Millennial Mom's Review: 2024 Lexus LC 500 Convertible is more practical than you think | Reviews

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Did I rip this car down Guelph Line? I think the real question is: do I even know what that means? If I’m using “rip” correctly, then you’ll be glad to know I did no such thing, because I’m not that kind of driver. I’m a gentle driver, and while some may say I wasted my time with the 2024 Lexus LC 500, I seriously beg to differ, because I had an amazing week with it, just the two of us gentle souls — and my sister, and my three kids, and my husband, but all at different times, of course. There are only four seats, after all.

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When I first picked up the car, a very excited Elle Alder greeted the convertible with me. If you’ve read her review of the 2023 LC, you’ll understand her sheer joy at hopping into the driver’s seat before I headed home in the tester. Getting the party started, Elle got right to the point by pinpointing some of the LC’s cool party tricks, such as an obvious change in speaker sound when the roof is down; when the top drops, the bass kicks in! Notably, as she also pointed out last year, this model year gets rid of the awful trackpad, leaving a simplistic touchscreen, but more on that in a bit.

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What’s it like to drive a Lexus LC 500 convertible?

The rear-wheel-drive 2024 Lexus LC 500 convertible uses a 5.0L V8. It makes 471 horsepower and 398 lb-ft of torque, mated to a 10-speed automatic transmission.

Is it fun? Actually, the better question is: how fun? (If you’re looking for the technical aspect of the fun drive, you can find a detailed review here.) As previously mentioned, I didn’t spend the week looking for areas to do some damage to the 21-inch wheels, but I did find it truly enjoyable to drive.

If given the choice, I would choose to be a passenger princess all the time, but this is one of the few cars I’ve driven in which I actually don’t mind being the driver. When you’re on the highway and you start speeding up, it’s really easy to go a little bit faster than you probably should be going, but it’s also really easy to just cruise at 50 km/h (31 mph) in this relaxing car, and not have a care in the world. And sure, 50 km/h may seem too slow for the LC, but a lot of the roads in Guelph have that exact speed limit. What I’m trying to say is it’s such a comfortable ride, you don’t mind going slow.

Comfort mode is quite literally comfortable. At one point, I had my sister — someone who gets nauseous in just about any vehicle — in the front passenger seat, and we went over some train tracks. I apologized for the minor bumps, to which she responded “I didn’t feel it. I didn’t feel anything.” All that is to say this convertible is so very smooth, and quite frankly, despite some “best” lists saying there are better grand tourers—

The Lexus LC 500 Convertible is one of the best grand tourers

And if you do find a twisty road, well, let’s just say the car smoothly and comfortably glides into the turns, even if you’re going a bit over the recommended speed limits. The best part of those twisty roads was realizing just how quickly I could go in and out of the turns — I’ve become so accustomed to making those turns in much larger SUVs or minivans that need to be slowed down, or at the very least, feel like they’re going to topple if you take a turn too sharply.

Lexus LC 500 fuel consumption

One of my kids — I won’t say which one — eats all the time, and oftentimes I wonder “where are you putting all that food? How are you not full yet?” Those are the same thoughts I had regarding the LC’s fuel consumption. It doesn’t have the greatest fuel economy; I managed 12.5 L/100 km (18.8 US mpg) in mixed highway and city driving over the course of one week.

Frankly, that’s not horrible for a car with an engine like this, but for those who can’t afford this convertible — me — that’s a heckuva gas bill for all 82 litres (21.6 US gallons) of its premium fuel. But who cares about fuel consumption when you’re driving something like this? Step on the gas a bit and you’ll hear the oh-so-lovely growl-y noise of the engine and forget all about economy (or if you prefer a little less growl, just turn up the volume and let the music easily drown it out).

What interior features are in the Lexus convertible?

The infotainment is really easy to use, and there’s wireless Apple CarPlay and Android Auto which makes things a lot easier, if that’s what you’re used to. I love the amount of buttons that Lexus has in here, it’s essentially everything you need without having to dig through the touchscreen. There are physical buttons for the climate controls and camera view.

The centre console has one singular button with a seat and steering wheel, and a simple tap will bring up the options on screen for the heated steering wheel, as well as heated or ventilated front seats — all without having to dig through screens to find it while driving. In fact, during my week of driving the convertible, I never found myself digging into layers of the touchscreen to find something while driving.

And thankfully, the Lexus LC 500 no longer features the awful trackpad in here, nor is there that weird touch option on the steering wheel, like the annoying ones in the Lexus TX.

It really is simplicity at its finest. And to some extent, you’re maybe paying for simplicity, but I don’t really mind if the alternative is paying an arm and a leg for something much more confusing and un-intuitive.

Is the Lexus LC 500 practical?

I’m a mom of three; my life revolves around finding the most practical way to get things done efficiently, without pulling what’s left of my hair out. Is the LC a practical convertible? The short answer is “no”; the longer answer is “obviously not.” Since when was a convertible meant to be practical? Regardless, I think this is about as practical as a convertible gets.

There are four seats, but really and truly, there are only two usable and undoubtedly comfortable seats. If I’m in the driver’s seat, my seven-year-old can sit behind, but even his legs don’t have a ton of room. If the front passenger seat is pulled forward, my four-year-old can fit in her forward-facing car seat, but I can guarantee the front seat will have shoe prints by the end of the drive because even her short legs are up against the seat backs. Note: the bottom hooks are available for a car seat, which we used, but I couldn’t find the full LATCH system in there, and had to buckle it in the old-fashioned way.

I’m not sure how practical a white interior is for anyone, but many seem to be on board with a lighter interior. Personally, I think it looks great from far, but wait until it’s jeans-stained or even makeup-stained. I do love the contrast of the dark blue upholstery, though, it’s quite royal. I don’t think it matches the exterior blue (which reminds me of a Hot Wheels car) but, hey, it could be worse. The Ultrasonic Blue Mica paint colour must be somewhat popular for it to be a Lexus option.

The cargo space is minimal — don’t even think about bringing a stroller with you — but if you don’t have kids taking up the back seats, then I’d say you’ve got more than double the cargo space if you throw those back seats into the mix and use it as cargo space, too. For reference, the trunk easily held three backpacks (elementary-schoolkid-sized ones) but won’t hold much more than that.

If you’re looking for a couple more spaces to stash a couple things, I was happy to note a few other storage areas (far more than what we found during our week with the Jaguar F-Type). There’s a decent sized centre console, as well as a simple, but handy, cargo-net-type-of-thing in the front passenger’s side, and, again, a whole back seat of potential space for a golf bag, as long as you don’t have kids back there.

Another practical thing about the LC that many probably take for granted is its ability to easily fit into a mall parking space. As someone who frequents the mall and often has little kids swinging large doors open (sliding doors are better for everyone!) it was refreshing — and a little shocking — to park the car and see so much space on both sides of the vehicle! That said, the LC is still fairly long, with an overall length of 4,760 mm (187.4 inches), meaning lengthwise, it only took up 39 cm (15.3 inches) less space in my garage than my 2014 Honda Odyssey. But again, lots of room on the sides to get out of the convertible.

Can the Lexus LC convertible get wet?

If you’re frequently leaving your soft-top convertible out in the rain, I’m sure it’ll eventually get damaged. However, if you happen to leave it parked on the driveway because you didn’t anticipate heavy rain, it’s not the end of the world for the LC. The soft top definitely won’t – shouldn’t – leak, and it didn’t. However, it did feel super-soaked, but driving down an open road or highway for a few minutes will quickly dry it.

I’m not sure how long it’d take to dry if it’s just sitting out in the sun, but, much like wet clothes can have a stench if left damp, I wonder if that could happen to a soft top, moreso if it’s folded away into the vehicle. Speaking of, the mechanics of folding the top down work so seamlessly and smoothly. Note that you do need to hold the button down for the duration of the opening or closing the top.

For some tips for taking care of your soft top, check out this post.

How much does the 2024 Lexus LC 500 Convertible cost in Canada?

The base MSRP of the 2024 Lexus LC 500 Convertible is $131,450, but this tester included a few other large amounts into the total price, before taxes. There’s a $650 Performance package that includes that premium paint (a small price to pay when compared to Porsche’s custom colour paint options that can cost up to $30k) as well as heated and ventilated front seats and a neck heater. The freight and PDI charge adds $2,205, but the biggest fee is the nearly $7,000 federal luxury surcharge! When all fees are added, this tester’s price tag showed a before-tax total of $141,326 — a small price to pay for simplicity.

If you don’t think you’ll make great use of the drop-top option, the non-convertible variant of the Lexus LC starts at $114,600. Starting at $131,580, the LC 500h is the hybrid version that comes standard with the performance package and no available convertible option, but should cut your fuel consumption down to an average of 8.2 L/100 km (28.7 US mpg).

Final thoughts

I had something of a revelation during this week as I was talking to a friend about what “pretty” means when it comes to cars, and while beauty is subjective — I’ve never found a car to be particularly attractive — I know what I think works well, but doesn’t necessarily make a car pretty. On the flip side, I do know what I’d consider ugly, even if such a label doesn’t mean it doesn’t have family-friendly or practical features. Even describing a car as “sleek” doesn’t necessarily translate to being good-looking — well, at least not for me. One thing’s for sure, I would never call a car “sexy” — then again, I never expected to love a convertible, so never say never?

In any case, the 2024 Lexus LC 500 is a comfortable, smooth, top-down ride with a premium price tag. It really doesn’t get much better than that if you’re in the market for a convertible. Yet rarely do we see LCs on Canadian roads. Correct me if I’m wrong, but it almost seems like the LC is an awesome middle ground, which unfortunately puts it in a bad spot when it comes to buying vehicles.

You can get a Ford Mustang convertible for considerably less dollars, and while I’m not saying it’s comparable as a vehicle, it’s still a convertible, which is what some people are after (or they’re loyal to the Blue Oval). And then there are those in a much higher tax bracket, who wouldn’t necessarily think to shop a premium brand like Lexus, but skip straight to the higher end of luxury — have you seen the Mercedes-Benz CLE 300 Cabriolet? — which means spending a lot more. And I think that’s where the shoppers are making a big mistake. I think Elle summed up the LC best: “This isn’t a product to fill a segment: it’s an expression of automotive excellence.”

Check out the latest Lexus LC 500 model. Click here for more Millennial Mom’s Reviews.

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