Lexus IS250 Convertible. Nov 09
The car is not Toyota's prestige brand's first go at a folding roof coupe/convertible. That happened back in 2001 with the SC430.
Powered by a slick 210kW/ 419Nm V8, it was let down by looks that were not to everyone's taste and the car has not exactly been a runaway success in the years since its launch.
While many people believe the folding metal roof that converts a coupe into a cabriolet and back again is a recent motoring innovation, its origins actually date back 75 years.
The folding roof concept was developed in 1934 by Parisian dentist and part-time car designer, Georges Paulin and the following year he sold his design and its patent to French carmaker Peugeot.
Peugeot first fitted the roof to a car known as the 401 Eclipse and the car was manufactured in collaboration with Paulin, Peugeot concessionaire Darl'Mat, and coachbuilder Pourtout.
Over the next few years several hundred Peugeots were produced with the breakthrough roof but production ceased during the Second World War and it was not until 2001 that the French company resurrected it for the 206 CC or coupe cabriolet.
Since its first retractable roof-equipped car, Peugeot has since produced more than 650,000 cars with the clever folding roof and the concept has been adopted by various carmakers - mostly of the European variety and more recently by Lexus.
While more aptly categorised as a boulevard cruiser than a sports car, the new IS250C coupe/cabriolet is powered by the same 153kW/252Nm 2.5litre V6 engine as its sedan sibling and transmission is via a six-speed sequential-sports-shifting automatic.
Power peaks at 6400rpm and torque at 4800rpm and Lexus claims a combined fuel consumption figure of 9.3-litres/ 100km and a CO2-emissions figure of 219g/km.
The car was first seen in Australia at last year's Sydney motor show and despite early suggestions that it be would be a $100,000 car, orders immediately started flowing in.
There are three models - the $79,900 entry-level Prestige, the $84,900 Sports and the range-topping Sporty Luxury with its $99,900 price tag.
Although there's no arguing that the prestige German brands can match the IS250C in many areas and certainly performance - the pricing structure Lexus Australia has been able to set is big news.
To put that into perspective, the Prestige is around $17,000 cheaper than BMW's 325i convertible and nearly $24,000 cheaper than the Mercedes-Benz CLK 200K cabriolet.
While the less powerful Audi 1.8T A4 cabriolet (it doesn't have a folding metal roof) comes in at $77,000, $2,900 below the Lexus - if you move up a notch to A4 2.0 TFSI you'll find it will cost you nearly $12,000 more than the IS250C.
With its $69,950 price tag, Volvo's 125kW/230Nm 2.4litre C70 LE convertible maintains its crown as Australia's lowest priced prestige convertible.
Lexus Australia boss John Roca says the launch of IS 250C is a significant milestone for the luxury marque in that it marks the first body derivative of the IS line for Lexus in Australia.
"IS 250C has been re-engineered to ensure that it is one of the most enjoyable, yet durable, convertibles on the market," he explained.
Roca says the IS 250C was designed for a comfortable and enjoyable ride no matter what the road or climate combining as it does the best traits of a sedan and a convertible.
"With IS 250C we continue to forge ahead with growing our product offerings locally, while growing our brand's reach and appeal," he added.
While there's no secret - especially from the front - that the new Lexus clearly derives the essence of its styling DNA from its Lexus IS250 sedan sibling, other than the engine and things like the bonnet, the exterior mirrors and the door handles, everything else is custom built for the new coupe/cabriolet.
Basically re-engineered from the ground up, the 250C is the result of a vast amount of testing and aerodynamic work and a great deal of suspension modification and chassis bracing, means it is an extremely rigid and safe car.
Australia was part of the test program and early last year roads between Alice Springs and Darwin were used to confirm the car's overall durability, dust sealing qualities and the integrity of the in-house designed folding roof.
This 40,000km testing regime led to revisions in the climate control systems and dust sealing and it allowed Lexus engineers to test the strength of the roof-locking mechanisms on harsh outback roads.
Irrespective of whether the roof is up or down, the cabin of the IS convertible is a remarkably quiet place to be.
This has been achieved by the car's rigid body structure, revisions to the rear suspension, its super quiet V6 engine, under-body aerodynamics and the extensive use of noise deadening materials.
So well did the engineers and designers do their job that even with the roof down they have achieved a seriously impressive 0.29Cd aerodynamic reading.
As well they also tuned the car's air conditioning and audio system for top down motoring.
One of the shortcomings of other coupe convertibles is that the roof, when it is folded down, eats up heaps of boot space.
In the case of the IS250C there is an impressive 553-litres of space when the car is in coupe guise and 205-litres when the roof is down and the luggage cover is in position.
Lexus claims this is a class leading figure and that the car is the only one among its competitors that can accommodate a full size golf bag when the car is in convertible mode.
The car is a 2 + 2 vehicle and even with the seats right back for a tall driver and front seat passenger there is a surprising amount of leg room for the rear seat occupants. A clever front seat design also means that unlike most cars in this category, it's easier for rear seat passengers to get in and out of the car.
In the safety department all three models come standard with Lexus' so-called vehicle dynamic integrated management, traction control, hill start assist, ABS brakes with electronic brake-force distribution and brake assist. The Sports and Sports Luxury models also add active cruise control and a pre-collision safety system.
The brakes work extremely well and the system runs 296mm x 28mm ventilated discs with two-piston calipers at the front.
Also on the safety kit menu are head and torso side airbags, dual front airbags, driver and front passenger airbags. The entry level Prestige model rides on 17-inch alloy wheels and the Sport and Sports Luxury go one better with their 18s.
All three models have touch screen satellite navigation system and a seven-inch multi-information display, heated seats, an electro-chromatic rear vision mirror and parking sensors. For its part the navigation system is one of the most user friendly around.
While the Prestige and Sports models have an eight-speaker premium audio system, the range-topping Sports Luxury version boasts a superb 12-speaker Mark Levinson system as well as electric chromatic exterior mirrors, a smart entry key card and seat cooling.
Out on the road there is no doubting the IS250C's Lexus heritage.
You cannot fail to be impressed with the car's overall quality, its faultless fit, finish and refinement and although the 2.5-litre engine does not a sports car make, it is perfectly fine under most driving conditions.
Despite being blessed with more than its share of technology, the IS250C uses a horrible foot operated parking brake instead of an electro-mechanical unit or lever-type arrangement that sits beside the centre console. There is enough room for one.
The interiors of all three models are a classy blend of quality plastics and leather and the seats are beautifully crafted for long stints as a driver or passenger, and the cabin ergonomics really pamper the driver.
The six-speed sequential sports-shifting automatic's steering wheel-mounted paddles are perfectly designed and they work the sensible, intuitive way - the left one handles downshifts and the right does the upshifts.
While Lexus expects sales of just 25 cars a month - that's around 15 per cent of IS model sales - the new 250C's refinement and sharp pricing are sure to lure new buyers to the prestige Japanese brand.
Ian Crawford
