I love this car. Ever since my father purchased it late last year I jump at every chance I can get to take this beauty on the road. With its wide, squat chassis and road-gripping 18" wheels, this beast evokes in my mind an image of a shark effortlessly flowing through the tide of traffic. And that's pretty much what it does.

Hard on the Outside
Physically, the SC430 is definitely curvy and quite stylish. As usual when it comes to appearance, some people love it, others hate it. But I've run across more people who like it than not. Personally I love every inch of it. From the large, flush front headlights to the way the rear seems to flare slightly outwards when sitting in the driver's seat and looking out the side mirror. The entire vehicle exudes an understated class that still turns heads a year after its initial release. With its 53.1" height and 5.6" ground clearance, stepping into this thing definitely requires a bit more maneuvering on my part (I'm 6'3") than with the RX300 that I usually drive. I also wonder how my father manages to get in and out of it with his bad back and all. ;-) Once inside, the cockpit is definitely a lot less roomy but I do get more leg room though since nobody sits in the back seats and you can shift the seat all the way back.

The SC is actually the same width as the RX300 but it's a few inches shorter. It does have a longer front section though which makes me paranoid sometimes since I don't drive it enough to be used to it and I'm always afraid that I'll smack the nose into something when parking.

The 18" run-flat tires look great on this car and apparently the tires do work as advertised. My father drove back all the way from Connecticut (we live in Jersey) with one bum tire once without a problem. The only little perk I miss on this car is the automatic folding side mirrors that Lexus has on their sedans like the LS430. It's not a big deal but you figure with all the other options that come standard with this thing that they wouldn't skimp out on this.

Soft on the Inside
The interior of the SC is simply fantastic. Nappa Leather and slick wood paneling all around. The leather comes in 3 colors: Ecru (light, bone white), Saddle (dark brown), and Black. The wood paneling is lighter (bird's-eye maple) to match the Ecru leather but the same dark brown color (burled walnut) for Saddle and Black. The rule of thumb seems to be that if your external car color is dark, then the interior choices will be restricted to Ecru and maybe Saddle. If your external color is light, then interior will be Black or Saddle. My father chose the Egyptian Sand Pearl external color which is kind of a sparkly light brown color along with the Saddle interior. Not exactly my preference but then I wasn't the one buying the car. =) If it was up to me I think the Silver Metallic exterior with the Black interior would be the only way to go. That Black interior is stunning beyond words. But Saddle isn't half bad either.

The steering wheel is a perfect blend of lacquered wood (upper and lower sections) and leather (middle and center sections). The wood is wonderfully cool to the touch and there are two bulges at the 10 and 2 positions that are perfect to latch onto. The two horizontal leather spokes are the perfect width for me to fit between my thumb and pointing finger too so that's another of my favorite hand positions when driving. Located on the lower left side of the steering wheel center are 2 sets of buttons. The top set of 3 flat buttons lets you flip through your radio presets and bands or function. You have 2 FM bands and 1 AM band with I think around 6 presets. The bottom set of 2 smaller push buttons controls the radio volume. Then you have your cruise controls sticking out of the lower right hand side of the driving column but since I never use cruise control I can't say much about 'em. Light control and the turn signal indicator are located to the left of the driving column and wiper control is located to the right and both work just like they do in any Lexus automobile.

Driver console is relatively simple, consisting of 3 tubular structures with the old-fashioned needle indicators. No new-fangled digital readouts and the like. Except for the mileage indicator. Your speed indicator is dead center with the mileage readout below it, engine temperature and fuel gauge to the right, and tachometer to the left. Two small buttons located below the left tube allows you to flip through your mileage indicator; besides showing you your total miles it has 2 separate readouts that you can reset using the other button. I usually set one to show miles between refuelings and the other one I use to see how many miles I've driven that day.

The middle console stretches out from the top of the dash to the armrest between the driver and the front passenger seats. From top to bottom you have the GPS, climate controls, audio controls, ashtray, transmission control and cup holders, and 2 levels of compartments. The GPS and audio controls are actually recessed into the console and can be hidden from view behind wood panels that open and close smoothly at the touch of a button. Very, _very_ high class and helps conceal the fact that this car has a hell of a lot more gizmos than it appears to at first glance.

The GPS system is large (7" screen), colorful and quite easy to use. It's not something that anyone will use much everyday but it's invaluable when trying to go somewhere new or to find your way around a traffic jam. The map and corresponding data are stored on a DVD which you can get upgraded every so often. For the most part it's quite accurate. You can save your most frequently traveled destinations on it and even have it show you the closest restaurants, gas stations, or popular tourist attractions along your current route. Plus you can choose whether you want to go the shortest distance, shortest time, or all-highway route. And it'll let you choose whether you want to avoid highways, toll roads, and even ferry crossings. For safety reasons it doesn't allow you to play with it while you're traveling at speeds higher than like 5 mph, even if it is the passenger doing the playing. When actually using the automated route guidance, a pleasant female voice will give you turn instructions all along the way. You can set the volume of the voice but I'm not sure if you can change the voice. Or you can just mute the voice. Overall the GPS system is just an incredibly helpful function to have.

The climate control system is actually split with separate temperature controls for the driver and front passenger sides. Or you can choose to have the driver side control the temperature for both sides. For the SC, Lexus uses what it calls an Intuitive Climate Control that will automatically adjust depending on several factors like where the sun is in the sky, how fast you're driving, and whether the top is open or closed. I haven't really noticed if it's actually doing anything differently but this seems like something that's not supposed to be noticed anyway. The control button for the retractable hardtop roof is located in this area as well. It's a toggle switch that you have to hold down until the operation is completed which takes less than half a minute. People are always impressed by this feature. You can also access some driving info here like your miles per gallon and average speed. One tidbit of info that I'm perplexed as to why they removed is the driving time. I always thought that was a handy bit of info on my RX300.

The audio panel consists of a slot-loading 6-CD changer, volume and scanning knob, and cassette player. I almost always never use the controls on this panel because once you have your radio presets set and your bass and treble levels adjusted, you never have to use this panel again since you have audio controls located on the steering wheel. The stereo system is a Mark Levinson nine-speaker 240-watt system with a seven-channel amplifier and Automatic Sound Levelizer. Not being an audiophile I probably can't appreciate the significance of having a Mark Levinson system but my father has always had a Levinson system in his car ever since he started getting Lexus vehicles. But needless to say it sounds pretty darn good.

Underneath the audio panel is a rather wide ashtray and lighter. Don't smoke so this thing is never open. Wood front panel and you open it by pressing on it. Like everything else in the car, very classy, even if it's just an ashtray. =p

In the center divider between the driver and the front passenger, you have the transmission control located on the left (towards the driver) and 2 recessed cup holders to the right of that (towards the passenger). The SC uses a five-speed automatic Electronically Controlled Transmission with intelligence. What exactly does that mean? Well it ain't a stick shift. ;-) As far as I can tell, this means that it's almost impossible to give yourself whiplash by putting the pedal to the metal in this car. Very smooth gear shifting gets you from 0-60 in 5.9 seconds but robs you of the feeling of massive sudden acceleration that one usually likes in performance sports cars. I floored this thing from a standstill and it didn't feel much different than a normal controlled acceleration in any other car. Until you look in the rearview mirror and find that you're hundreds of yards ahead of everyone else.

Located below the transmission control section is a small, shallow recess that you can store your change in and below that are two buttons that turn on the seat warmers. The middle armrest actually contains 2 compartments (one on top of each other). The top compartment is shallower and you don't want to put anything spillable in here because to get to the deeper bottom compartment you have to lift this top one up. The bottom compartment can also be locked from this top compartment. Last but not least, located above the rearview mirror are two vanity lights, 3 programmable garage door buttons, and some other buttons that have to do with the Lexus Link service which is an yearly subscription service that allows you to send for help if you're lost or out of gas or in an accident.

Melts in your Mouth
So how does this baby perform? Well, this car was built for the driver. Once you get in, you're pretty much in your own little world. First I'll throw some specs and acronyms at you just to get them out of the way: 4.3-liter, 300hp all-aluminum V8 with ACIS (Acoustic Control Induction System) and VVT-i (Variable Valve Timing with intelligence) plus VSC (Vehicle Skid Control) and TRAC (Traction Control). Not a clue what any of this means except for what's written in the brochures but one thing's for sure, the SC430 drives like a dream for most part. The acceleration I've already touched on above and I should also add here that the engine is incredibly quiet for the amount of power it puts out. Steering is interesting in that it's quite stiff but sensitive at the same time. The steering wheel feels heavy and stiff during turns compared to driving the RX300 or LS430 so I often feel like I have to manhandle the wheel at times when I haven't driven the SC in awhile. You get used to it though. But the steering is also rather sensitive to minor things like lane changes. A slight twitch of the hand is practically all it takes to get you from one lane to the next. This car was definitely meant for open road and highway driving. One thing I'm still not completely used to is the small cockpit space so that whenever I want to make a right turn and look to the right and rear for cars that might be missed by the side and rearview mirrors, line of sight doesn't seem to be as good.

With the extra-wide 18" wheels, welded steel one-piece body, four-wheel, four-channel ABS brakes, and skid and traction controls, the SC can take turns at speeds that would probably scare my pants off if I tried to do it on my RX300. You also don't notice that you're going as fast as you are since they did a pretty good job of sound-proofing the cockpit. Ripping down the highway at 85mph is always a blast. Combined with the Levinson sound system you pretty much have no idea what's going on around you sound-wise at least.

Driving with the top down is always a nice way to spend a beautiful sunny day too. Course then you can't really drive as fast but it's still quite nice. =) And I guess the only other downside to this otherwise heavenly motor vehicle would be the lack of trunk space, especially when you have the top down. But you should already expect that from an automatic hard-top convertible. For family grocery shopping it definitely is not although I have made a few trips to Costco with it. ;-)

Not in Your Hands
The only aspect of driving this car that I'm not too fond of is the suspension system. It does have a double-wishbone suspension but I guess due to its lower ground clearance and stiffer body, you really feel those bumps in the road. But I guess any sports car has this problem for the most part. But besides that, the SC is a top performer.

Go Get Some!
So, if it isn't already apparent to you, I absolutely recommend this car if you have around $70 grand to blow on a sweet ride and don't want to be just another Baby Boomer with a Porsche Roadster. Unless you're the type that wants everyone on your block and surrounding townships to know that you've got a monster acceleration machine. The SC430 is for far subtler folk. ;-)


Read my review on the Lexus RX300:
http://www.epinions.com/auto-review-1DE1-33660379-3A40F975-prod5




Amount Paid (US$): high 60s
Condition: New
Model Year: 2002