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What's the difference?
Audi would probably prefer you not to realise this, but the five distinct versions of S4 and S5 on the market all pertain to a single performance and equipment formula spread across five different bodystyles.
Yes five, and this has been the case for more than a decade, with the S4 sedan and Avant wagon, A5 two-door Coupe, convertible Cabriolet and five door liftback Sportback all representing vastly different shapes for you to choose from, with the same underpinnings. This simply echoes the A4 and A5 ranges they’re based on of course, and BMW clearly thought it was a good idea too, given the 3 and 4 Series ranges were split into individual lines at the start of last generation.
Mercedes-Benz offers a similar array, minus the liftback, but is happy to wrap the whole lot under the C-Class label.
So, given that the A4 and A5 range scored a mid-life update a few months ago, it’s only logical that the changes flow on to the performance S4 and S5s, with the top-tier RS4 Avant following suit.
We’ve covered the latter in October, and now it’s the turn for the former, and CarsGuide was among the first to drive the updated S4 and S5 ranges at their Australian media launch last week.
For those merely gazing up to the lofty, ivory-tipped towers of high society, it would be easy to think that the mere ownership of a plush, premium vehicle, like the Lexus LC 500h for example, is a reward in and of itself.
The truth, though, is that Australia's premium manufacturers then sweeten the ownership pot even further, often inviting new owners into a secret club filled with tickets to exclusive events, seats at the fanciest of dining tables and concierge-style car maintenance, to name but a few of the perks on offer.
Lexus, though, sits atop the pile when it comes to offering ownership perks to its owners, and now more than ever, with the brand's existing Encore Club today welcoming a new and more-exclusive tier, called Encore Platinum.
We'll circle back to all of this under our 'Ownership' sub heading, but the short answer is that anyone who has bought a RC F, GS F, LX, LS or LC, like this 500h, since January 1 this year is automatically signed up, and is in line for some serious goodies.
Perhaps the most pressing question, though, is will it be the new ownership program that lures customers into a LC 500h? Or can the luxurious Lexus performance coupe stand on its own four wheels?
Let's find out.
The S4 and S5 range continues to represent a great formula for performance you can live with every day. They're arguably the sweetest balance Audi produces, actually. All come fantastically equipped, with cabins that feel truly special, and we’re lucky they can be had in a choice of five bodystyles.
A truly fuel-efficient performance car, who’d have thought? There are some obvious trade-offs for trying to exist in two seperate worlds, but the Lexus LC 500h largely handles its dual roles with aplomb.
The S4 sedan and Avant have scored the bulk of design updates, with all new and recontoured side panels including the sedan’s C-pillar matching what was applied to the A4 earlier this year.
This is paired with new front and rear facias and lighting for a subtle but extensive rework of the fifth-generation S4’s conservative look.
The S5 Sportback, Coupe and Cabriolet get S5-specific new lighting and facias, but no sheetmetal changes. As before, the Coupe and Cabriolet ride on a 60mm shorter wheelbase than the Sportback, sedan and Avant.
The S5s also get Matrix LED headlights as standard which do a neat animated sequence when you unlock the car.
Other visual hallmarks include new S4-specific 19-inch wheels, with S5 stepping up to its own unique 20-inch wheel. The six-piston front brake calipers are appropriately painted red, and there’s S-specific adaptive dampers under there too. All variants aside from the Cabriolet get a lip spoiler on the rear.
On the inside, there’s a new centre console and bigger 10.1-inch multimedia screen, while the Audi Virtual Cockpit driver instrument display now offers a hockey stick-style rev counter in additional to traditional dial layouts.
It's a little curious, the LC 500h. For mine, it's stunning from a distance. All gleaming alloys and bulging rear arches and sharp snout angled downward like its caught the scent of its prey.
But weirdly, it can start to look a little less impressive the closer you get to it - a little swollen and vague in its lines. It's very likely it's eye-of-the-beholder stuff (fellow CarsGuide scribe Richard Berry adores it from every angle, for example).
Inside, the front of the cabin is a busy but stylish space, with multiple textures layered on top of each other to produce a premium-feeling, sporty space. The low-feeling dash juts out, giving the front passengers an ensconced, cockpit feel.
Everything is predictably leather-wrapped and lovely, and while it's not as streamlined as, say, an Audi interior, it's not without a genuine sense of Japanese charm in the cabin.
The biggest practicality change among the five S4 and S5 variants is their upgrade to the latest version of Audi’s MMI multimedia system, which steps up to a 10.1-inch touchscreen and drops the scroll wheel from the centre console.
It also boasts ten times the computing power of the version it replaces and uses this and an on-board sim card to access Google Earth maps for navigation and Audi Connect Plus that offers driver information such as fuel prices and parking information as well as point of interest search and weather information, plus the ability to make emergency calls and seek roadside assistance.
There’s also a wireless phone charger, but using Apple CarPlay will still require a cord as per Android Auto.
I only drove the S4 Avant and S5 Sportback at their media launch, which are clearly the most practical of the five, but from our experience with the previous versions, each looks after its occupants well in terms of space and storage. Back seat accommodation is clearly not a priority in the Coupe and Cabriolet, but there’s three other variants if that’s what you’re looking for.
The Cabriolet can open its automatic folding soft top within 15 seconds, at speeds of up to 50 km/h.
It's not really. Especially in the backseats, which would make more sense if they were painted on. I'm no giant, but even my 175cm-tall head was pushed into the ceiling, and while there’s ample shoulder space for two adults, you’re unlikely to be able to convince two to get back there.
Lexus has included something called the "Easy Access" function for 2020, which sees the front seats slide forward automatically to help with accessing the rear seats, and they do lower the Cirque du Soleil antics required to get back there, but this realistically not a car for carrying more than two adults, save an emergency. There are two ISOFIX attachment points in the rear, so child seats can be locked in there.
That's not necessarily a drawback, though. This is a two-door sporty coupe, after all, and elsewhere, the sizeable dimensions (4770mm length x 1920mm width x 1345mm height) provide plenty of space for up-front riders.
You'll also find hidden cupholders, bottle holders in the doors, and all the power and connection points you need.
A word on the tech, though. The LC 500h is crying out for a touch screen, though the brand's traditional mousepad system is improving.
As I mentioned above, the S4 and S5 line-up are in many ways the same, but also different, and these differences result in a price span of $20,500 between the S4 sedan and the S5 Cabriolet.
The former is now $400 cheaper with a list price of $99,500, with the also-$400 cheaper S4 Avant not far beyond at $102,000.
The S5 Sportback and Coupe are now $600 more expensive at an equal list price of $106,500, while the swish folding soft top of the S5 Cabriolet pushes it up to $120,000 (+$1060).
Equipment levels are consistent across all five variants aside from the S5s getting Matrix LED headlights as standard and one inch larger 20-inch wheels.
Key details include Nappa leather trim with front sport seats with seat heaters and massage function, a Bang & Olufsen sound system which spreads 755W across a total of 19 speakers, brushed aluminium inlays, head-up display, coloured ambient lighting, tinted windows and metallic paint.
Over the past 12 months, the S5 Sportback has proven to be the most popular of the five variants by far, accounting for 53 per cent of sales, with the S4 Avant next in line at 20 per cent, the S4 sedan making up 10 per cent, and the S5 Coupe and Cabriolet combining to make up the remaining 17 per cent.
Value is all about perspective, of course, and viewed the right way, the $195k sticker price of the Lexus LC 500h does provide a certain amount of value.
Yes, it's a lot of money. But Lexus' flagship coupe doesn't just get a performance-focused hybrid setup (pairing with a thumping V6 engine), but also just about every high-end feature the brand has in its deep bag of tricks.
It starts outside with giant 21-inch alloys, a glass roof with a sun blind, LED headlights with cornering lights, hidden door handles, keyless entry, and rain-sensing wipers.
Inside, you'll find leather-accented seats, a colour head-up display, a 10.3-inch multimedia screen with Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, another 8.0-inch screen in the driver's binnacle, a heated steering wheel, heated and cooled front seats, DAB+, satellite navigation system with live traffic, and a killer 13-speaker, 918-watt Mark Levinson stereo.
Audi has taken an ‘if it ain’t broke’ approach with the mechanicals, with all S4 and S5 models unchanged with this update. So the centrepiece continues to be the single-turbocharged 3.0-litre V6 that produces 260kW and 500Nm, with the latter available from a broad 1370-4500rpm.
The rest of the drivetrain is also unchanged, with the venerable but excellent ZF eight-speed torque converter auto paired with the Quattro all-wheel drive system that can send up to 85 per cent of drive to the rear wheels.
The LC 500h is powered by a hybrid setup that combines a 3.5-litre V6 engine with a 650-volt "Lexus Hybrid Drive" system and a lithium-ion battery. That setup delivers 264kW of power, and somewhere north of 350Nm in torque when the engine and motor outputs combine.
That power is sent to the rear wheels via a CVT automatic, and will produce a sprint to 100km/h of around 5.0 seconds.
According to Lexus, 10 clear improvements were made the way the 2020 LC 500h drives, including a new transmission tune, more structural bracing added for rigidity, new suspension components and spring rates, and altered stabiliser bars.
Has it made a difference? Read on.
Official combined fuel figures range from 8.6L1/00km for the S4 sedan to 8.8L/100km for the Avant, Coupe and Sportback, while the heavier Cabriolet steps up to 9.1L/100km.
All are pretty good considering their performance potential and the size of these cars, plus the fact that they only require 95 RON Premium Unleaded fuel.
All have a 58-litre fuel tank, which should enable a range of at least 637km between fills based on the Cabriolet’s figure.
Lexus says the LC 500h will sip 6.8 litres per hundred kilometres on the combined cycle - very impressive for what is ostensibly a performance coupe - and emit 152g/km.
The LC 500h is equipped with an 82-litre fuel tank.
The S4 and S5 range were already an excellent balance between everyday comfort and a genuine sporting edge, and nothing has changed with this update.
I spent time behind the wheel of the S4 Avant and S5 Sportback at their media launch, and both managed to deliver the proper Audi luxury experience over some pretty rough rural roads, while always feeling a bit more sporting than a regular A4 or A5. That’s with the Drive Select left in the default mode, but you can shift that sporting personality up a few notches (while scaling back the comfort), by selecting Dynamic mode.
My preferred means of adjusting their personality is by simply tugging the transmission selector back to activate S mode, which livens up the engine and transmission without stiffening up the suspension.
Across the five S4 and S5 bodystyles, there is some variance in performance potential, with the S4 sedan and S5 Coupe topping the performance chart with 0-100km/h boasts of 4.7s, with the S5 Sportback trailing them by 0.1s, the S4 Avant by a further 0.1s and the Cabriolet managing a still-fast 5.1s claim.
Another area I consider the S4 and S5s to get just right is their exhaust note. It is adaptive, but there’s nothing synthetic about it, and the generally muted and distinctly V6 burble is always there to remind you that you’re aboard a proper performance model, but not in such a way that it will annoy you, or your neighbours. Polite performance, if you will.
There’s something very strange about hitting the start button in what is ostensibly a sports car, and being greeted not by the bark of an exhaust, but by the gentle whirring on the car’s electronics coming to life.
But then, the Lexus LC500h is not your average performance car.
It essentially trades the out-and-out grunt of its V8-powered sibling (which produces a monstrous 351kW and 540Nm) for a kind of best-of-both-worlds approach that pairs the punch of the V6 engine with the fuel efficiency of a hybrid powertrain.
If that sounds like an compromised approach to pure performance, you're right. But reframe the way you look at the LC 500h and it all starts to make a bit more sense.
Remember, this isn't a track-attack weapon, but a potent on-road bruiser, and the flow of power on offer always feels ample, and you never want for too much more off-the-line pace on public roads.
Among the biggest selling points of the LC 500h is the sheer distance between its various personalities. Engage Eco, or even Normal, drive modes, and it’s a quiet, mostly very comfortable (though it can be unsettled by bigger bumps) kilometre-eater, but engage Sport or Sport Plus and it rightly transforms into something significantly angrier.
It might not be the absolute sharpest tool in the performance car shed, but the LC 500h does bristle nicely when those modes are engaged, the hybrid factor seemingly replaced by a satisfyingly meaty exhaust note and an accelerator that’s suddenly far more sensitive to the touch.
The steering feel is nice and the inputs direct, but there is something about the car’s 1980kg weight that doesn’t inspire the deepest of confidence, at least not on the rain-slicked roads we were travelling along .
A pure performance coupe? Perhaps not. But a sporty, stylish and, when you want it to be, comfortable cruiser with the ability to turn the volume up when you come across a twisting road? Bingo.
All S4 and S5 variants boast an impressive array of safety features, but there’s some interesting points when it comes to ANCAP ratings. Only four cylinder A4 models (therefore not S4) were given a maximum five star rating when tested according to less stringent 2015 standards, but all A5 variants (therefore S5) aside from the Cabriolet carry a five star rating based on the tests applied to the A4. So officially, the S4 is not rated, but the S5 Coupe and Sportback are, but based on the A4 rating that doesn’t apply to the S4. As with most convertibles, the Cabriolet is simply not rated.
The airbag count totals eight in the sedan, Avant and Sportback, with dual front airbags, plus side and curtain airbags covering front and rear.
The Coupe drops the rear side airbags, while the Cabriolet also drops curtain airbags, meaning there’s no airbags for rear seat occupants. The roof is made of folding fabric, there has to be some safety compromise.
Other safety features include front AEB that works up to 85km/h, adaptive cruise control with traffic jam assist, active lane guidance and collision avoidance assist that can automatically swerve, a 360 degree camera system, rear cross-traffic alerts, exit warning that can prevent you opening a door into an oncoming car or cyclist, and pre sense rear that can detect an impending collision from behind and prepare the seatbelts and windows for maximum protection.
The Lexus LC 500h is yet to be ANCAP tested (the price would likely prove a sticking point), but the Japanese brand has fine form in attracting top marks, and there's certainly no shortage of safety features on offer here.
There's a total eight airbags and a reversing camera and parking sensors, as well as a host of high-tech kit like AEB, Lane Keep Assist, Blind Spot Monitoring, active cruiser control and a bonnet that will sense pedestrian and pop up before impact in an attempt to minimise injury.
Audi continues to offer a three year, unlimited kilometre warranty, which is in line with BMW but lags behind the five years offered by Mercedes-Benz these days. This also contrasts with the five year norm among mainstream brands, which is punctuated by the seven year warranties of Kia and SsangYong.
Service intervals are a convenient 12 months/15,000km though, and the same five year ‘Audi Genuine Care Service Plan’ offers capped price servicing for the same $2950 total over five years applies to all S4 and S5 variants. This is only marginally more than the plans offered for regular petrol A4 and A5 variants, so you’re not being stung for the thoroughbred versions.
So, to ownership. Let's start with the basics first, before we move onto the new Encore Platinum benefits.
The LC 500h is covered by a four-year/100,000km warranty, and servicing (capped for three years at $595 a pop) is required every 15,000km.
You will know already the Lexus's stellar Encore ownership program includes handy features like valet (pick-up and drop-off) servicing, but the new Encore Platinum level for owners of its more exclusive models unlocks some seriously cool stuff.
One is a new On Demand service, which allows owners to book a different style of car when heading off on a holiday or business trip. So, say you own the LC 500h, but want to take the family to the snow and need a seven-seat 4WD like the RX L, then Lexus will lend you one at no charge, which you can keep for eight days.
The loans are available in your state or somewhere else in Australia if you're travelling, with your car waiting for you at Qantas Valet for you when you arrive.
The One Demand service is available on four occasions over your first three years of ownership (which is also the length of the Encore Platinum membership).
The Platinum level also provides eight examples of free valet parking at select shopping centres, as well as hotel and restaurant benefits, and invitations to Lexus' drive days around the country.