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. Though 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 hack saw. The engine choices—a 204-hp, 2.5-liter V-6 and 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.
Keep Reading: 2010 Lexus IS Convertible / IS250C / IS350C - First Drive Review
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