HOT CROSS FUN (some text hidden) --NONE--

BY ANDY ENRIGHT

Introductionword count: 118

Lexus were among the first manufacturers to pick up on a change in buyer behaviour that had utterly escaped many rivals. As the first generation that had grown up living exclusively with hatchbacks matured, they looked for an executive level car with five doors and slick styling. They weren't too hung up on practicality, instead preferring something that looked the part and which offered sparkling road manners. The Lexus SportCross followed hot on the heel of Alfa's Sportwagon in converting these buyers and the sports estate market soon boasted a younger average age than equivalent saloons. If a used executive saloon is still a bit 'key account manager' for your liking, the SportCross makes a very tempting alternative.

Modelsword count: 8

Models Covered: (5 dr estate 2.0, 3.0-litre petrol])

Historyword count: 119

The Lexus IS SportCross had a rather unlikely start in life. The saloon version was launched as the Toyota Altezza in Japan and introduced to this country in 2.0-litre Lexus IS200 form in June 1999. The model was a steady seller but yearned for more power, this shortcoming being solved in Summer 2001 when the 211bhp IS300 model was launched in saloon guise. That's when the SportScross estate bodystyle featured here first made its appearance but since you could only have it with the expensive IS300 powerplant, take-up was rather muted to say the least. SportCross estates only began to shift in anything like sensible numbers when a more affordable IS200 version was added rather belatedly in August 2002.

What You Getword count: 169

Of course, we've seen this sort of estate before in the form of the Alfa Sportwagon and the BMW 3-Series Touring. What's interesting is that although many people accuse Lexus of slavishly aping the appeal of the 3 Series with the IS range, the latest 3-Series Touring seems to be moving away from the 'lifestyle' estate sector and into a more practical role. It seems there could be a sleek, premium-quality sized hole in the market opening up, one which the SportCross at first appears amply qualified to fill. We've known for some time that Lexus have cracked the art of making automatic gearboxes that can slur shifts more smoothly than David Blaine can palm a queen of clubs into his drawers, but the IS300 SportCross illustrates their expertise superbly. The five-speed automatic transmission is a beauty, and it comes complete with E-shift steering wheel controls when, not if, you feel like turning the wick up a few notches. The IS200 is more commonly offered with a manual transmission.

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