2017 Lexus RC

With a stylish cabin design, the 2017 Lexus RC sports materials of a higher quality than most luxury small cars. It offers good seating space up front, but side bolstering is lacking except in the sport seats. Rear-seat room is at a premium, so don't get any ideas about putting people back there. Standard features are plentiful, but the infotainment system's screen can be tricky to see, and the optional remote touch infotainment controller can be distracting. The available Mark Levinson surround-sound system is a must for music fiends.

• "Its interior is flat-out gorgeous … Design and materials are excellent, perhaps class-leading." -- Edmunds
• "With the 7-inch display, rounded dashboard and angled audio/climate control interface, the dash is a busy place." -- Kelley Blue Book
• "Moreover, the RC is very well equipped, offering supportive bucket seats, a high-end sound system, top-notch fit and finish and an available infotainment system with [an] updated track pad and a suite of Lexus apps." -- Left Lane News (2015)

Seating

With seats for four, the 2017 RC comes standard with leatherette upholstery and power-adjustable front seats. Options include a heated steering wheel, heated and ventilated front seats, leather upholstery, a power tilt-and-telescoping steering wheel, and two driver memory settings (for the seat, mirrors, and steering column).

By the numbers, the RC is one of the smallest luxury small cars in terms of passenger space. And it feels like it. In the front, seating is comfortable, with extra side support in the sportier F Sport-equipped models and in the RC F. However, the standard front seats are not supportive on long drives. In all-wheel-drive models, a bulge near the driver's right leg may prove to be bothersome for some folks.

Rear-seat space is intolerable for adults, making the RC suitable only for small children. Fitting a child seat is quite challenging, and getting a little one in it can be even trickier.

• Space for passengers and stuff is merely OK." -- Edmunds
• The 2017 Lexus RC coupe is definitely snug, but it's comfortable, at least up front. There are four seatbelts, but in reality the rear seat is way too small for adults, and even anybody older than a toddler. Up front is a much different story. The seats are comfortable in all trims and feature extra bolstering in RC Sport and RC F models. … In AWD models, there's a hump near the driver's right calf from the differential housing that might impede your driving position." -- Kelley Blue Book
• "The seats didn't have enough bolstering to keep me in place while ripping around on a track, but they also don't have enough padding or support to make long drives comfortable. Around town, it isn't too bad, but don't expect to take a long haul without feeling the soreness in your back." -- Autoweek (2016)

Interior Features

The RC comes standard with automatic climate control, a rearview camera, push-button start, a 10-speaker audio system, a 7-inch display, Bluetooth, satellite radio, two USB ports, Siri Eyes Free, voice recognition, HD Radio, Lexus Enform Service Connect, Scout GPS Link navigation, and the Safety Connect emergency notification system.

Options include a moonroof, integrated navigation, a Mark Levinson 17-speaker surround-sound system, a remote touchpad, and an in-dash DVD player. There's also numerous optional advanced safety features such as blind spot monitoring, rear cross traffic alert, forward collision warning with automatic emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, parking assist, and rain-sensing windshield wipers.

With the base setup, the 7-inch screen is set too far back to see it clearly. If you spring for the optional remote touchpad infotainment control, know that it can be distracting to use while driving, which could be dangerous. The upgraded Mark Levinson system emits wonderful sound quality through an impressive number of speakers for a coupe: 17 to be exact.

See 2017 Lexus RC specs »

• "Famed audio specialist Mark Levinson has a long relationship with Lexus, and the system in the 2017 RC sports coupe continues that tradition. The latest system employs Levinson's Clari-Fi technology that analyzes and amplifies digital audio signals, distributing sound more evenly and clearly." -- Kelley Blue Book
• "… the cabin's unusual touchpad-based infotainment controller in navigation-equipped models is overly distracting to use." -- Edmunds (2016)
• "Our one complaint is that the 7-inch screen is set back and slightly recessed, so the leading edge of the dash is higher than the bottom of the screen. This could hide information along the screen's lowest section, depending on how high the driver sits." -- Autotrader (2015)

Cargo

With 10.1 cubic feet of cargo space, the Lexus RC has one of the smallest trunks in the class, even for a coupe. It does have 60/40 split-folding rear seats, which are convenient when you're carrying longer items or more cargo than the trunk will allow. However, the RC F does away with the folding seats, further hampering its practicality. Interior storage is minimal, with few places to store away the little things.

• "With a smallish trunk, limited cabin storage options and a fixed-in-place rear seatback, practicality takes a hit. The 10.4-cubic-foot trunk is small for a coupe. The RC F loses the 60/40-split folding backseat of its lesser RC stablemates and gets a small center pass-through instead." -- Edmunds
• "The RC suffers from a lack of storage." -- Left Lane News (2015)
• "Storage space is likewise limited. … Cargo space can be expanded by folding the rear seat backs, but doing so leaves about a 6-inch-high ‘step,’ so large boxes can't just be slid forward; as such, it's really more useful for long, light items such as skis. By the same token, interior storage is somewhat meager, with just a decent-sized 2-tiered glovebox, a smallish console box … and narrow map pockets in the doors." -- Consumer Guide (2015)