Review and Photos by Jeff Wilson

Generally speaking, the thought of spending a handsome sum of money on a new car and then being expected to pay for the paint additionally annoys the heck out of me.  It takes the art of nickel-and-diming someone to a whole new level and the German car companies do it better than anyone.   They’ll offer one, or maybe two standard colours, but if you want your ride to look like anything other than Government Issue, you’ll need to spend several hundred dollars more.

So when the Lexus representative emailed me the pricing and specifications package for my press car, it raised my ire to see Lexus playing this same money grabbing game.

Then I arrived at Lexus Canada’s headquarters and saw the RC 350 I was scheduled to drive for the first time and I suddenly forgot all about being angry.

Parked out front was a racy looking machine, squat and fearsome, and finished in the most sensational paint I’ve ever seen.  Lexus calls it Ultrasonic Blue Mica 2.0, Infrared and it costs $650 extra.  And if you’re considering picking up a new RC 350 for yourself and wonder if it’s worth spending the extra bucks on paint, let me tell you that it unequivocally is.  This hue is part of a new “contrast layering” painting system – a process unique to the RC line, previously found only on show vehicles.

Parked in the sunlight, it is simply radiant, sexy even.

Sexy is exactly what Lexus was going for with the RC 350.  Director of Lexus Canada, Cyril Dimitris says, “The RC 350 was developed around a single concept:  A coupe must be ‘sexy’.”  With its compact dimensions and proportioned with classic long-hood, short trunk lid stature, the low and wide Lexus is absolutely eye-catching.   Like the paint process, Lexus apparently faced assembly challenges to work with the overly styled body panels too, requiring a re-think on their production technologies to bring the RC to light.

And while the Lexus “spindle grille” is off-putting to some, its distinctively aggressive look makes the 4 Series BMW appear demure and bland, and the Infiniti Q60, past its expiration date.  Unlike the somewhat controversial front end, from the profile and rear-three-quarter view, the RC 350 is undeniably sexy.

By now you’re surely thinking, “Okay, I get it, this guy thinks the RC looks good, but do you even drive, bro?”  Yes I do, and I’m getting to that.  But if you’re under the assumption the RC 350 is a sports car, you’re mistaken, and it seems even Lexus is freely admitting that.

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