The five-seater Lexus SportCross IS200 is a stylish and sporty estate that drives every bit as good as it looks.

There is absolutely no stinting whatever on this car which offers a huge amount of features as standard.

And as is usually the case with a Lexus, that distinctive ‘L’ badge turns heads.

The 2-litre version proved just the right size for me, and was easy to manage around the city even when manoeuvring into a tightish car space as I had to when parking in the RDS for the recent Holiday Fair. On the other hand, I had to travel a stretch of motorway, dual carriageway and along suburb roads to get there, and the car proved to be a faultless all-rounder.

The rest of the review period was taken up with short local drives which it also passed with flying colours.

Out on the road you get a smooth, steady and extremely comfortable drive, while there is also a certain sharpness to the engine and plenty of low down torque which I always like to see in a car. The quietness of the engine is another definite plus. Ditto for the six-speed gearbox which is one of the best I’ve ever used. Gears seem to just flow between shifts. Brakes are quite immediate and you get used to this pretty quickly.

For a driver my height, c 5ft 4ins, it’s great to drive a car with such a low scuttle line as this means greater visibility and a super driving position. My view out the rear mirror wasn’t interfered with as the rear centre headrest is lower than the other two sides ones.

Not resting on their laurels, the Lexus designers have further enhanced the interior of the IS series in a number of ways. These include upgrading of the quality and finish of materials used in the dashboard.

Contrasting colours of cream and black with walnut wood inserts on doors add to the style of the cabin. The cream coloured leather seats in the review car were extremely comfy and the front seats can be electrically adjusted and heated to counter those cold mornings.

Cream is continued along the doors and on the floor carpet to complete the overall look. I did feel guilty getting into the car on wet days though, afraid my shoes would dirty that gorgeous cream carpet. But it never did seem to get all that soiled ...

I suppose, apart from the attention to detail everywhere in the cabin, it was the unusual style of the instrument cluster that really grabbed my attention. They feature one large elevated speedometer circle overlapping smaller ones on either side. The inside of the speedometer circle is white and it features a number of other small circles. Your speed is shown in white on a grey background. These turn pale red at night.

The review car featured a large ‘moonroof’ (extra) with a manually operated slider and a neat table top inbuilt into the rear of the front passenger seat, which you can use when you fold the seat down. A good work area or just a place to eat a packed lunch when on a long trip.

While there’s plenty of headroom, rear seat passengers will find the legroom a little on the tight side if they’re sitting behind an equally tall person up front as the SportCross is not the biggest Lexus in terms of carrying people in the back.

But there’s oodles of space in the boot which also has a hidden compartment for extra storage. For extra long items, you can simply fold down the front passenger seat and the rear seats more huge added space. Even the rear centre seatbelt is designed so as not to hinder the cargo space, as it is built into the roof rather than into the seat itself.

Expect to average around 30mph for the combined fuel cycle. Top speed is 134mph ... academic, but nice to know the power is there to get you out of trouble.

Standard equipment includes six airbags, ABS, Traction Control, Climate control air conditioning, electric windows, and an in-dash six-disc CD changer.

Bottom line, it’s right up there on my dream list of cars I hope to buy when my Lotto ticket comes in.