New Car Road Test - Lexus SC430
Above: Lexus SC430
Let’s get it out in the open right from the outset. The Lexus SC430 isn’t trying to be a Mercedes-Benz SL. This is just as well as it falls quite a long way short of the SL’s dynamic excellence. Despite a number of incremental revisions, the SC430 is never going to make a convincing sporting drop top. What it does offer is a beautifully finished and very enjoyable Boulevardier. If, for a moment, you shelve all concepts of cornering as if your trousers are on fire, the SC430 makes a very agreeable partner.
A soft-riding convertible, laden with equipment, fitted with a magnificent 4.3-litre V8 engine. Ten-way adjustable leather seats proportioned for the fuller figure. Dual cupholders. The Lexus SC430 could only have been designed for one market. It seems that Uncle Sam has had a key role in the design of the first open-topped Lexus - which makes sound financial sense. This is the biggest market, so why not tailor the car to fit?
Unfortunately, Lexus went a little too far in this respect and one of the criticisms of the original version of this car was that it was a little too soft for European tastes. In early 2003, the suspension was re-tuned, incorporating different springs and dampers. As a result, the car responded more crisply, yet ride quality and refinement were retained. A little later on,
Lexus fitted the SC430 with monotube shock absorbers designed to provide better damping right across the board, helping to promote keener steering responses and a flatter, more comfortable ride. Giving us the same suspension settings as those cars destined for the US was never going to endear the SC430 to those of us who had to drive it along a typically pockmarked twisty British B-road. It’s easy to see the financial reasons for initially doing so, since for every SC430 earmarked for the UK, 48 are heading to the dockside at Long Beach.
The SC430 we look at here is the latest post-facelift model priced at £54,735 but owners of older iterations of the car shouldn’t mark themselves down as has-beens just yet. Apparently, there are modifications to the grille, front fog lamps and bumpers but they aren’t easy to spot. Only the revised 18" alloy wheels provide a reliable method of picking the current model out in a car park full of older ones. There’s also a 6-speed gearbox and adaptive front lighting, while the rear lights have been switched to LEDs but again, it’s minor stuff.
"You can now drive hood down through town centres, holding a conversation with yourself and people won’t think you’re mad based on your choice of car"
The top is one of those irritatingly clever electronic origami numbers that no matter how many times you watch it operate, you can never quite work out how it manages to coordinate itself. It takes 25 seconds in all to do its party piece. Lexus haven’t stopped with the roof either. The stereo system and satellite navigation also have covered panels that electronically whirr into place. Perhaps the SC430’s kerb weight of 1740kg is partly explained by the fact that it hauls around more electric motors than you’d find at a Steven Hawking lookalike convention.
The engine, as we’d expect from Lexus, is electric motor quiet. It’s the same 4.3-litre engine we find in the GS and LS430 models, a V8 that’s good for 281bhp and that will reach 60mph in just over six seconds. Although hardly slow, you won’t feel the need to lean hard on the Lexus, the car preferring to make more serene progress. Handling is aided by every electronic system known to Japanese man although if you do manage to disable much of it, the underlying competence of the SC430’s chassis seems to make most of it seem stRangely superfluous. Too much safety being a good thing, ours is not to wonder why…
Go, stop and steer capabilities are all largely A-profile, the only exception being the ride quality that can suffer over pockmarked surfaces or tram tracks. Given the tranquility base that is the LS430’s ride, this is something of a surprise. Rabbit punches to the kidneys when riding over expansion joints are an unwelcome novelty in a Lexus. Despite this small caveat, the SC430 is still mightily impressive. Take the stereo system. Mark Levinson Audio, a company based in Middletown, Connecticut, has gained a serious reputation amongst hi-fi buffs over the last few years. Naturally the opinions of bearded folk whose idea of nirvana is a double diffusion MOS-FET in the transept stage may not normally concern us, but we think they may be onto something here. Nine speakers are linked to that Sizewell-B amplifier driven by an AM/FM radio cassette and 6-disc CD changer to truly devastating effect.
The air conditioning system is also self-indulgently intelligent. It can adjust the airflow and temperature automatically, knowing when the hood is up or down, and adjusts According to speed and outside temperature. On cold days when you’re running with the hood down, it realises that pools of cold air will form around the footwells and the lap and will direct a warm blast towards these areas. It even understands wind chill factor and takes this into account.
Interior quality is, as would be expected from Lexus, impeccable. A great deal of thought has obviously been paid to ergonomics and design, with the only noticeable quibble being the way that when trying to adjust the stereo, it’s quite easy to hit the climate control buttons. Aside from this, the story’s all good. When pondering the wood cappings that are featured on the fascia, Lexus turned to the expertise of the Yamaha musical instrument factory to learn how to mould, bend and coax wood into all sorts of complex shapes. It obviously takes a great deal of time, money and expertise to make wood look like plastic, but Lexus have pulled it off.
Despite the fact that it’s still no paragon of dynamic brilliance, it’s hard not to like the Lexus SC430. It’s quick, comfortable, clever and extremely user-friendly. Accept its shortcomings in advance and you should never be disappointed.
Facts At A Glance
CAR: Lexus SC430
PRICE: £54,735 - on the road
INSURANCE GROUP: 19
CO2 EMISSIONS: 287g/km
PERFORMANCE: 0-60mph 6.2s / Max Speed 155mph
FUEL CONSUMPTION: (combined) 23.5 mpg
STANDARD SAFETY FEATURES: twin airbags, side-airbags, ABS, VSC
WILL IT FIT IN YOUR GARAGE? (length/width/height) 178/72/53"
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