Hidden behind the SC 400's dignified contours is a performance-built weapon that can accelerate to 60 mph at just a tick above six seconds flat. Begin selecting gears manually and getting after its 290-horsepower throttle pedal, and the SC 400 is swiftly transformed to a masculine apex-strafer of the first order. Like few other personal cars, this SC has the ability to be all things to all drivers. The glass-smooth four-liter Lexus V8 features continuously variable valve timing, which further enhances the stellar performance, fuel economy and clean-burn qualities of this engine. Power is transmitted through a superb five-speed electronically controlled automatic transmission. This superb drivetrain is electronically limited to 149 mph.
With 220 horsepower, the SC 300 can sprint from 0-60 mph in 7.9 seconds with a top track speed of 146 mph. It comes with a four-speed automatic. (The five-speed manual is no longer available.)
This is not a small coupe, and the minute you take it into traffic, you become aware of its considerable bulk. Its gear selector follows the staggered multi-gate approached used by Mercedes-Benz. If you are in constant-state touring mode, you'll likely never move the selector out of Drive. The SC 400 is extremely quiet at cruising velocity, and even at prurient rates of speed it makes barely a whisper of wind noise. It's phenomenal.
However, a fine sport coupe surely deserves better than an entire lifetime of straight-and-level Interstate duty. And when you veer off the highway onto a curvy road, the SC 400 really comes to life. It is still a large vehicle, but its front and rear sway bars and double wishbone suspension deliver excellent control in vigorous maneuvering. Body roll is reassuringly mild, and our car's optional Goodyear Eagle GT+4 all-season tires proved grippy and very stable.
The SC 400 suspension system is composed of genuine double wishbones at each corner, damped by gas-pressurized shock absorbers that resist overheating and fatigue. The SC 400's speed-sensitive power-assisted rack-and-pinion steering is particularly quick and sporting, needing only 3.1 turns lock to lock.
The SC 400 five-speed automatic can be selected nearly as authoritatively as would be allowed with a good manual transmission. Suddenly, this boulevard-ready freeway cruiser becomes a back-country ridge runner. Its turn-in is positive and stable, and its steering input, while not Porsche-like, is certainly crisp enough to encourage moving your average speed up a notch.
Yet the minute you return to the Interstate or the endless urban muddle, this plainclothes ridge runner goes right back to appearing demure and innocent, as if it would never dream of chirping a tire. The most spectacular side of this coupe is that its suspension is so gentle-riding and forgiving on rough surfaces, and at the same time, so agile and well-controlled when asked to hurry along. That is a balancing act that, until very recently, only the best Europeans had mastered. With the SC 400, Lexus is right up there at the peak of multi-purpose versatility.
The traction-control system available on the SC 400 has three settings. In descending order of activation, they are ECT (electronically controlled throttle), PWR, and Snow. The latter virtually overrides the system to allow the wheelslip encountered with snow and snow chains, while the former two allow for varying degrees of activation. We found this three-choice system excellent and perfectly in keeping with the spirit of the sporty SC 400. It lets the driver select a moderate activation schedule, allowing small amounts of wheelspin before summoning the ABS system. This permits a degree of sporting driving that is impossible with some much more obtrusive, short-fused traction-control systems. On the other hand, if you want to be securely nailed down to the pavement in wet going, the ECT setting works best.
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