Lexus IS C (09 on) - Review

With the roof up, the IS 250C is as good as standard coupe or saloon. There's minimal wind noise - helped by a special windscreen and the smooth gear changes make it a relaxing car to cruise along in. But when the Lexus is pushed harder it loses some of that serenity, with a noisy engine at high revs and annoyingly sluggish gear shifts. Drop the roof down and it's sophisticated - until you get to higher speeds. Without the optional rear wind deflector fitted (a feature which makes the back seats unusable) there's quite a lot of buffeting and conversations with your passenger can be a noisy affair. On the plus side, the climate control system has been adjusted for top-down driving and the airflow automatically adjusts accordingly.

The IS 250C has one of the quickest metal-folding roofs around with just 21 seconds need to drop it down and the same time to fold it back up. It's impressive compared to the BMW 3-Series which takes around 30 seconds and although nine seconds may not seem very much, it's important if you're caught in a sudden downpour. Retracting the roof is straightforward and there are no catches or levers to release - just one button to push. When the roof is opened or closed, the bootlid moves outwards but cleverly, sensors in the rear bumper will prevent it operating if it's too close to an object such as a wall or another car. The rear seats offer useable space, with decent head room when the roof is up, however the thick rear pillars make it feel quite gloomy. Getting in and out is easy though thanks to front seats that electrically slide forward with one press of a button. Meanwhile, boot space is an impressive 583 litres - 50% more than the IS saloon, but this is cut to 235 litres with the roof down the remaining space is shallow too.

As with all Lexus models, the cabin of the IS 250C is incredibly well built with high grade materials and precise controls. It's almost identical in appearance to the standard IS saloon which means it's pretty dull to look at, but at least the white backlit instrument dials have an upmarket look and seats provide excellent comfort and a good driving position too. However, the central console is button heavy and seems overcomplicated, but fortunately the touch screen audio system (and sat nav if fitted) is easy to get to grips with. Visibility is generally good, although with the roof up, there are large rear pillars which make reverse parking tricky.