OneOfOne

ok I finally drove an sc yesterday. 02 with 45k miles. not exactly the combo or miles I want [silver/black] but this was supposed to get the sc out of my system. it according to the sales person had runflats on it so I said I wanted to drive it in the city as well as the highway to judge the ride. man was I surprised. it rode as well if not better than my 04 tl did and this is with lower aspect ratio tire than the tl 45 vs 40 on the sc. it was also quiet which really surprised me as well. no it doesnt have all the amenities that my car has. I still cant figure out why the sc has memory seats for the passenger but the ls does not. since my wife was negotiating a lease for a new rx I didnt have time to chit chat and besides I figure I can find out anything by talking to actual owners of the car and I will do that here. so.... does any owner of an sc actually use it as a daily driver. thats what I would be doing should I trade. I have seen sc's advertised with a 'cold weather package' featuring a heated steering wheel. is this a myth?with the wife getting an rx space isnt an issue but am I crazy not to keep my ls which I do love? yes I have read that in socal white/saddle sc's are plentiful but I still love the look of a white sc in the sunshine. however much I like the saddle leather, I LOVE the birdseye maple. for those in the north east or snowy regions is this a car you can drive in the winter? not during storms but say up to 2 inches accumulation with all season tires safely? if there is something I should know about going [potentially] from my ls to an sc feel free to let me know. thanks in advance.

lexuslover

my husband and i use the SC as a daily driver (take turns week by week i guess); we leased for 15k miles per year. it's a great car, but not super "functional" for much compared to the LS. i don't think i would enjoy it as much if it was the only car in the garage. but with the new RX, you are right, space should not be an issue.

i can't speak for the TL, but i did test drive it last year and liked it actually, but didn't get it (decided to save the cash for the GS). the TL seems like a great car, has a ton of gadgets, but it definitely won't be as silky smooth as the SC. the SC is a fantastic car, but the ride is certainly rough over bumps or small imperfections in the road due to the RFs. it's definitely not a good long haul driver IMHO, i prefer the RX or GS any day for my weekly business trips to LA from san diego.

so you are getting rid of the TL or the LS? the LS is a sweet sedan, i hope you are giving up the TL before the LS!

OneOfOne

I should clarify. the tl was traded for the ls. the ls would be traded for the sc. I also just found out that the sc I drove rode so well because it had the dunlop oem non runflats [if dunlap did make a runflat for 02 then of course I am wrong] . once I got used to the different sight lines for driving I think I would really enjoy the sc. it would be certified since I am not wealthy so the cost would be less exorbitant. regarding the tl and the pilot my wife is trading I must say that honda and acura are in no way luxury oriented. the leather on the pilot is creasing and cheap feeling after just 3 months and 2200 miles. the tl leather while soft was known for fading although it hadnt happened to me. it did have lots of features and the nav is better than that in my 01 ls but the current ls nav is better than mine too even with the current update. rambling aside I really have the bug for the sc right now. waiting for some bad news from current owners or the golden opportunity sale this summer. one or the other.

rominl

iTrader: (4)

the sc430 is in another league compared to the tl man, don't even put the two cars together. the tl is a decent car for its league, but the sc430 is one step above. the sc430, although being a convertible, is ridiculously quiet. i find the tl pretty loud myself actaully.

the memory seats, i don't know. it's not on the ls430 ul? that's interesting. for sure it will be on the next generation i guess. they have it on the new gs.

for daily driving. yes, that's our daily driver car. all modded and my wife still drives it every single day. no problem. lexus, you are supposed to drive it

and yes, the runflat is a big problem, but as long as it's no runflats you are good to go man. the ride must be very very smooth and nice.

OneOfOne

I was not directly comparing the tl and the sc except for the aspect ratio of the tires and the ride quality. the sc rode much better than the tl.

OneOfOne

rominl you say the run flats are a big problem. does this mean you still have them?

rominl

iTrader: (4)

yup, i still have them, and facing the "problem" every day. the ride on the runflats is definitely stiff, period. my gs400 with 20s and coilover rides better than the sc430 with stock 18s runflats, how about that?

so you can bet what's next for me. no i won't spend money to just get tires

LeslieRC

I own an `04 SC (used to own an `02) and use it as my daily driver for my commute from Silver Spring, Md. to Washington, D.C. My wife drives our `04 GX470. I especially love the SC during this time of year when I can drive to/from work with the top down! Other than being fun as well as dependable, there's not much else to add about the SC. The reason I don't like to drive the SC when it snows is mainly for fear of being hit by another car. I have driven the car in 1"-2" of snow and the handling was good; fortunately, the D.C. area doesn't usually get that much snow.

Bubba

I have a 2002 SC which is the pine green and saddle leather (once I saw that combo, I had to have it and I actually prefer the burl walnut) that I purchased in the fall of 2004. It has all-season Michelins rather than the run-flats, and I too was curious how it would be in the snow since I live in Wisconsin. After a relatively mild winter, I can say it was not bad at all and in fact rather impressive in the snow. I had a 1992 SC300 with both traction control and Pirelli snow tires which was okay at best and rather scary at times. The 2002 SC seems way better and the only thing I worry about (as does LeslieRC) is other drivers. Well, I do worry about the salt on my chrome wheels, but I try to rinse them off at least once a week in the winter.