2010 Lexus IS Convertible: First Drive
The 2010 Lexus IS C convertible is rolling into dealerships now, and we hope to bring you a full review as early as July, but I got to tool around in a few pre-production models, so here are some early impressions of the brand's first entry-level convertible, which is based on its IS compact sedan.
Car fans who saw the film "Three Kings," set in the first Gulf War, may remember yelling at the screen as soldiers played by Mark Wahlberg and Ice Cube argued over whether Lexus had a convertible. (It didn’t in 1991, when the film was set, and it still didn't when the movie came out in 1999.) It was 10 years after that war — and, coincidentally, just months before the U.S. stormed the Gulf again — that Lexus introduced its SC 430 convertible as an early 2002 model. Replacing the tragically underrated SC coupe, the convertible's claim to fame was being one of the first retractable hardtops of the modern era — that and being priced above $60,000. Like the second Gulf war, the original SC 430 and its high price remain today ($66,805 for the 2009 model), but Lexus says a redesign is finally in the works. In the meantime, the retractable-hardtop IS 250C with a 2.5-liter V-6 opens its doors for a palatable $38,490. An IS 350C adds a 3.5-liter V-6 and stickers at $43,940.



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