2023 Lexus LC500 review: flawed but forgivable

Occasionally I’ll drive a car like this. A car for which I can build no sensible case at all. And yet. You should not buy a Lexus LC500. Go and spend the same amount of money on a Porsche 911 and you’ll drive a car that is better in almost every regard that matters. And yet.

There is something about this car which means it’s going to get the easiest ride from a judge since Mary Archer was described as having elegance, fragrance and radiance by Mr Justice Caulfield in her husband’s libel action against News of the World in 1987. And that something is one of the last high output, naturally aspirated V8 engines on sale in the UK today. To hear it howling gently as it spins effortlessly past 7000rpm is to forgive all. You look past the inconsistent ride, the cumbersome feel, the infuriating touchpad controller and the ruinous fuel consumption. And why does it have to have ten gears?

Even though the design is not that old and has this year been updated with revised suspension settings, new front seats and a shift-lock function for the gearbox, it feels like a relic from another time, a car whose appeal comes from the way it looks and sounds far more than the way it gets down a road. And for a certain undemanding someone that might prove a compelling argument all by itself. Me? I really liked the car despite its myriad flaws. But would I walk past a Porsche dealer to get one? Not a chance. AF

Lexus LC500 Sport Pack

• Price £98,020
• Engine 5 litres, eight cylinders, petrol
• Power  457bhp at 7100rpm
• Torque 391lb ft at 4800rpm
• Weight 1930kg
• Power to weight 237bhp per tonne
• Transmission Ten-speed auto, rear-wheel drive
• 0-60mph 4.7sec
• Top speed 168mph
• Economy  24.3mpg
• CO2 262g/km
• Verdict Porsche-baiter falls short.