I just spent about a week driving a wonderful yellow Lexus RC F around southern California, and overall I love it. It’s a bit old and outdated at this point, but that’s made up for by Its amazing 5.0 liter naturally aspirated V8. It makes the same noise as a few other cars on the road these days, but that’s not what I’m here to say. I’m talking about something very picky and strangely that – EQUAL as far as I can tell — No one else has ever put up while talk about RC F. look at you the speedometer is small, small and meaningless.
You see, the RC F is an odd mix of both old and new technology, and that’s very clear on the inside. I will detail the inside and outside of the cabin in my full review, but today we just focus on gauge cluster. Alike most Lexusit has a large digital tachometer with tachometer reading surrounded by an aluminum-looking bezel in the middle that serves as a reminder that this company used to build LFA. The design is simple and sharp, if not a bit basic when compared to most modern cars. To the left of it is a small information screen with all your basics like trip information, vehicles, and directions.
Typically, Lexus products will have a similar display to the right of the main gauge, but not RC F, oh no. For reasons only God and Lexus engineers know, they decided to add the smallest one analog speedometer known to man. This is not exaggeration. I have never seen such a small speedometer before. I don’t have a tape measure, so I resorted to the measuring app on my iPhone and it said speedometer only three inches in diameter. It’s actually smaller than the key that comes with the car. For reference, tach is over five years old.
To make matters more confusing for drivers, the speedometer goes up to 210 mph. Ignore the fact that this can only do 168, and you’re left with numbers that are so small and close together that you can’t tell their ends.
During my nearly 500 miles of driving, I don’t think I’ve looked at this analog display again other than gawking at how small and pointless it is.
That being said, I don’t hate it. That’s a weird thing – something most modern cars are completely missing out on. I love the weirdness in a car. They give them personality – something that RC F has. Would the RC F’s gauge cluster make more sense without this little speedometer? Perhaps, but who cares?
