Lexus IS250C Car Review

FamilyCar Rating Styling Performance Value EcoFriendly Safety Overall Rating Model Reviewed Lexus IS250C Auto Petrol $99,900*

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Why You’d Buy It

Looks great, extremely quiet, smooth drive, beautiful quality throughout

Why You Wouldn’t

Lacks sports car performance

Review

The IS250C was launched in Australia in mid 2009. It’s a very stylish looking car with quality finishes throughout. It’s got an impressive list of features, but for me it’s the really clever items throughout that stand this car apart from its competitors. The only downside to the car is that it lacks a sporty driving dynamic to match the great exterior.

There are 3 models to choose from Prestige, Luxury and Sports Luxury with a starting RRP of $79,900*. They all share the 2.5 litre V6 petrol engine, it’s just the features that differ. One of the great things about the Lexus range is that it is really simple to choose a model that suits you. Other marques start with the basics and you need to keep adding. This can make it really confusing. We drove the top of the line sports luxury. Luxury yes. Sports no.

Driver’s View

The drive is smooth, quiet, and easy with a feeling of luxury with everything you do and touch. You can see well out of the front and side but it is a bit more difficult out of the rear due to the head rests. This is where the rear parking sensors and camera come into play and add to the ease of driving. The car takes the corners with ease, precision and a smoothness that feels like you’re gliding on a luxuries magic carpet. But it lacks an enthusiastic sports car feel. When it comes to the goodies it is definitely not lacking. Both the driver and passenger seats are fully electric and have 3 memory settings. Getting into the rear seat is easy as the front seats move forward with the touch of a button. I loved the heated seats, the controls located on the steering wheel, the great sound system and the easy to use touch screen sat nav system.

Safety

Lexus take safety pretty seriously. There’s a full array of airbags including driver and front passenger front, knee and side air bags. The side airbags are a new, larger design which also protect the head. Lexus have something called Vehicle Dynamics Integrated Management (VDIM). This system integrates the engine output, braking, traction control and Vehicle Stability Control (VSC) as well as the steering. So in emergency situations, VDIM determines the most effective combination of preventative measures to help you maintain control of the vehicle.

When you put the car into reverse, the Rear View Camera is activated and a clear picture of the area behind the rear bumper can be seen on the display. In addition, Rear Guide Assist provides reference lines to help you judge distances. To give you greater assistance when reversing, the side mirrors dip so that you can see the kerb, and hopefully never hit it!

The Luxury Sport models also has active cruise control (ACC) and a Pre Collision Safety System (PCS). Both of theses help you to avoid hitting the car in front of you.

Open Up

The IS250C has a 3 piece metal folding roof that transforms the coupe to a convertible in just 20 seconds. It’s a novelty to watch as the roof opens and closes and gets plenty of looks in the shopping centre car park. My kids loved it too!

The roof folds neatly into a section in the boot. According to Lexus you can fit in a full sized golf bag with the roof open. It didn’t try this but opted for the more mundane everyday activity and squeezed in about 5 grocery bags.

Family Friendly

The car we test drove had beautiful white soft leather throughout. Needless to say every time my kids jumped in I panicked that their shoes would touch the seats and ruin it forever. This car is not suitable for those with a young family for a couple of reasons. It’s tricky to strap the kids in properly due to the 2 doors, the boot space is not very generous with the roof down and vegemite sandwiches and maccas wrappers don’t compliment the divine interior. However, if you’ve got teenagers or kids that can drive themselves then this car is a real treat for mum or dad.

EcoFriendly

It’s a little thirsty for a smallish car consuming 9.3 litres per 100 kms combined cycle. This is not as good as the Audi A5 cabriolet petrol, but it is a small smaller 2 litre engine. It has a greenhouse rating of 6 stars out of 10 and carbon emissions of 219 grams per km. It’s Green Vehicle Rating is 4 out of 5 stars.

Features We Love

• Electric folding roof

• Touch screen sat nav system

• Bluetooth phone connect

• Smart key system-no more fiddling in your bag for the keys!

Overall View

The IS250C is a beautiful car to drive oozing luxury and style. It looks great and turns plenty of heads. It just wouldn’t turn you on if you wanted the zoom to match.

Test Drive Tips

1. There is a Smart Key system where the car will automatically unlock when it senses that the keys are nearby.

If you are considering this car you may also like to test drive the Audi A5 cabriolet, BMW 335i convertible and Volvo C70 convertible.

Features of Model Reviewed

* Excludes on road costs

# All new vehicles sold in Australia (up to 3.5 tonnes gross vehicle mass) are tested to determine the level of fuel consumption and CO2 emissions (Greenhouse rating), which are displayed on the fuel consumption label attached to the windscreen of the car. The Green Vehicle Guide rating combines the Greenhouse Rating and Air Pollution Rating and awards a star. 5 stars is the best rating.  For more information, click here.
Information is correct at the time of the review. Please check with your local Lexus dealer for the most recent information.

Review Date: December 2009

Reviewed By: Melissa Pye