Although I had driven the Lexus IS 250 Sedan model, and despite the fact, I am a big admirer of its luxury features, and safe handling, which are standards in all Lexus models, when I happened to set my eyes on the Lexus IS 250 Hard top convertible, I was left short of words, the car truly is an inspiration. It is Japanese Luxury Automotive Engineering at its best. Making its graceful debut at the Paris Mondial de l'Automobile in 2008, it is a result of four years of work on the previous body style transformed into a roadster.

To be on the streets by 2010, it is the first entry level convertible offered from Lexus. With retail tag of approximately 34,550 plus, it is claimed to have the fastest metal folding roof in the world. Based on the IS Sedan, it is a transformation of a solid roof, four door sedan, into a retractable roof, two door coupe. Under the hood is a 204bhp (208 DIN hp) 2.5 litre V6 engine, and it will be available in both six speed automatic, and manual transmissions.

The exterior design is based on the L-finesse design features of the IS saloon. Elegant proportions, sweeping lines, and contrasting convex and concave surfacing are all part of it. Despite this, only a few body elements are common, which are the headlamps, bonnet, door handles, and door mirrors. All the rest have been redesigned to align with the three-piece metal roof. All around the body, there are visible aerodynamic features, which allow for better driving with the roof down. The rear lights have new combination light clusters with distinguishing linear LED illumination, and a high-mounted LED stop light built into the upper lip of the boot lid.

The inner design is also based on the grand, splendid, and inventive internal designs of the Saloon. The car offers a good wide seating space for four persons including driver. Moreover, it has open-handed space for baggage. No other car in the market has enough space to place golf bag, even when the roof is down. The car contains 12 speaker, 365W Surround System with automated equaliser tuning that provides excellent sound quality in any condition; with roof up, or down. Another phenomenal feature is the built-in LCD touch screen audio player. This player is connected to various ports together with dedicated melody records of 10GB. It is a part of high-tech Navigation System, which has a devoted memory of 40GB, and holds back drawing for entire Europe with voice detection functionality.

The three-piece collapsing roof arrangement is made entirely of thin aluminium, and has the quickest opening, and closing period for any three-part roof at 20 seconds. It is particularly soft, and effortlessly placed, in use by the push of a single button.

The ride is very soft with the additional feature of standard 17-inch wheels. In accumulation with a, multi link suspensions, a strong chassis, and Electronic Power Steering offer for enhanced handling, and controlling.

The Safety concerns have been well taken care of by a supreme five star rating in both Euro, and US NCAP crash testing. With all protection standards incorporated in the IS Sedan models, it also has the foremost of its kind twin-chamber passenger front airbag.

Overall, the new 2010 Lexus IS 250C is found to be a sophisticated touring convertible for a level-headed price. Its interior enhancement, comforting ride, and good quality fuel economy are undoubtedly added bonuses. In addition, with UK being the leading marketplace for convertibles (despite the slight sunshine we have), you will be seeing a lot of them around the corner.

Detailed information about the Lexus IS 250c is availiable. Why not book a test drive now!

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