DorkFish

Well long story short, some B**** slammed into my 2014 is 250 and just got word that it is totaled. I have looked at many cars, even drove the new Supra 2.0. Living in the midwest, I had to walk away as I do not want to drive that in our horrible snow. After looking at all of the cars in the same class as the (is), I am drawn to getting back into an IS. Originally I started looking at the is300. I was definitely set on the white with the caramel interior. But yesterday, i started looking at the 350 f sport and now i am completely torn.

I really like the dynamic handling package but it only comes in red or black interior. Honestly I wanted to get something different than black but I have NEVER had such a bold interior as RED. How do you even take care of this material? How well does it hold up? Does it fade? What are the negatives?

Then comes color. I am natural drawn to the white. I think the accents (lights, vents, etc.) tend to pop more on the light colors. Honestly, I was very disappointed that the pearl white was not an option on the f sport. I would be open to any of the grays. Just very unsure about the black. To me it just doesn't look as aggressive. Would love to have the calipers powder coated red. Looking for something that is going to look....dayumm

Should I wait for the 2022 models? Don't think there is an ETA yet. Maybe by October? don't know.

Am I even going to find a car that has the options that i want? If I order, not even sure what the delivery time table is.

After many hours of research, I'm exhausted. LOL

sqlboy2000

iTrader: (1)

I had the red Nuluxe on my previous IS. Had it for almost 3 years, always looked great. I don't think it's any worse or better than any other color.

macmaster

I don't blame you for the torn-ness. The old Rioja red was really nice. The 2021 red is a lot brighter and covers half the front dash. It's too much IMO and I still have yet to decide as well. Even our salesperson at Lexus admitted she didn't like it.

DorkFish

that's good to know. Thank you

DorkFish

it is a lot of red! I'm just wondering what the 2022 models will have to offer. Wondering if it's worth the wait

MCR

Yea I love the red on my 2017, but red on the lower door panels on the '21 is ridiculous. That and the vent surround in the back gets the most shoe marks in mine and idk how itll hold up compared to just black.

Racer00J

I'm not a fan of the excessive amount of red in the '21 IS350 either. On the other hand I'm a little bias towards the "caramel" interior on the IS300 (that's what I have on my '16), and I really love the little updates with the color being across the top of the dash, door panels, and arm rest in the '21. Looks really great.

Seeing as how it'll only be the 2nd year for this refresh/facelift, I doubt there will be any major or significant changes in options for '22.

arentz07

I actually have to say, before I saw it in person, I also felt the new Circuit Red was too much red. However, now that I have been living with it for a while, I absolutely am fine with it. Rioja Red was nice and subtle, but Circuit Red pops. I suppose it helps that mine is Iridium, so the red offsets the subdued exterior color.




There is a nice black and white interior option as well, as long as you don't mind having to keep that white part clean. I think it looks really sharp. I test-drove a car with the black interior, and it was fine but not personally a fan. I think black will age the best of the colors available but is a tad boring in comparison.

DorkFish

hmmm

hmmm

Unfortunately, i don't even think that i would consider white. You have to be extremely disciplined for that color. I agree with the black.

sqlboy2000

iTrader: (1)

Agreed, I don't get this decision at all. Seems like it will be a never ending battle with scuff marks on the lower potion now that it's not black.

DorkFish

Sadly I think I'm going to have to step down to the 300. I just don't know about that red interior. Just too much. I don't want just basic black. I'm very partial to the caramel.

This sucks. I'm just so torn

arentz07

Idk, I always find scuff marks on the lower part of the door to be an issue no matter what color... Sometimes I think black is even worse.

For me, personally, both the exterior color and the options/trim are much more important than interior color. Exterior paint is what I walk back to in a parking lot and is what other people see. Having the 350 F Sport means I get the additional power, the cool gauges, and the perfect F Sport seats. If it were me, I'd rather get black than step down to a lower trim unless I was not really into the F Sport things. Just my two cents. Maybe there's also some ego that comes with knowing I have the 350.

I do really like the caramel interior a lot. I wish it was available on the 350. Though my wife would probably not have liked it - for some reason she hates tan interiors. I will say the red is more youthful.

Anywho, I could go on and on about this.

Racer00J

I see your point. OP needs to decide if the extra power or overall color scheme is more important to him.

It was different for me when I was shopping around because the F Sport trim was a available on every IS. USB was my main reason for wanting an F Sport as it was the only way to get that color. Unfortunately, the only four USB IS300s I could find for sale all had red interiors. I like the blue paint and I like the red interior, but not together - looks like Spiderman 2099's car. Lol. So that was a no go for me.

I figured if I wasn't getting USB, I didn't care enough about the F Sport appearance stuff to consider another color. So I got a non F Sport IS300 with the caramel interior because I really liked how it looked with the pearl white paint.

EvilJoker

If the red seats had black stitching, they would be incredible. As for the red dash, it makes it look like 80's cheap. Too much of one color with no break up, looks like overkill.

GaryJG

if you can live w/black interior the IS350 looks many times better. Besides the cool gauges, comfortable seats w/lumbar (300's removed lumbar support for some odd reason) bigger engine and tuned suspension, the outside is where it really separates from the 300. You get the nicer 19" staggered wheels that give it an aggressive stance vs. the squared 18" set up that doesn't fill the wheel well gap enough, shiny black trim pieces vs. the normal black, nicer black grill with brake cooling ducts and w/o chrome accents, deck spoiler and sportier diffuser with thicker chrome exhaust tips vs the 300's thinner tips.

It's not like years past where an IS 300 looked exactly like a 350, with basically the only difference being the engine. Now there is a more defined separation of the two.