2026 Lexus IS 350 review: Why does it look like a Camry?

Mitchell Weitzman
20 hours ago
5 min read

2026 Lexus IS 350 F Sport review | The Road Beat

2026 Lexus IS 350 review with The Road Beat

Words and pictures by Mitchell Weitzman

For reasons unknown, Lexus has decided to redesign the nose of its beautifully sculpted IS sedan to resemble a Toyota Camry. Usually it works the other way around, with the cheaper product inheriting styling cues from the expensive cousin. Instead of the sharpened and athletic fascia of old, we're left with a Lexus IS that is undeniably less pretty than before thanks to this curious facelift that cheapens the car while looking sadly out of place. Fortunately, the rest of the package remains as good as ever and still makes for a consummate luxury cruiser.

Picks

At the top of the hit list for older Lexus models was the dreadful infotainment system that utilized a computer mouse-style trackpad. Thankfully, that atrocity is gone and replaced with Toyota’s modern touchscreen setup, which is among the simplest and easiest systems to use in the industry. It’s quick, responsive, and makes daily life with a Lexus dramatically easier now that changing your Spotify station no longer requires literacy in braille.

As expected from Lexus, the cabin itself is a sophisticated and genuinely high-quality place to spend your time. Even if some of the smaller switchgear pieces aren’t class-leading, this is still a car free of rattles, with doors that shut with the sort of reassuring heft affordable cars cannot replicate. Road and wind noise are exceptionally well suppressed, while the ride quality strikes an impressive balance between comfort and body control for what is still intended to be a sports sedan.

2026 Lexus IS 350 F Sport ultrasonic blue mica exterior rear three quarter sunset

Simply put, the IS is just a pleasant car to exist in, and it makes any drive feel that bit more relaxing and refined. That’s exactly what a luxury car should accomplish. I was further surprised to find out the seats are not even real leather, affirming that Lexus 'NuLuxe' is among the best in the business.

With so many newer luxury sedans downsizing to turbocharged four-cylinders, the vocal character of the naturally aspirated 3.5-liter V6 feels refreshingly old school, especially when run towards the redline. It may not possess the silky violin crescendo of a classic BMW inline-six, but there’s still an authoritative growl accompanied by a genuine surge of power in the upper half of the rev range. With BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi all defaulting to four-cylinder engines in their equivalent entry models, the old school Lexus V6 stands out simply by continuing to exist. It would also be easy to speculate that this engine will outlast most of its drivers.

Treat the IS 350 like the sports sedan it aims to be and, while the handling is never playful, it is composed and controlled. The lateral limits are approachable because outright grip isn’t absurdly high, which actually suits a road car well since you can explore more of its capabilities without reckless speeds. Mid-corner bumps rarely upset the chassis, and even if the IS isn’t the most engaging sports sedan at the limit, there remains a balanced, rear-drive character underneath it all that is inseparable from a fundamentally good platform.

Nicks

The previous IS was a genuinely beautiful sedan with real identity, while this updated version now looks overly generic from the front. And why should a Lexus resemble a Toyota? Because that’s exactly what happened here, with the revised nose borrowing heavily from the latest Camry. Lexus had finally perfected the IS design and its wide, aggressive spindle grille only to backtrack and cheapen the entire car in the process. It’s not totally ugly, but it is unquestionably a step backward and looks like two mismatched ends of different cars now.

Despite the V6’s characterful sound and enjoyable top-end power delivery, outright performance is underwhelming by modern standards and with limited flexibility. Yes, it encourages you to rev it out, but that becomes less rewarding when paired with an aging 8-speed automatic transmission and acceleration that simply isn’t very quick anymore; A 0-60 MPH time hovering around six seconds no longer feels especially impressive in this segment.

More frustratingly, the 3.5-liter V6 itself has seen virtually no meaningful evolution since debuting nearly two decades ago. Output has only climbed from 306 to 311 horsepower while the car itself has gained weight, meaning the modern IS 350 is actually slower than the earliest examples. Even when the V6 makes decent noises at the top, 311-horsepower pushing 3,800 pounds just doesn't do it anymore. When it comes to performance and dynamic capability, the IS 350 no longer competes with the ballistic BMW M340i, but now with the entry 330i; The times have changed.

2026 Lexus IS 350 F Sport interior front seats

Steering also disappoints with a noticeable vagueness just off-center and a resultant slight disconnect between fine inputs and the front axle. It improves as speeds rise and cornering loads build, but the initial impression around town lacks precision and confidence. Those subtle corrections and small steering inputs matter in a luxury sports sedan, and that’s exactly where the IS feels weakest now and is missing interaction.

Also be prepared to disable Lexus’ overly intrusive (and awful) “Proactive Driving Assistant,” along with several of the more aggressive safety interventions. On anything other than perfectly smooth freeway driving, the systems can feel unnecessarily sensitive and intrusive.

Lexus IS 350 has become a niche

There’s no doubting the IS 350 is an objectively good car, but it no longer delivers the performance expected of a modern luxury sports sedan and increasingly feels dated. It also doesn’t help that you can buy a twenty-year-old IS 350 powered by an engine that is fundamentally identical and quicker. As a comfortable and refined cruiser, the Lexus succeeds. But competitors such as the Genesis G70 simply execute the sports sedan side of the equation better.

Testing this latest IS 350 also reinforces the idea that the true standout of the lineup remains the phenomenal Lexus IS 500. That car feels genuinely special thanks to its rambunctious V8, unique character, and surprisingly reasonable price point for what it offers. Hopefully they don't subject it to the same - wait, no! They killed it off. Sad, sad day for V8 fans and a rather brilliant car.

However, at least the IS 350’s value proposition still deserves recognition. At under $50,000 as-tested, it undercuts German rivals when equipped with similar levels of safety and tech equipment while also landing only around $7,000 above the nicest Toyota Camry you can buy. Maybe it's less of a threat to the Germans and Genesis and more to its own Toyota cousin with its prestige of the Lexus badge. Heck, they even share the same nose now.