The Car Connection Expert Review
Likes
- Spectacular style`
- Just as nice inside
- Strong V-8
- 29-mpg hybrid
Dislikes
- Not as tech-heavy as rivals
- Not as customizable, either
- V-8’s a guzzler…
- … but hybrid doesn’t sound great
Buying tip
The 2025 Lexus LC is an attention-grabbing flagship with a comfortable, refined personality.
What kind of vehicle is the 2025 Lexus LC? What does it compare to?
The 2025 Lexus LC is the automaker’s sports car flagship, a style-forward, surprisingly fun-to-drive lineup of high-end coupes and convertibles. These models compare well with the BMW 8-Series and Mercedes-Benz SL-Class.
Is the 2025 Lexus LC a good car?
If you’re after a show-stopping coupe or convertible with a comfortable ride, the 2025 Lexus LC delivers. It’s a 6.6 out of 10 on the TCC scale, which admittedly does not reward cars of this type. (Read more about how we rate cars.)
What's new for the 2025 Lexus LC?
The LC 500 coupe adds front and rear underfloor braces to increase rigidity. Otherwise, not much else is new, aside from some color and trim shuffling.
The LC remains a stunner of a car in both coupe and droptop forms. It’s been around for a while—this is its eighth model year—but its rarity makes it a delight to behold. The LC wears daring lines over a show car-grade cabin, with top-notch materials and beautiful trim choices. It’s hard to believe that this car is made by the same company that will also sell you a beige Corolla.
LC 500s have a 471-hp 5.0-liter V-8 that belts out power to the rear wheels through a 10-speed automatic gearbox. The LC 500h, meanwhile, is a hybrid coupe with just 354 hp on tap but nearly as impressive performance. It lacks the V-8’s snarl, but it offers low-guilt fuel economy.
The LC can either be surprisingly frugal in 29-mpg LC 500h form or fairly thirsty as a 19-mpg LC 500.
These are relatively nimble cars despite their size and heft, and they have a great ride quality that makes them fantastic grand tourers (so long as you pack light, that is). Don’t look for corner-carving prowess like Lexus’ long-departed LFA, but the LC has a nonetheless excellent balance of ride and handling.
While beautiful and built to an exceptionally high standard, the Lexus LC is hardly spacious inside. Its front seats are all-day supportive, but the rear seat is comically small. Why bother, Lexus? If nothing else, the rear seats can handle some luggage or your pooch, but little else.
Lexus fits a reasonable amount of driver-assistance and crash-avoidance technology to its LC models, though they lack a true hands-off driving option like you might expect to find in some top-tier luxury rivals.
How much does the 2025 Lexus LC cost?
The 2025 Lexus LC is offered in LC 500 coupe and convertible body styles with a V-8, and the LC 500h coupe with a hybridized V-6 powertrain. The LC 500 coupe costs just north of $100,000 to start, but even top-end models don’t go that much higher. Standard fare includes a 12.3-inch touchscreen, wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, Amazon Alexa, myriad surfaces covered in soft leather, and 21-inch alloy wheels.
Note that convertibles aren’t available as LC 500h hybrids.
Where is the 2025 Lexus LC made?
In Japan.
2025 Lexus LC Styling
The 2025 Lexus LC is a show car for the street.
Is the Lexus LC a good-looking car?
Absolutely. It’s been around for the while, but it’s also not the kind of car most of us are likely to encounter often. That rarity adds to its appeal. It's exceptional inside and out, easily netting this flagship lineup a 10 out of 10 on the TCC scale.
The spindle grille up front is a bold starting point, but it gives way to boomerang-like running lamps and complex headlights that dive toward big wheel openings. From the side, the LC is like little else on the road, and it’s hard to decide whether the svelte droptop or the dramatic coupe is better. Both have a similar treatment at the rear with high-tech LED taillights and a supercar-grade diffuser.
Inside, these models blend Lexus-typical practicality with a host of fancy touches. The wide 12.3-inch touchscreen looks rather ordinary, but there’s nothing boring here. Lexus offers myriad trim and color combinations, too, so shop carefully. Odds are good you’re going to order your LC, anyway, so you might as well get it right.
2025 Lexus LC Performance
A sporty grand tourer, the 2025 Lexus LC is quick, agile, and refined.
The 2025 Lexus LC scores points on the TCC scale for its overall poise, its rapid acceleration, and its good handling. It’s no supercar, but it easily earns an 8 here.
Is the Lexus LC 4WD?
No, these are rear-drive coupes and convertibles.
How fast is the Lexus LC?
It’s fast, but not astoundingly so. The 5.0-liter V-8 in LC 500 models puts out 471 hp, which goes through a 10-speed automatic transmission to vault this big car to 60 mph in about 4.4 seconds. That’s hardly slow, but the LC lacks the breathtaking urgency you might expect from a car with these looks.
The LC 500h pairs a comparatively pedestrian 3.5-liter V-6 with an electric motor and a lithium-ion battery for a combined output of just 354 hp, but it manages to be nearly as rapid as the LC 500 with a 4.7-second 0-60 mph time. The hybrid’s planetary gearset and 4-speed automatic gearbox combo is partially responsible for all that scoot, though it’s worth noting that the hybrid version of this dressy car lacks the NASCAR-grade snarl of the standard V-8.
The LC tips the scales at around 4,400 pounds even in its fleetest form, but it feels lighter on its feet than that heft would otherwise suggest. Much of the credit goes to its quick, light steering, though we’re less thrilled with the available rear-wheel steering system. It’s part of a $6,400 Dynamic Handling Package that has some useful equipment, but it doesn’t do enough to either help the LC feel more stable at speed or more nimble around town.
Even with its large 21-inch alloy wheels, the LC has a comfortable, composed ride thanks in part to standard adaptive dampers. It’s also darn near silent inside, as you might expect from a Lexus. That said, engaging Sport mode opens up the active exhaust in the LC 500 model, which emits a lovely snarl.
2025 Lexus LC Comfort & Quality
The Lexus LC is not road-trip roomy, but it is beautifully equipped.
The 2025 Lexus LC has a stunning cabin, but it’s not particularly spacious. It’s a 5 here, with what points we give for beautiful materials and supportive front seats canceled out by its bite-size back seat and similarly small trunk.
The front seats are great, with plentiful power adjustments. The rear seats are a mere suggestion. They’re too small for anyone bigger than a pre-teen, but good luck fitting a car seat or booster back there. View them as an extension of the tiny 5.0 cubic-foot trunk.
Soft leather and synthetic suede can drape just about every interior surface, though the LC lacks the myriad trim options found in some of its competitors. Even the Bespoke program Lexus offers has more limitations than similar programs offered by rivals.
2025 Lexus LC Safety
The 2025 Lexus LC has the expected array of driver-assistance features.
How safe is the Lexus LC?
It hasn’t been crash-tested by either the NHTSA or the IIHS, so we can’t give it a score. Don’t look for one any time soon, either, since high-cost, low-volume cars like this are rarely crash tested.
The LC comes with a good amount of crash-avoidance and driver-assistance tech, including automatic emergency braking with pedestrian and cyclist detection, active lane control, adaptive cruise control, blind-spot monitors, rear cross-traffic alerts, parking sensors front and rear, and a surround-view camera system. Outward vision isn’t great, but it never is with low-slung coupes.
Also, don’t look for a hands-off driving-assistance system. Lexus offers one for the LS sedan, but not the LC.
2025 Lexus LC Features
The 2025 Lexus LC is high-end but not especially decadent.
The LC will set you back just over $100,000 in its cheapest form and it manages to feel worth the coin—but only just so. It’s an 7 here thanks to its big screen and good overall feature set, but competitors tend to offer far more feature customization potential.
The LC comes with a 12.3-inch touchscreen running a fairly easy-to-use infotainment system with wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto. It’s also outfitted with nice leather upholstery, power-adjustable heated and cooled front seats, aluminum pedals, a 12-speaker audio system, adaptive dampers, and 21-inch alloy wheels. The 4-year/50,000-mile warranty includes two years of free maintenance.
Which Lexus LC should I buy?
If you’re going to stick with the base LC 500, it’s worth considering the $1,900 Sport Package with its Torsen limited-slip differential, stronger brakes, sport seats, and rear performance damper.
How much is a fully loaded Lexus LC?
The LC 500h runs about $104,000 to start and can climb quickly from there. All models can (and probably should) partake in the automaker’s Bespoke Build program that opens up far more interior and exterior finish customization.
While the LC 500 ragtop will set you back about $108,000, you can’t get an LC 500h convertible.
2025 Lexus LC Fuel Economy
In hybrid form, the 2025 Lexus LC is a fuel sipper.
Is the Lexus LC good on gas?
It can be. We base our 3 out of 10 rating here on the LC 500h, which was estimated at 26 mpg city, 34 highway, 29 combined for the 2024 model year. Those are good numbers for just about any car, let alone a high-zoot sports coupe that runs to 60 mph in 4.7 seconds.
The LC 500’s big V-8 sounds great as it guzzles fuel, though. It’s estimated at just 16/25/19 mpg combined.
