• Beautifully built, interestingly styled
• Finally has Apple CarPlay and Android Auto
• Plenty of equipment included as standard

As befits a Lexus, the LC Convertible has an interior that’s distinctive in style. The overarching factor is how beautifully it seems to have been built – another Lexus hallmark. There are no rattles or creaks in here, no matter where you search for them, and material quality is high even in places you’re not likely to touch. Almost every surface is either leather or dense, expensive-feeling plastic.

There’s a high-set centre console containing a tiered central stack – this holds climate controls and a large single air vent for the driver, while lower down there are nicely weighted controls for the stereo and a touchpad for the infotainment system.

Further up there’s a vertically-orientated panel that features a textured finish to keep things interesting, as well as a digital gauge cluster. Like all high-end Lexuses, this actually features a moving, physical bezel – depending on what you’re doing, it’ll slide over to make more room for sub-menus and controls. It’s daft, but high-end features intended to delight often are. The cluster itself is easy to read, though looking a little low-res next to the ultra-sharp panels fitted to cars such as the Audi R8.

There are no such complaints for the central infotainment screen, which is ten inches across and looks bright, colourful and sharp. Lexus’ own interface offers everything from sat-nav to trip data, but it’s confusing and difficult to navigate the menus – especially since it’s not a touchscreen.

Instead, Lexus demands you use the touch-sensitive pad by the gearlever to move a virtual pointer, like you would on a computer. It’s slicker than past efforts, but still torturous to use when inputting an address, for example.

Luckily, Lexus has finally bowed to public pressure and installed Apple CarPlay and Android Auto in the LC Convertible. These allow you to replace Lexus’ interface with one pulled directly from your smartphone. We found Android Auto worked well, and while you still needed to navigate with the pointer it was much easier simply to use Google’s voice control to accomplish most tasks.

There are two USB ports for charging and connecting phones, and they’re situated underneath the central armrest. Pull this armrest back a little and you’ll be able to flip up the palmrest ahead of it – underneath, cleverly concealed, you’ll find the controls for the roof.

Other storage space is somewhat limited, with a shallow central bin and thin glovebox. The door bins are adequately sized, though, and there’s a big cupholder conveniently situated ahead of the gearlever. Passengers also get a grab handle on the centre console, to keep them steady when the driver’s having a little fun.

Comfort

• Low-speed ride a little choppy
• Irons out every bump when moving faster, though
• Seats are excellent

With large wheels and the stiff suspension of the Sport+ model we tested, the Lexus LC Convertible can be a little unforgiving when driving around town. It’s far from unbearable, but those hoping for a cushioned ride around the city should probably look towards something like a Mercedes-Benz E-Class Convertible.

When moving faster, that becomes much less of an issue – at the national speed limit, the LC floats over bumps almost as if they weren’t there. Absorption of road imperfections is aided by the excellent and supportive seats.