From Alex on Autos.
Remember when the BMW 3 Series was a naturally aspirated, driver-focused sport sedan before turbos took over the entire segment? The 2026 Lexus IS 350 is basically that car, reincarnated, and it’s the only one left in this segment without a turbocharger anywhere in the lineup. Starting at $46,895, the IS gets a substantially redesigned front end and a completely reworked interior for 2026, but underneath it all sits the same 311-horsepower 3.5-liter V6 and the same basic platform that dates back to 2012. That means a 5.8-second 0-60 that trails nearly every turbocharged rival, but it also means one of the best steering racks and most genuinely engaging chassis in the entire segment, earning an A-grade handling score in our testing. There’s a catch, though: choosing all-wheel drive actually forces you into a 6-speed automatic instead of the RWD model’s 8-speed, making the AWD version slower, a transmission quirk Lexus has never fully explained.
In this full review we cover the exterior refresh and what’s actually new versus what’s carried over, the naturally aspirated V6 and its distinctive power delivery, front and rear seat space (including why we’d point families toward the bigger Lexus ES instead), a driver’s seat that inexplicably lacks lumbar support on this trim, a completely redesigned dashboard and the latest Lexus infotainment software, a small trunk that trades cargo space for a genuine full-size spare tire, instrumented 0-60 and braking, ride quality, cabin noise, real-world fuel economy, and a full pricing and competitive breakdown against the BMW 3 Series, Audi A5, Mercedes C-Class, Genesis G70, and Cadillac CT4.
Here’s why we don’t talk about reliability much: https://youtu.be/WicesuUvTXo
And resale value? Same thing: https://youtu.be/635cX7A3E_Y
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0:00 Intro: The Last Naturally Aspirated Sport Sedan Standing
1:04 Exterior Design: New Grille, New Headlights, Same Bones Since 2012
3:21 The V6: 311 HP, No Turbo & the AWD Transmission Quirk
5:33 Front & Rear Seat Space (And Why I’d Get the ES Instead With Kids)
7:17 The Lumbar Support Problem Nobody Talks About
8:35 Interior Redesign: Dashboard, Screens & Infotainment
14:40 Cargo Space & the Full-Size Spare Trade-Off
15:30 Driving: 0-60 in 5.8 Seconds & Why It’s Slower Than the Competition
18:29 Handling (A Grade) & Why This Feels Like an Old BMW
20:38 Ride Quality, Cabin Noise & Fuel Economy
23:50 Pricing vs the German Competition
25:44 Competitor Breakdown: BMW, Audi, Mercedes, Genesis G70 & Cadillac CT4
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