FIRSTDRIVE LEXUS IS250C: The new Lexus isn't flashy, fashionable or particularly fast. But prospective buyers will want it that way, writes PADDY COMYN
IT HAS been a while since this writer didn’t fit into a car companies’ motoring plans. When you sit in press conferences for new vehicles, you get a sense that the car companies’ marketing people want us all to be attractive, successful married couples in their mid-thirties (not that we actually fit into that picture either). Usually, the very people who are likely to buy a particular product are plainly ignored.
Not so Lexus, with their forthcoming IS250C. The C stands for, we suspect, coupé or convertible and while the advertising agency might draw up storyboards of stick-thin, fashionably clad models, smiling to each other like they just met an hour ago, the reality is that many of these open top cars aren’t bought by the young and the restless, but rather by the older and slightly less firm.
Lexus hasn’t ignored this and instead tell us that owners of the new car – and there are likely to be only 2,000 of them in Europe – will probably be well into their late forties and early fifties and they will be affluent.
The press conference repeated the phrase “attention to detail” like it was some sort of mantra and this is the sort of thing that a Lexus owner would appreciate. It is beyond a cliché to say that Lexus cars are reliable and their owners happy, but it is worth mentioning anyway.
The market for executive convertibles in Ireland is pretty small, but if those “racy” Audi and BMW convertibles aren’t your thing, then you might want to put to consider the new Lexus IS250C. And unlike most marketing folk, who ignore the very people who will buy their car, we should plainly ignore the people who won’t buy it.
So, the fact that it isn’t particularly interesting to drive doesn’t really matter. It doesn’t have dynamic handling, the steering is light and the car shifts weight in a kind of willowy manner. But to point this out to the would-be IS250C customer, is like telling your grandmother that you will send her an e-mail of your holiday pictures. You would be wasting your time; it is irrelevant.
What the IS250C is, though, is a really well-built, supremely comfortable, refined cabriolet that has the world’s fastest three-stage folding metal hood, which tucks away in just 20 seconds. It comes, not with a diesel engine that would make infinite sense in a European context, but rather a 208bhp 2.5-litre V6 that doesn’t, but would be considered almost average in the IS250C’s home ground, the US.
Although this car is based on the IS saloon model, only the bonnet, headlamps, door handles and mirrors are shared with the saloon. It is a good looking car, perhaps a little backside heavy because of the roof mechanism and also perhaps a little under-wheeled too.
Inside, the cabin is, as you might expect, very well put-together and access to the rear seats is via a one-touch walk-in switch, mounted on the front seat, and space for taller rear seat passengers isn’t bad.
The climate control has been tweaked to work to its best, with the roof up or down and unlike many of its German rivals, you won’t have to tick a lot of boxes to get a host of luxury equipment. Cruise control, Bluetooth handsfree, leather upholstery and 18” alloy wheels all come as standard. There are some options available. One is a multimedia and navigation system for €6,035, a premium pack that includes xenon lights, ventilated seats and wood inlays, amongst others, will cost you €4,800 and the pre-crash safety system and adaptive cruise control will cost €4,795.
The IS250C is supremely refined and very quiet, roof up or down. There can be no complaints about the 2.5-litre V6, which is quiet, but with a satisfying low rumble and it employs a 6-speed automatic transmission that does its job perfectly. On a hot day driving around Nice with the roof down, we felt as sheltered as if it was up. But 27 degree heat isn’t the most challenging circumstances to drive a convertible. Ireland, in its more usual summer climate, should sort that out.
If you do push the IS250C through corners, it reluctantly obeys and a whole host of driver’s aids get busy trying to calculate why you have suddenly gone mad. Lexus would not expect the drivers of this car to drive like a madman, but Japanese politeness won’t allow the driver to end up in a hedge either.
Since Lexus produced the brilliant IS-F model, it doesn’t have to prove it can do razor sharp handling, so we also know that in the case of this car it simply didn’t want to. And that’s fine.
So, who will want this car? Well, if you are the buyer who wants the convertible not to show off, but more to appreciate the sunshine in a relaxed, refined manner then this is your car. It does what the Volvo C70 was supposed to do, just a whole lot better and also now tops the Saab 9-3 at the squishy end of the luxury convertible market.
What it lacks of course, is a diesel engine, which Lexus is saying won’t happen in this generation of the car. We can only presume that we will see a hybrid at some stage, but until then, the only offering is the 2.5-litre V6 petrol for €61,400.
Audi’s A5 cabriolet starts at €55,450 with a much more sensible 2.0-litre diesel engine, while BMW’s 320d convertible starts at €59,300.
In this context, the Lexus isn’t bad value. Expect to see a Mercedes Benz E-Class convertible unveiled before the end of the year, which will also appeal at this level. The new car goes on sale at the end of this month.
Factfile: Lexus IS250C
Engine: 2,500cc V6 petrol engine offering 208bhp and 252Nm torque
Top speed: 210km/h; 0-100km/h: 9 seconds
Fuel consumption: Combined 9.3 l/100km
CO2 emissions: 219g/km
Tax: Band E; €1,050 p/a
Price: €61,400
Optional extras: Metallic paint €1,005; multimedia and satnav €6,035; premium pack €4,800; pre-crash safety system adaptive cruise control €4,795