Last year, Lexus made two big changes to its IS sports sedan: Another big facelift, and discontinuing the V8 model. The Lexus IS 500 was a maniac, a surprisingly comfy fast four-door in the old-school tradition. Big engine up front, drive to the back, giggles in the middle. It will be missed, but many of its bones are soldiering on with a new hue joining the fray.
See, the new-for-2026 IS 350 is really just an extensive facelift of a car we first saw for the 2013 model year. Sure, 13 years is a bit of an eternity in the world of luxury cars, but that means you still get a time-honored 3.5-liter naturally aspirated V6. It also means that all-wheel-drive models soldier on with a six-speed automatic transmission but unless you live in Canada and don’t have this option, sticking with rear-wheel-drive to get the eight-speed automatic seems like a wise choice.
Alright, so 311 horsepower can’t exactly hold a candle to 472, but that’s not a reason to drop a bit of a ritual. See, the IS 500 was frequently available in limited-run colors, and now that the IS 350 is the quickest IS, it makes sense to keep the tradition going. This year, it’s a great choice of paint, a rich green called Envious that does indeed have a certain pull to it. It would’ve done numbers on Tumblr around the time this generation of IS launched thanks to its moodiness.
However, the IS 350 Special Appearance Package isn’t just a paint job. It bundles in pretty much all the optional goodies you’ll actually want on an IS 350 including adaptive dampers, a limited-slip rear differential on rear-wheel-drive models, and forged BBS wheels that would probably be lovely if I could actually see them. That’s what black wheels do, they just disappear into the arches. Still, they ought to be lighter than the standard cast items which is good, because less unsprung mass makes a car ride better, accelerate more quickly, brake better, and sometimes even get better fuel economy.
Sliding inside the IS 350 Special Appearance Package, there’s green in here too. No, really, zoom way in and you’ll find that the stitching on the seats and dashboard is indeed green. Subtle, but appreciated. Equipment levels are likely better than you’d expect, with a power rear sunshade, a sleek credit card-sized key fob, and hands-free driver assistance under 25 MPH joining a Mark Levinson audio system.
While the lack of a new IS 500 is still a bit disappointing, it’s not all bad news. The naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 in the IS 350 is famously reliable, and the updated infotainment with this latest facelift is a big upgrade. This isn’t the most cutting-edge sports sedan on the market, but it’s one you can confidently own for more than a decade, and that’s a luxury in its own. Granted, you’ll have to act quickly if you want one in this green. Lexus is only building 350 for the entire continent, which will make it an uncommon sight on the roads.
Top graphic images: Lexus; DepositPhotos.com
I really dislike this cop out of colored stitching as if they’re giving us a treat. Stitching does not make a colored interior!
“yea” for green. “boo” for all black wheels and interior.
Is it in the $80K range?
The press photos make it look like a matte, darker jade green. It’s actually like a Fiat light olive color and does have clearcoat and possibly metal flake in it.
Also, they *might* sell you one. Only 350 means these aren’t going to be seen on the regular anywhere.
It’s depressing to see them copying line for line the idiotic bumper lines of the latest BMW X5.
They used to have their own design. What a waste…
Kudos for the real gauge cluster, the buttons and the screen that does NOT sit in the middle of the windshield. I hope they don’t copy BMW on that too…
Still completely fugly. What real gauge cluster? That’s another screen, even if it’s displaying analog-ish fake gauges. No thanks.
For sure nobody should be copying ANYTHING BMW has done in the past decade.