Lexus LC500 Coupe review – interior and tech
The LC500’s interior is wonderful – its design is distinctive and wonderfully executed, underpinned by a superb level of material and build quality
You sit low in the LC, the shelf-like dashboard and high scuttle make it seem like an initially intimidating car to drive, but the visibility through the deep windows and large rear screen quickly melt that anxiety away.
The interior’s innate quality and thoughtfulness is clear. The driver’s display isn’t new for Lexus, having been applied to various models since its debut in the LFA supercar, but its effect is no less dramatic, and it still looks sharp, uncluttered and distinctive.
Other elements, even simple ones like the interior door handles, display a different level of thinking that Japanese manufacturers like Lexus employ to great effect. The handle itself is smooth, cold aluminium, and has no backing, instead sprouting from the concave Alcantara sections on the door. Why Alcantara? Lexus has applied it there specifically to brush against the back of your hand as you reach for the door handle. Novel or creepy? You decide, but it all adds to the experience. Be brave with the colour specification and the LC Coupe’s interior can look just as avant-garde as the exterior, which says a lot.
Then we come to the infotainment system, which like so many Lexus systems is a complicated mess of sub-menus and a flawed input method. New for 2021 is the ability to run phone-mirroring applications like Apple Carplay and Android Auto, so for media or nav it’s problem solved, but secondary functions like the heated seats or changing radio stations are still a pain.
The LC’s exceptional build quality is undeniable though. Simple elements – the button to open the glovebox, the feel and movement of the volume knob, the spring of the drive mode selector – feel finely honed and beautifully executed. There are next-to-no cheap plastics, the leather is smooth and aromatic, it feels like an interior of something far more expensive.
