car buyer is focused ont 1/4 mile or lap times as the most important criteria.

p.s. Jaguar back seat are a joke that should not be there. Please do not insult my intelligence. It is smaller than my Corolla XRS back seat. I even test fitted my rear facing Graco baby seat in my RCF potentially for our next baby in the future and it worked perfectly. Also, there is a video review of a Hellcat owner reviewing an RCF and saying comparatively his Hellcat cannot turn worth a damn.

 

Probably, if the car was not so heavy we will be complaining regarding other things (steering, trunk size, ride comfort, etc.)
I bought the car after watching many test drive videos, goods and no so goods, but at the end all af them "celebrated the existence of this car."
I have been one day on a small and narrow circuit for this car (one of biggest in Europe for Karting) and the car feels heavy but even that was very fun to drive and not so bad lap times.
On the other hand I have been driving on the same mountains routes that I use to do it with my Porsche 997 X51 Carrera 4S short shift and I didn't miss it . The car on this roads surprised quite a lot to me, how it pulls, how engine sounds, how enters on curves. Only, only thing I miss was brakes. With 911 I knew always were there when need it.
Regarding money retain value? Well buy a well purchased Porsche 911.
I won money after 3 years of use with mine and now are offering to the guy who bought to me 10k Euros more for the car.
I bought the RCF with a great retail for 70k Euros and cost new 90k Euros(I know that probably I will loose money on the future), but since now I see others 911 on my city but no other RCF, and I like to see the people watching the car and saying what the hell"...... Because is a " estrange beauty "
So until now for my 90% normal driving, 9% Mountain and 1%Circuit.
No regrets!!

 

I bought a beautiful 2015 Blue RCF new for $68,000. I found the car to steer heavy and the shift points were irritating. The car just didn't feel right and I sold it in 2017 for $49,000 with 4,500 miles on it. It didn't have that acceleration kick that the ISF and other equivalent cars. In fact, I wasn't really fond of the seat comfort and it was difficult to get in and out with a very large and heavy door.

 

Why would you buy a 70K car you did not like is the real question here. Hated handling, too heavy, irritating steering, unappealing shifts, slow acceleration, uncomfortable...

Makes little to no sense.

Disagree with most of it though

 

I was wondering too.

Also looks like he went from an ISF to the RCF. But he DID NOT say what he got after ditching the RCF??? Did he go back and get an old ISF?

The OP said : "Hated handling, too heavy, irritating steering, unappealing shifts, slow acceleration, uncomfortable..."

Maybe the OP should have gotten a Bugatti Veyron of sorts? But I'm sure the OP will be complaining in the comfort department.

Or maybe the OP should have gotten one of the fast Teslas (not the cheapo Model 3). Then he maybe complaining that it doesn't shift!!! LOL, it's an electric car and it doesn't shift!!!


None of what the OP said made much sense.

 

 

Agreed. Though, I can see the point the seat comfort and auto mode shift points as they may not have been everyone's cup of tea.

However, as he said it felt heavy and did not steer well, is a claim not backed by tangible facts. My own personal experiences aside of both ISF and RCF, it is simply not corroborated by any of the objective facts. RCF has a recorded 73 mph slalom speed by Edmunds, which is the best measure of quick transitions, lightness on feet and willingness of the nose to turn in. It is the highest ever recorded for a Lexus only behind the LFA's 75.3 mph. The skidpad number of 0.96G also are the second highest behind the LFA.

Mediocre handling cars simply do not out of the blue pull 73 mph on the slalom and 0.96G on the skid pad nor do they put down lap times quicker on most track than cars like the E92 M3 CP, C63 or RS5.

Regarding RCF's lack of kick in the back acceleration, it is evident from the dyno graphs, RCF has a torque plateau where it delivers over 80% of its peak torque from 3800 rpm to 7300 rpm compared to ISF's more narrower powerband. Flatter torque band always give less kick in the pants feel especially with the same gear ratios. My Corolla XRS suddenly surges at 6500 rpm by 25 ft-lbs of wheel torque to 8400 rpm with variable lift cam profile and makes the acceleration feel very dramatic due to the sudden surge. It makes the acceleration it feel quicker than it actually as opposed to my RCFs, which has very linear across the rev range where you have to look at the speedo. It pulls the same way from 4000 rpm all the way to redline.

Also, the throttle response in RCF is absolutely brutal in sport+. That is why I use sport most of the time. My wife hit her head on the headrest a few times when I tapped the throttle coming out of a turn and merging in. Any claims otherwise are simply BS.

 

The RCF is such a badass car!! If somebody is talking ***** on the RCF, it's for 1 or all of 3 reasons. 1.) Hater 2.) Hasn't "truly" driven it 3.) Troll

If you seriously have driven the RCF, and opened her up ...she will kick your ***! Not enough this, not enough that, to heavy blah blah blah. RC F me any day!!

Gents! Keep smiling in the morning on the way to work driving your RC F, I know I'll be =) Cheers!!!

 

Maybe that guy watched the first 2:30 of this video and formed his opinion:
https://youtu.be/iYsVeFko5Ds

With sooo many negative reviews floating around of the RCF, it's not hard for someone with little to no experience to think negatively about it. Only the few and true F owners actually know the difference ☺️

V.