2005 Lexus SC 430 - POV First Driving Impressions 

This SC 430 is no longer for sale…because my mom bought it right after we filmed this 😂 Expect more videos on this. Thanks to www.butmanford.com for making it happen.

Love seeing people enjoy this car. Proud owner here with 260k miles on mine

My mother had one in 2006 and gave it to me on my senior year of HS. My father hated that she had a small vehicle and bought her an LX to be safer. But, it was safe enough for his son. 😂 I swear I was the coolest kid on the block back then. Really great memories with this car!

You guys admiring the knob wood and high-quality build while a Bronco drives by is some good comedic timing.

LC500 is definitely its spiritual successor. Amazing how good the interior looks for something that is nearly 20 years old. Interesting how technology moves forward. Lexus needed a 4.3L V8 to get 300 HP back in the early-2000s. My 2019 IS350 F-Sport with a much smaller 3.5 Liter displacement from a V6 now makes 311 HP.

These had more than 300 hp. Very underrated. Change the suspension and put good tires on it, and it’s a super blast on back roads. Amazing.

Nothing gets me more excited than a Lexus built V8, especially this nice N/A V8 that was also in the LS 430 back in the day~ That sounds very smooth and proper :) Plus 300 HP and 325 lb-ft of torque is still very respectable in my opinion for a 2005 car today. Older Lexus cars are always a treat, since you know they're going to be smooth, low maintenance, and just have that Toyota build quality to them.

has the interior looks of a jaguar....which i LOVED old time jaguar interiors...but this has the insane reliability, the perfect coupe

these sc’s are always super cool

Great video. This was really the golden era of Lexus.

These were such great engines. I had a GS400 and 430.

This car is hugely underrated. I had the pleasure to drive one and it was a fun experience. It's a fantastic cruiser, not a canyon carver.

To add, the wood in the 430 era of Lexus(2001-2008ish) was supplied by Yamaha. Their Musical Instrument division. They grow their own trees to make their pianos and such. Lexus spared no expense in the LS430 & SC430. Far better finish than in any of my three LS400s. The Birds eye maple in our 2005 looks new still. And the Nav & Stereo wood covers is just awesome. Wish my 98 LS had a similar feature.

One of my favorite lexus ever! Beautiful.

These father/son videos are straight up gold. Love this 👏🏾 👏🏾

What a surprise to see this car on here. I got mine as a first car last year and I was really excited to see how I could prove top gear wrong. Unfortunately, I could not find a single review of the car from any top reviewers (very few here and there) which I was really sad about, so I was really happy to see your video here. The car is a freaking tank, can run forever, you feel like James Bond sitting in it, and to go fast you just need a pedal modulator. Thanks for the video guys!

I lived in Palm Beach County FL in 2006… these were everywhere there at the time. I always referred to that area as the “Land of Lexus”. I always thought they were a cool, unique design.

I love my 2005 with 74k. What's interesting about that car is the weight shift you feel at high speeds when the top is down. It rides more balanced with the top down. Thanks, guys.

My friend Kevin dad bought a champagne gold one brand new in 05. He use to let me drive it and I was always impressed with its build quality and effortless power. There are still quite a few of these on the road here in the Knoxville,TN area. Great cars still to this day.👌🏽🔥🔥

Duo Topher videos are becoming my favorites, great car.

I've been driving that car since 2001. I've had four of them. The one I am presently driving is a 2004 that just turned to 62,000 miles. For 22 years I've been driving the same car and honestly I have had hardly a problem. Incredibly reliable, smooth as silk and still a great pleasure.

Just inherited my Dad’s 07 SC430… Will keep this one for the rest of my life!!! Read a lot of reviews, this one was the best!!! Thank you for sharing!!!

Awesome video! Nice to see you guys review this type of iconic cars from the past. I love old cars and I always wondered how good the Lexus SC430 was. I owned a Lexus SC300 coupe and I loved it.

Very cool! I think JC’s assessment was very off with this car. As long as you don’t get the run-flats that some of them came with, I imagine it rides beautifully. If one wants a quick, refined daily and the place of residence is in a warmer climate this would fit the bill really nicely. Very nice engine and interior.

It's amazing how every button is like new and still working, that's the testament to Toyota's engineering.

The wood on the thumbnail immediately caught my attention… only early 2000s Lexus’ could be so easily recognizable from the interior wood trim.

The wood is birds-eye maple. Very nice!

Phenomenal vehicle. Test drove an 04 yesterday. Driving this car is like laying on the beach in the warm Sun..

This is the only car I'm considering getting after I'm "done" with my 98k mi '97 SC300. We'll see how gas prices are in 15yrs...

These were always interesting looking cars. Not my flavor particularly, but not a necessarily bad looking car. And seems to have held up very well as typical of Lexus/Toyota. Oh and as a Floridian, I can attest to seeing these all over still.

They're totally solid and well engineered! I loved my LS 430 with the same engine.

My dad bought a 1993 SC400 brand new. What a car this thing was. We used to own a mechanic shop back in the day and the way they presented it in the showroom was perfect for us. You walked in and there were mirrors on the floor underneath the car. This showed us perfectly, as a mechanic, how well built the chassis was. My dad was so impressed he even got on the floor and crawled under just to admire the engineering. The car was insanely reliable with the only a issues being control arm bushings in the front after about 130k miles. The other issue would be the door card up on the top would crack on both doors. Finally, the backlight and needles of the cluster would go out. Had a guy in the neighborhood who specialized in repairing the door cards and on EBay you could send out the cluster and they would rebuild all the lighting to the color of your choice. Of course I did green lights to match the exterior. Looked great after that. Absolutely loved that car. Another cool thing, we were shopping against the Eldorado (which was overall faster) and the Mark VIII. The other thing about the SC400 was that it was the fastest BY FAR between 50-70 MPH. The car was almost a full second faster there than the Eldo. So anytime you were getting on the highway this thing absolutely FLEW because of that perfect gearing for highway merge. Also it was rear wheel drive where the Eldo was front and I forget what the Mark VIII was. And yea smooth isn’t the word for this vehicle.

I love how this guy reviews Lambos, Porsches, Ferraris and is absolutely gawking over this '05 SC430. Lexus for the win

Loving these older cars.

My neighbor growing up bought this. As a kid I was amazed. It was silver and was just absolutely proper luxury. He ended up selling it and I was so mad I didn't grab it when I had the chance.

OMG THIS IS GORGEOUS

SWEET RIDE

Red and Gold. Looks great. The old bright interiors look so much better than the standard dark interiors nowadays where your camera has trouble focusing on the dark hole camouflaged interiors. Even at 2x speed I can see into every nook and cranny of the tan interior.

Lets not forget these were used in touring car championships

My favorite Lexus

How come you can read my mind, I think of particular car then you have a video for it several times already XD Thanks for your amazing video as always

Pretty nice car ngl, really like the motorized features and a proper solid roof

What a classy car!

My favorite Lexus ❤.

This channel is interesting, I never know who to expect in the videos lol

Purchased an 05 Egyptian Sand Pearl with cork interior in February. I love the car like crazy.

My 2008 TL Type S still had Cassette. As well as DVD-Audio for those audiophiles! Great review. I hope to see a 6 speed manual 3g TL Type S review in the future. I think it is has the best sedan interior design of its time by far.

That creamy smooth engine was shared w the flagship Lexus LS 430 during that year.

ngl i love thethoper giving passenger seat impressions, y’all should do it more often

as if the price of these weren't already ridiculous, thanks for making it even more popular.

My fave car of all time.

Search for videos on these with superchargers doing burnouts. Sound insane.

What a beautiful car

I still see so many people driving these as daily’s down here in Florida

I believe you can get a Grom kit which allows Apple CarPlay and android auto on the factory nav display. Also, I find this generation of navigation to be very responsive and usable to this day on older/existing roads. Better than many new systems I’ve used

this car is awesome

I have the LS430 which uses the same powertrain and it still drives like it is brand new.

What a gorgeous wooden interior. Better than Bently, Mercedes and BMW

It’s amazing how similar the exterior looks to the R171 SLK, though I think the SLK looks better. Lots of similarities, down to the headlights. The steering wheel even isn’t far off, especially if you compare the very similar wood option steering wheel from the SLK (though the SLK’s wood is a much darker one).

I love that all the interior features have "doors" hiding them. 😂

I have a 2007 with 110,000 that I bought 2 years ago. Very unique as I’ve only seen a couple in my area. It was called the Jewel of Lexus. Ps, if you keep the toggle down after the beep, the widows go up.

Chris, you can probably fix the roof rattle with some Gummi Pflege and white lithium grease, fairly easily.

THE TOPHER REVIEWED MT DREAM CAR

These cars lowered with some nice wheels are definitely eye catching. It's also a great cruiser too and can be had for pretty cheap.

I've got the GS430 with the same engine. I like it more than my 2jz for sure.

1:18 I see where the new AMG SL got this feature from

This SC430 is becoming popular on the used car market as Japanese enthusiasts are buying it back. Because it is an early Toyota Lexus model, Toyota has built it very carefully, so if you take good care of it, you can drive it for a long time. Please take good care of it.

Cool building

Just sold my Red SC430 (yes I live in Florida) it was a great car and I believe it made its way up to Ohio.

Real nice !

I recall James May describing it as a “bucket of warm wallpaper paste”

The best part about these cars besides the reliability is the sound. As with all Toyota V8s a simple muffler delete really brings the sound up.

Put some beefier sway bars in these Lexus cars and they actually handle decent. I have a GS430 with upgraded bars, and it’s no chassis-feel-masterclass, but it loves to be hurled around and it just feels so solid doing it. Plenty of fun while being bombproof.

The interior is so nice even by modern standards.

I have one and everyone remarks about the lack of room in the back. Well, some insurers levy a 2 seat premium, so insurance is less. The area becomes a very luxurious luggage bay, and don't forget the rear seat headrests are explosive roll bars...

how nice

You need to hold the top button longer to have the small windows go up... That would make it way more quite

My neighbor's first gen highlander (that they still have) also has a dual CD/Cassette centerstack, not sure what year it is but it is at least an '94 model since it has the standard third row seats that I sat in a number of times as a kid lmao

Can someone explain how this car was rated the ugliest/ worst looking thing Lexus ever produced? This thing surpassed much of what the competition was doing in terms of styling and reliability, and they’re phenomenal to drive! I wish I still had access to it, my friend had one and he constantly regrets trading it in. Between this and the 300, the legacy of the SC should have earned its right to remain in the lineup.

The interior gives me Bentley vibes from the Azure you drove that had 50,000 miles.

No spare on these they had run flat tires that road terrible from the factory that everyone said were crap. Love these and am considering one in the near future.

When you back up, the mirrors automatically point down so you can see the curb, then return to the previous position. Very smooth car. They don't handle really well, but they were never designed to be a sports car. Listening, Top Gear?

We need a ls430 video if it hasn't already been done.

Bought my wife one, she says it’s the best car she has ever had. And she never cared about cars before

32:39 "Similar tires." Ture, they're all black, close enough.

IT'S MY CAR!!!!!

Fun fact the RX, SC and the GX were all the last to use the cassette tape player all the way up till the 2009 model year when for 2010 both the GX and the RX were redesigned and the SC was discontinued

15:35 toph was outta pocket forn this LOL

Hey Topher im in michigan too, You should review my camry v6, this baby smokes chargers all day lol

The Japanese Bentley 🤌🏼

Please do the LS 430 next

Designed to remind us of the French Riviera! If I squint I can see that.

You should get your hands on a Mercedes-Benz R129 SL500/SL600/SL60 AMG

pls do a 2007 Lexus GS

Toyota Solara Vibes. You guys should drive a Solara.

My 18 yr old said same thing ,the brakes are fantastic,she said with a smile😂

they dont make interiors this nice anymore.

other than the cheese colored wood, I love it

Such a great GT car. If the styling was a bit more conservative I would definitely be looking to purchase one. Still might...

it's cool with a porsche cap in a lexus car