From the moment I first discovered that evo was getting a new Lexus long-termer I had it earmarked for this trip, and GP55 FWD arrived just in time to tackle the job of transporting myself, my girlfriend and a bootful of luggage and self-catering essentials from our home in Norwich (Alan Partridge fans may chuckle knowingly here) to our holiday destination in the Scottish Borders.

In SE trim, our new IS 250 comes with 17in alloy wheels (up an inch over the basic IS) and electrically adjustable, heated and ventilated leather seats. Just three optional extras have been added: metallic paint (£510), a 'moonroof' (£800), and an all-singing, all-dancing £2710 multimedia pack, which includes DVD-based satnav, a rear-mounted camera to assist when parking, and a 14-speaker Mark Levinson audio system with 5.1 surround sound, all controlled through a 7in touch-screen interface, or via voice control if your fingers are feeling lazy. Spec a car like this at your Lexus dealer and you'll be asked to part with £29,420.

With the thought of the glorious open, sweeping roads that were ahead, I'll admit to being a little apprehensive about our IS not being the Sport version and therefore lacking 18in wheels and, perhaps more importantly, sport suspension, but as we peeled off the A1 onto the significantly quieter tarmac that cuts through the Northumberland National Park and on into Scotland, any such concerns quickly receded. The SE laps up roads like these, the suspension treading a nicely judged middle-ground between comfort and control, enabling you to maintain a deceptively swift pace over undulating surfaces. Much of that speed can be carried into the bends too, the IS's Bridgestone Potenzas cutting a clean line with no sign of pace-sapping understeer or excessive body-roll.

It's a good job it can hold on to that momentum, though, because with just 204bhp to haul over 1600kg of saloon, the IS 250's straight-line performance is never going to get your pulse racing. Whether this means that similar driving satisfaction will be harder to achieve in the busy cut-and-thrust of typically crowded English roads remains to be seen...

So, it's well-appointed, an accomplished mile-muncher and a tidy handler; that just leaves the styling. Funny one, this. People love to tell you how they can see a bit of BMW here, some Volvo there, or too much Honda Accord all over, but they all agree that the overall result is actually rather smart. I'd agree, to the point where I was happy for the IS to fulfil one additional role during our time in Scotland, that of a wedding car - our wedding car. Drawing away from the 15th century castle where we'd just tied the knot, neither myself nor my new wife felt short-changed to be sat in the IS. And that has to say something.