2018 Lexus LC500h: When Is a V6 Hybrid Better Than a V8?
I crept through the parking lot unsuspected, moving silently on electric power, as if I was driving a Prius. The copper-wrapped LC didn’t catch anyone’s attention until I passed a group of guys in their early 20s who flagged me down to ask me about the car. Their first question: “Hey, where’s the sound?" To the group’s disappointment, I had to let them know that I was driving the LC500h — a V6 hybrid and not the 471-horsepower V8 version.
This particular LC definitely looks loud. It was customized by the Lexus Western Area office to run in the goldRush Rally, alongside a customized V8 LC500. Fresh off the Rally, the car was still covered in event sponsor stickers over its Satin Copper 3M wrap. Its Vorsteiner carbon fiber front lip, rear wing and 21-inch V-FF 103 wheels, also by Vorsteiner, give the car a more aggressive stance and complement the already gorgeous exterior. Its true-to-concept design makes it look fast when parked. With Vorsteiner already on board with LC parts, it will be exciting to see what other companies will do with the LC at the SEMA Show this year.
Regardless of what is under the hood, the LC is a showstopper. Based off the 2017 LF-LC concept car, the production LC is nine-tenths of the concept car’s design, right down to the jet fighter afterburner-inspired taillights. There’s nothing else like it on the road today.
Pop open the door handle and slide your rear end into the plush but supportive front seat. It’s like wrapping yourself in a cocoon of leather and Alcantara. Glance at the dashboard of swooping lines and dials. It’s an interior as beautiful to look at as the exterior.
The LC500h looks the part of an exotic car, and under 20 mph it's as easy to drive as a Prius. Push the start button, and you'd hardly know that it's on. You can glide past parked cars without setting off any car alarms. When the road opens up, the Multistage Hybrid System smoothly transfers power from the battery to the 354-horsepower 3.5-liter V6, without the lag commonly associated with other hybrids.
Move the drive dial into Sport/Sport+ mode, and that's where the Prius similarities end. Although it doesn’t pack the LC500’s angry V8, the LC500h will scoot when needed. The 4,435-pound coupe will go from 0 to 60 in 4.7 seconds in Sport+ mode (0.3 seconds slower than the V8) while still averaging 35 mpg — numbers that wouldn’t be possible without the multistage hybrid system and 10-speed transmission.
The LC500h won’t be a great family car. It won’t help you bring home a coffee table from Ikea. Neither of those things are why LC shoppers will be buying the car, anyway.
What the LC500h excels at is being a luxury coupe — something in which Lexus is an expert. The hybrid motor is perfect for traffic and driving around town. The luxurious interior, crystal clear sound system, well-tuned suspension and 10-speed transmission make it an excellent grand tourer when the road opens up — perfect for what most LC500h owners will use it for.
So, when is a V6 hybrid better than a V8?
When you can drive a car that looks this good without being annoying and upsetting unwanted ears. While the V8 LC500 packs more horsepower and has the sound to back it up, I believe the LC500h will end up in more driveways, as it lets you look the part while still being discrete.
Inside and out it’s a car that is every bit as good as it looks. It may carry a starting price of $96,000, and sure, you can get a 911, Aston Martin, S-Class coupe or others at that starting price, but none of those cars will offer the same value or stand out from the crowd like the LC500h.
