Every Lexus F Sport Model, Ranked By Horsepower

Owners and long-time fans of the Lexus brand will be all too aware that it has a tendency to give its cars long, complicated model names. Some parts of these names are fairly self-explanatory — an h next to a number denotes a hybrid, for example — but others aren't so clear. The F Sport badge is a particularly confusing addition, as it implies an added level of sportiness, yet some cars that wear the badge are anything but sporty.

Like Audis that wear S Line or BMWs that wear M Sport badges, the F Sport badge on Lexus models is used liberally and can be found across a wide range of the brand's models. For some of these models, the F Sport trim is little more than an appearance package, but in a few cases, F Sport models still pack a significant performance boost. For now, a few still even boast a V8 under the hood, although they might not feature one for much longer. 

If you're looking for a properly sporty Lexus model and want to work out which F Sport models are worth shelling out for, then this ranking of every current F Sport model should help you work out where to start.

It might be the least powerful F Sport model in the brand's lineup, but the Lexus UX 300h F Sport Handling is still worth considering. We found it surprisingly enjoyable to drive, both on daily commutes and on longer trips, and didn't come away wishing that its 2.0L four-cylinder hybrid powertrain churned out more than its current 196 horsepower output.

The F Sport Handling model is the one to pick for drivers looking for the most engaging car, but Lexus also offers an F Sport Design model that's slightly cheaper. The F Sport Design misses out on unique seats and suspension, but its power output remains the same. Both the Design and Handling variants can be bought in either front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, with the front-wheel drive variants offering marginally better efficiency. Still, at a combined rating of 42 mpg, even the all-wheel drive UX is still frugal by segment standards.

The cheapest F Sport trim in the 2025 UX range is the UX 300h F Sport Design, and it starts from $41,665. However, to get the F Sport Handling AWD model that we put through its paces, you'll need at least $47,750. It's far from cheap, but few other crossovers combine driver enjoyment, practicality, and premium features quite so effectively.

Buyers looking for an F-Sport badged version of the ES have a wealth of options at their disposal, with the cheapest of those being either the Lexus ES 250 F Sport Design AWD or the ES 350 F Sport Design. Both start from $47,800. The latter is the clear winner in horsepower terms, offering 302 hp from its 3.5L V6 engine. The ES 250 F Sport Design AWD, meanwhile, churns out a more modest 203 horsepower from a 2.5L four-cylinder engine. The hybrid ES 300h F Sport Handling's output sits between the two gas-powered trims, offering 215 horsepower, but it's slightly pricier than both, at a starting price of $49,000.

We spent some time with the current generation ES 300h F Sport Handling back in 2023, and found the F Sport upgrade to be less transformative than in other models. It adds new suspension and dampers, but it isn't enough to make the ES feel sporty to any significant degree. Instead, it's still a car that's best for long, comfortable cruises, despite the performance prowess implied by its name.

A plug-in hybrid SUV is never going to be the ideal starting point for developing the ultimate sporty daily driver, but the Lexus NX 450h+ F Sport Handling AWD does a solid job given the inherent limitations of its platform. It combines a traditional gas engine with an electric battery setup that allows for an officially claimed 37 miles of emissions-free driving. During our highway test, we managed to stretch that all-electric range to a commendable 50 miles. We struggled to fault its build quality and interior space, although we weren't quite as sold on its infotainment.

If none of those things sound like typical criticisms of a performance-oriented model, it's because the plug-in hybrid NX is not a typical performance model. In fact, it isn't really performance-oriented at all, despite its F Sport badge. In fact, our reviewer summed up the driving experience as "largely tranquil and borderline mundane."

Buying the other F Sport trim in the current NX lineup, the NX 350 F Sport Handling AWD, won't result in a more interesting car. It is, however, slightly cheaper than the NX 450h+ F Sport Handling AWD, costing $50,510 rather than the $63,505. It's almost as powerful too, with the 350 churning out 275 horsepower and the hybrid 450h+ rated for 304 horsepower.

Another popular model with a sprawling lineup, the RX can be had in pure-gas, hybrid, or plug-in hybrid form. F Sport variants are available for both the gas-powered and hybrid variants, with the electrically assisted model being the most potent. Lexus pins its combined output at 366 horsepower. However, the added power doesn't necessarily make the RX 500h F Sport Performance AWD more interesting to drive. We found it to be sprightly enough around urban roads, but not any more so than other Lexus hybrid models.

A pair of RX 350 F Sport trims are also offered, losing the electrical assistance but still making a respectable 275 horsepower. The Lexus RX 350h F Sport Design AWD, meanwhile, is the least performance-oriented RX to wear the badge, with 246 horsepower on tap. While none of the F Sport-badged RX variants offer quite as much performance as their names might suggest, it's the 500h F Sport Performance AWD that does the most convincing impression of a fast SUV with 366 hp available. It's still only relatively sporty though, and with its $66,150 starting price, buyers will find better performance for their cash elsewhere.

Initially launched in TX 350 guise and later complemented by the more powerful TX 500h F Sport Performance Premium AWD, Lexus' three-row SUV gets right what its predecessor didn't. It's more spacious in the rear rows than the RX-L it replaced, but without feeling too much like a land yacht. In top-spec F Sport form, it's also decently powerful too, with 366 horsepower on tap. Buyers without the $70,010 required for that model could also consider the TX 350 F Sport Handling AWD, which costs $65,760 and offers 275 horsepower.

Neither variant will transform the TX into an apex-hunting performance car — this is still a three-row SUV, after all. In hybrid form, it's an efficient one at that, making it a solid choice for buyers looking for a mix of luxury, frugality, and family-hauling capability. Just don't mistake it for a performance SUV, even if it has an F Sport badge.

Another F Sport trim that's more about looks than performance is the LS 500 F Sport, which packs 416 horsepower courtesy of its twin-turbo V6 engine. That's the exact same output as the base model, with the only real differences being F Sport suspension, a unique shift knob, and a branded steering wheel. The LS 500 F Sport starts from $85,825, but adding all-wheel drive pushes its price up to at least $88,275. Neither its power output nor its acceleration times change with the addition of the all-wheel drive system.

The LS 500's appeal certainly doesn't lie in its aspirations of sportiness, but rather the way that it delivers straightforward, understated luxury that few other cars in its segment can manage. It's a sensible but elegant vehicle, built for the driver that might want to use it over the long term, and it likely won't miss a beat even after many years of service and a six-digit figure on its odometer. It will rack up mileage with ease, but it won't be doing it fast, or with the kind of driver enjoyment that other F Sport models in the Lexus range can offer.

Much like the brand's flagship sedan, Lexus' plushest and priciest SUV doesn't really do sportiness. The LX 700h F Sport Handling combines the model's most potent powertrain with a supposedly sportier setup, but that's in relative terms. This is a body-on-frame SUV designed to conquer any kind of terrain while keeping its occupants surrounded in fine leather the entire time. The F Sport trim doesn't change that core brief, although Lexus says it adds sport-tuned suspension, some unique trim, and special 22-inch wheels.

The LX 700h F Sport Handling starts from $117,850 for 2025, and offers the same 457 horsepower from its twin-turbo 3.4L V6 hybrid powertrain, as do all the other LX hybrid trims. A non-hybrid LX F Sport trim is also available, the LX 600 F Sport Handling, and it starts from $113,850. It uses the same V6 engine as the 700h, but without the electric motors, it's not quite as powerful. Still, its 409 horsepower output makes it far from a slouch.

Many current F Sport trims don't really deliver on the sport element promised by the badge, but the RC is different from the rest. The RC F is the most potent F-badged variant, offering 472 horsepower from its naturally aspirated 5.0L V8 engine. It's also the rarest variant, being limited to 179 examples and only available in $94,000 Final Edition guise for 2025. However, anyone who misses out on the top-spec coupe still has plenty of other options to choose from, including three other RC F Sport variants.

The second most powerful RC F Sport trim is the RC 350 F Sport, which starts from $54,245 and can be configured in rear-wheel or all-wheel drive. Under its hood sits a 3.5L V6 engine churning out 311 horsepower, making the car good for a zero to 60 mph time of 5.8 seconds. Below that are two trims that have very similar names but very different powertrains, the RC 300 F Sport AWD and RC 300 F Sport.

The RC 300 F Sport AWD is the pricier of the pair, starting from $53,605, and it features a 3.5L V6 engine, much like the RC 350. It's good for 260 horsepower, and takes only half a second longer to reach 60 mph than the RC 350. The RC 300 F Sport starts around $2,000 cheaper, but it packs a more modest turbocharged 2.0L four-cylinder engine with 241 horsepower on offer and is notably slower to 60 mph.

Sharing the top spot for the most powerful F Sport trim in the current Lexus lineup is the IS sedan. In IS 500 F Sport Performance trim, it features the same naturally aspirated 5.0L V8 engine as the top-spec RC, but unlike the RC, production numbers for the 2025 model year aren't limited. We borrowed the top-spec IS 500 F Sport for a week back in 2024, and came away with mixed feelings about it.

On the one hand, its V8 engine sounds incredible, and makes it arguably the only true performance sedan in the brand's current lineup. With 472 horsepower on tap, it's also fast and handles well in the corners. On the other hand, we thought that the car's cabin was a letdown compared to the rest of the car, and didn't match up to other models in the brand's range. Given that the car starts from $60,595, it's not an insignificant investment either.

For buyers with a less generous budget, three other variants of the IS F Sport are available that mirror the options on offer in the RC. The IS 350 F Sport is the next-best option, with its 3.5L V6 engine and 311 horses under the hood, while a pair of IS 300 trims serve as entry points to the F Sport world. The IS 300 F Sport AWD features a V6 with 260 horsepower, while the IS 300 F Sport makes do with a 2.0L turbo-four churning out 241 horsepower.