By Mark Elias
Monday, May 18th, 2009 @ 2:56 pm

Watching Bravo TV’s Real Wives of Orange County is like slowing to gawk at a car accident on the side of the road. You really know you should continue onward, but you just can’t help it. It should mean something, then, that in Newport Beach, where Bentley s are economy cars, residents slowed to take long, lingering glances at Lexus ’ newest two-door, the IS 350C.

Based on the four-door IS sedan, itself based on a shortened version of the GS sedan, the IS C is Lexus ’s answer to the four-seat hardtop convertible salvo unleashed by BMW ’s 3-Series and Infiniti ’s new G37 convertibles.

Varying in degrees of complexity, they all accomplish the same thing in under 30 seconds. That is, exposing you to the elements, the UV-rays and the occasional errant gull. The new IS manages to do the job in 20 seconds with the touch of a single button located to the left of the steering wheel on the lower dashboard. That single button manages to run 15 electric motors and sensors in 37 different locations, which in turn speeds up the whole process. It turns out that’s just the thing for those topless stoplight maneuvers.

To the engine room
The IS C is available with the Lexus’ 2.5-liter direct-injection V6 with 204 horsepower and 185 lb-ft. of torque, or the 3.5-liter direct-injected V6 with 306 horsepower and 277 lb-ft. of torque. The smaller engine is available with a six-speed manual or six-speed automatic transmission, while the 3.5-liter is only available with the automatic cogbox with steering wheel paddle shifters. For our test purposes, we concentrated on the larger, 3.5-liter-equipped IS 350C.

Like the sedan, power from the 3.5-liter V6 proved seamless and available on demand, especially if your foot had the itch to flex itself against the throttle. Lexus timed the car from 0-60 and got 5.8 seconds, which is not too shabby for a vehicle tipping the scales at 3,880 pounds. Much of the added weight (about 500 lbs over the sedan) can be attributed to braces and additional steel added to the platform to help maintain rigidity and low NVH levels. Reinforcements were added under the A-pillar area and just behind the leg wells of the rear passenger seats. As a result, NVH levels between the sedan and convertible are nearly identical.

What a body
Like many beautiful bodies in the Orange County area, most of the parts are all new, with the exception of the hood – a carry-over from the sedan. The arrowhead identity is still there, leading to a higher beltline at the rear. Doors are longer to accommodate rear passengers ingress and egress and the high point of the rear (when the roof is stowed) is the double-hinged trunk lid, which leads to unique taillight assemblies at the back of the car. Forward of the cabin, the face of the IS C is all new, evolved from the pre-existing sedan. A little bit more angular, it shows more athleticism. We had issues with the c-pillar area, thinking that we had seen that look on a Volvo C70 , but Lexus officials pointed out there are only so many ways a three-piece hardtop can be manufactured.

If you already own an IS sedan, you will feel perfectly at home in the cabin of the convertible. Starting with a dashboard totally similar in scope, everything is where you’d remember it. The familiar leather-wrapped steering wheel is equipped with the aforementioned paddle shifters, which do help make the automatic much more entertaining than using the shift lever in sport mode. The gauge binnacle features the speedo with fuel gauge, while the tachometer holds space for the temperature gauge; the innovative chronograph-style instruments from the first-generation IS have clearly bitten the dust. A small display screen between the two shows the usual array of warning lights and information.

Supportive driver and passenger front seats hold you in place, and offer both heated and cooling options. Though not as bolstered as the buckets in the IS-F, they incorporate a new curved frame, which allows for more rear legroom. They are good for a night on the town, rather than an extensive cross-country trek.

The climate control system has been made more efficient to cope with top-down motoring and the same can be said about the eight-speaker audio system with navigation, which goes a huge step further when you check the option box for Harmon International’s Mark Levinson branded system with 12 speakers and surround sound. iPhones and iTouch units as well as other phone devices are able to link with the system via Bluetooth. An available hardwire connection for other MP3 devices is also available. More importantly, the system is set up to accept voice commands, in a manner not unlike Microsoft’s SYNC system.

Road manners
The 3.5-liter-equipped IS C proved a very capable performer up and down the Pacific Coast Highway and through the hills of Laguna Nigel, Dana Point and Newport Beach. With an induction-enhanced growl from the V6, the IS C sounded as though it was ready to rumble. And it was. About 2.5-inches longer than the sedan, the convertible seemed a touch better sorted out in the handling department despite the lack of a roof. The car displayed a great ability to slice and dice through lunch hour traffic in Laguna Beach, thanks to the firm, but forgiving suspension of the double wishbones in front and the multi-link kit in the rear. On roads with considerable slab joints, the ride was not harsh. Which was surprising to us considering the car was riding on 18-inch alloys with low profile Bridgestone Potenzas.

As one would expect, the IS C lives in alphabet city. Standard on the ‘vert is ABS, traction control (TRAC), stability control (VSC), electronic brakeforce distribution (EBD), brake assist (BA) and hill-start assist control (HAC). The latter operates by a quick jab to the brake pedal, which locks the brakes for five seconds, which is considered enough time to grab the gas and go.

Lexus demonstrated, by way of an F-Series equipped IS 350C (see black car in photos), a “heated” version of the IS featuring improved springs and shocks, high performance cat-back exhaust system, cold air intake, beefier brake calipers, interior trim and carbon fiber cladding under the hood. In addition to the expected increase in aural pleasure (yes!) the car took on a ride characteristic similar to the big-brother IS-F.

Speaking of the IS-F, Lexus officials were tight-lipped when asked about a convertible variant of the IS-F. But they did go on to say that the IS C is based on the larger, V8-friendly platform of the GS sedan. To us, it seems to infer…oh well, you get our drift.

Leftlane’s bottom line
The latest in the line of convertibles (to date, only two) from Lexus, the IS C is a logical choice for those sun-worshippers who appreciate Lexus’ build quality and legendary customer experience. If the Lexus IS C has an obvious shortcoming, it’s in its cargo capability. Able to tote two golf bags and a small duffel with the top up, that space shrinks to just 2.36 cubic feet with the top down. Lexus claims that a golf bag can squeeze in there, but you’d better make sure it’s not a Big Bertha.

2010 Lexus IS 350 C base price, $43,940.

Words and photos by Mark Elias.

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