2010 Lexus IS250C Convertible

Lexus is throwing another dart at the blue-and-white bull’s-eye that is BMW. Toyota’s luxury division knows that 30 percent of BMW 3-series sales are coupes and convertibles, and it wants a seat at that buffet. Introduced nine years ago and well into its second generation—Toyota doesn’t act without exhaustive study, apparently—the entry-luxury IS sedan finally gets an additional body style: a hardtop convertible.

In dealerships by the end of May, the two-door, four-seat IS250C and IS350C feature an aluminum hardtop roof that relies on 15 electric motors and 37 sensors to crack into two panels and seamlessly belly-flop into the waiting trunk. The process takes 20 seconds.

In most other respects, the IS convertible varies not a nanometer from the established Lexus path. Although every exterior panel and molding on the IS C is unique to the convertible (except the hood), it looks to untrained eyes like a sedan that has met a hacksaw. The engine choices—a 204-hp, 2.5-liter V-6 and a 306-hp, 3.5-liter V-6—are identical to the IS sedan’s. So are the transmission choices, which mean a six-speed manual is available in the IS250C and a six-speed automatic in both models. As expected, the IS convertible features Lexus fit and finish and, somewhat less appealingly, Lexus dynamics.

More on that shortly. Lexus customers tend to be more about the “what’s it come with?” than the “what’ll she do?”

Luxurious to Start

The IS C is leather-equipped at base with a full palette of exterior and interior hues, wood or aluminized plastic trim, an optional two-tone blue-and-beige interior scheme (we’ve dubbed it the “Nautica edition”), and an optional wind blocker. There’s also a line of F-Sport performance accessories including forged 19-inch wheels, a cold-air intake, a cat-back exhaust, a short-throw shifter for the six-speed manual, lowered springs and shocks, and a “track day” brake package that uses the six-piston calipers and cross-drilled rotors from the Lexus IS F.

Convertibles are always heavier than their sedan counterparts, owing to the need to shore up a roofless body with gussets and braces. The IS C is not exempt, swelling by some 300 pounds to about 3850 for the base IS250C. Several bolt-on trusses and V-braces underneath, as well as thicker rocker-panel box sections, two crossbeams under the rear seat, and a box-section beam under the windshield posts, are installed to stiffen the body both for driving and crashing.

We didn’t test its crashing ability, but the IS C’s body is fairly stiff for relaxed driving on good pavement, although even then we could feel some shudder through the steering column. Spring and shock tuning were changed from the sedan’s, as were some suspension bushings, to transmit less impact energy through the body. That’s a technical way of saying the ride is a little mushier so the body will flex less.

You feel it in corners where this weighty ship rolls and porpoises a bit more than the sedan. Acceleration in the IS350C feels manly, although the open-air exhaust note is just a humdrum hum. Figure about six seconds to 60 mph for the 350C, adding perhaps two seconds, depending on the transmission, for the 250C. The electric-assist steering and brakes are unchanged from those of the sedan, which we’ve always considered an agile traffic hacker if a less enthusiastic apex duster than an Infiniti or BMW machine.

A Crowded Segment

Speaking of which, the IS convertible debuts at almost the same troubled moment for the auto industry as does the four-seat Infiniti G37 convertible, which is also targeted at BMW’s bread-buttering 3-series. Comparisons are inevitable. Let’s start with price, Lexus’s main hook. The IS250C starts at $39,365, about $6000 less than a BMW 328i convertible and about $5000 less than where Infiniti will likely price the G37 convertible.

Infiniti offers just the one muscled-up 3.7-liter V-6 engine, whereas Lexus and BMW give you choices. Although Infiniti decided to preserve the G37’s shapely bod at the cost of trunk space, Lexus follows BMW’s pragmatic lead by stretching the rear outward and upward to create a usable trunk with the top dropped. The IS C is 2.2 inches longer than the IS sedan, and the rear decklid hunchbacks upward, leaving room for golf bags and flat luggage. It’ll even hold one of the full-size tires with the top down if you happen to get a flat. It’s not as pretty as the Infiniti’s, but the Lexus’s rear seats offer decent leg space if the forward passengers are considerate and slide up.

As with the 416-hp IS F, Lexus is chasing BMW with the IS C but doesn’t want to become BMW. That will be a relief to the Japanese brand’s many satisfied and loyal customers, some of whom might now take this opportunity to improve their tans.
Gallery: 2010 Lexus IS250C Convertible