Although crossovers now own the road, there are still a few good coupes left on the market if you want to have a bit more fun behind the wheel. Lexus currently offers two stylish coupes in its lineup, the stunning LC and the smaller RC. The Lexus RC is a compact, luxury coupe that competes with the BMW 4 Series and Mercedes-Benz C-Class Coupe.

2020 Lexus RC 350 F Sport Review

On the outside, the RC is a nicely sculpted coupe that has aged well, since it launched way back in 2014. The muscular curves emphasize the sporty nature of the RC and at the same time we its face looks more elegant than the polarizing new 4 Series. The 2019 RC received a mild facelift that added sleeker headlights, a new front bumper and restyled taillights, which means that the 2020 carries over without any big styling changes.

While we like the looks of the RC, the coupe places more emphasis on style and performance. Our RC 350 F Sport is powered by a 3.5-liter V6 with 311 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque that’s mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission. Buyers can choose either rear or all-wheel drive. The naturally-aspirated engine has a decent amount of oomph, but it’s not really that exciting. Around town the RC 350 F Sport is a comfortable cruiser with decent acceleration specs, but try to push it hard and the powertrain lets you know that you’re not driving the hotter RC F.

The rear-wheel drive RC 350 F Sport accelerates from 0-60 mph in 5.8 seconds, while the all-wheel drive version is a tad slower at 6.0 seconds.

The RC 350 F Sport gets an adaptive, sport-tuned suspension, which can tighten things up with the simple turn of a dial. While the 350 F Sport does come with sporty driving modes, like “Sport S+” the suspension still doesn’t dial up the performance as much as we would like. Just like the powertrain, the suspension also prioritizes comfort over performance, but the steering system does provide a good amount of feedback.

Through a jaunt through the hills on Angeles Crest Highway, the RC 350 F Sport had decent power, but its suspension held us back a bit. The RC 350 F Sport feels more at home cruising down the coast than carving up a back country road.

If you like the RC, but want to have more fun, go for the RC F with its 472-hp 5.0-liter V8.

The RC 350 F Sport is rated at 20 mpg city and 28 mpg highway, if you opt for all-wheel drive those specs drop down to 19/26 mpg.

2020 Lexus RC 350 F Sport Review

Inside the RC’s interior is wrapped in high quality materials with plenty of room for the driver and front passenger. Although there are technically two seats in the back, they are best reserved for your really short friends or an overnight bag, due to the lack of legroom.

The interior is still stylish given how old the RC is, but there’s still the one thing that we hate – the Lexus Remote Touch infotainment interface. The mouse-like controller is clunky and to use, since you often have to take your eyes off the road to make the correct selection on the 10.3-inch screen. The good news is that the RC comes standard with the latest tech features, like Amazon Alexa, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, we just wish it was easier to operate them.

The 2020 Lexus RC 350 F Sport starts at $50,320, including the destination charge. If you want something a little cheaper, there’s the RC 300, which starts at $42,320 and is powered by a 241 hp 2.0-liter turbocharged four-cylinder engine.

While the RC 350 F Sport may not be as sporty as we want it to be, there’s still buyers that want a stylish sporty coupe, that’s fun to drive and luxurious.

REVIEW OVERVIEW
Design
Performance
Infotainment System and Tech Features
Fuel Economy
Value
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Marc Carter is the Editor-in-Chief and founder of The Torque Report.
2020-lexus-rc-350-f-sport-review-stylish-but-not-very-sportyThe 2020 Lexus RC 350 F Sport is a stylish, grand-touring coupe that will satisfy most luxury coupe buyers. Luckily there's the hot RC F to appeal to our tastes.