I own a GS F Sport that I love, but I prefer smaller cars so I've been considering the IS F Sport since its introduction. I'm aware of some of the things its missing (tilting mirrors, memory seats, ventilated seats) but I may be willing to sacrifice.

My preference would be Nebula Gray/Rioja Red, but there never seem to be any in stock (at least not for very long). My dealer has 2 Silver/Red IS F Sports in inventory, but it seems like they have been sitting for quite a while. I also noticed most of the pics posted here are of black, white and gray IS's. Is the silver just not a good color for this car or is it just too "run of the mill" for you guys?

I am aware that the Liquid Platinum of the GS has lots more depth than the Silver Lining of the IS.

 

silver just looks really plain on the 3IS, on many cars in fact

 

I personally think the silver looks excellent on the IS. I think i am starting to like silver more and more because it helps mute the chrome accenting around the grille (something i am not a fan of)

 

Apologies for this long post, but hopefully makes for a good read.

From the last color poll I had setup in this forum a while back, silver was last and USB (tied with U White) was first. This forum definitely loves the sportier colors but having been in the 3IS forum since the beginning, the majority of folks here are enthusiasts in their 20s and 30s. Out in the real-world, people love silver as it's the most common color I see on cars so take the color interests of this forum with a grain of salt.

However, one can't ignore that silver 3IS F-Sport inventory is more readily available than the other colors which makes one wonder what could be wrong with this color. First off, absolutely nothing! And therefore I suspect it's because of these main reasons:

1. Marketing focused on Ultra White/Rioja Red to make the interior and new full-spindle grill pop and be the focus for Lexus' new design direction. In addition, this color combo being exclusive to the F-Sport, people organically wanted this. Isn't U White/Rioja Red the most popular F-Sport on the road at this writing? Marketing at its best worked here.

2. Because of the new sporty nature, the median age of the 3IS buyer is dropping. In addition, this car is also now attracting new ex-BMW/Audi/MB loyal owners for the first time, again suggesting a less conservative, more sport-oriented buyer.

3. Once the excitement and novelty of the new full F-Sport spindle grill and styling wanes and becomes more "mainstream" especially with the introduction of the RC F and upcoming NX, I suspect the other more conservative colors will increase in popularity.

After having probably the flashiest color on the 3IS now for 4 months now, I must admit that USB makes this car stand out even further from the crowd, but if there's one thing I miss is the look of luxury not apparent with this color. This color screams sport, but not Lexus luxury and being in my later 30s, I can equally appreciate a more "common" color because I realize it's not so much the color, but the shape and details of the car that can equally make it stand out. Having seen a rare silver 3IS F-Sport with R. Red interior on the road, my jaw dropped. It is stunning thanks to its "chiseled from one-block of steel" look. It has the perfect balance of Lexus luxury and sporty looks. The Red interior pops on this color and the F-Sport chrome graphite wheels look stunning against the silver body complimenting it in its tone yet providing the right contrast. As a bonus, you can probably get an even cheaper price on the silver/red on the lot, making this one heck of a proposition you can't refuse. Good luck and keep us posted!

 

I have a silver/red IS 350 F and love it. It was my first color choice. I also like red cars, but the red on the IS was not very sporty. Why I chose silver

- Like the white, it allows for the contrast of the grille and other body trim bits which are black. Darker colors really suppress this contrast. Its very specific to the IS F sport.
- Like the white, its great for hotter climates like here in Austin
- Unlike the white, it doesn't show dirt as much and the metallic just looks more distinctive (IMHO).

Both my wife and I have either owned red or silver cars (except for my Blue STI - which was the iconic rally blue).

 

I never considered a silver F-sport but after spending 4 hours at the dealership lining up all of the different colors side by side and nose to nose, I chose the silver/rioja combination. It was by far my favorite and I was quite shocked.

As mentioned previously, the chrome accents blend in with the silver and don't need to be blacked out like they are commonly done on the obsidian cars.

The silver will also hide most of the swirl marks and minor scratches, a huge plus since I'm kind of OCD with paint.

 

My next IS will be back to silver with red

Have black with red now.

 

I also have a silver f-sport.
I really wanted the white, but since it is winter, salt and dirt half the year where I live, I went for silver. The silver hides dirt and grime a lot, and white shows every grain of dirt on the car.

Black, grey and other colors are harder to maintain as swirls and scratches show a lot better.
And since I'm very picky on the apperance of the car, silver is an easy color to own.

I should mention that I had on heck of a time making the choise.
I really wanted the white, but had to choose it away becuase of all the dirt showing, and the trouble with washing the car every other day in the winter time.
I almost chose the USB blue, but after having owned 3-4 blue cars, i'm tired of seeing stone chips and scratches in the paint, so becuase of this I made a diffrent choise.
I did in fact order the sonic titanium\atomic silver, but after seeing a lot of pictures I felt it had a bit to much gold in the color.
So I ended up with normal silver, and even tho it looks a bit "standard", it is a very easy color to own.

when you own a f-sport IS it is the grille and design that makes the car stand out, not the color

 

^^^ Looks beautiful. I agree that the IS F-sport is all about contrasting to the dark bits (wheels, grille, spoiler vents etc). My blue STI was also pretty pad on showing chips and scratches. That's the reality of a DD car. It *will* get dinged and scratched.

 

I went to the dealer with the intention to get white with red interior........ Then saw my baby sitting on the showroom floor..... Silver with red interior I think it shows the lines a lot better and the shadowing in certain sunlight haven't really seen it on any of the other colors

 

I'm not sure if atomic silver counts, but 3IS looks amazing in both silver lining and atomic silver. Actually I might have picked silver lining over atomic silver if it were available with F sport here in Canada.

 

To the OP: you obviously like silver cars, so get one. Seriously, they look amazing in this color combo. You are lucky that they have a couple available. I think many folks are getting the white because Lexus has marketed that color in all theirs ads and brochures and is pushing it heavily. The white probably is the cheapest to produce also.

Mine was the last one of that color on the lot and they were desperately trying to get me to buy a black or white one. It looks very classy and you get the many practical benefits that have already been discussed. Trust your own judgement.

 

Is the MSRP for white less than the other colors?

 

I don't think so. I'm just saying that there is probably some profit margin uppage on the white since white is "easier" to produce, but probably not enough to justify exposing that to the MSRP. From a marketing point of view, it would also make it look like:

- white is a "cheap" color
- Anything other than white and you're being charged a premium

If they can make more money on white cars, its best to just market them better.

At Lexus of Austin *all* the cars on the showroom floor were white, IS, LS, RX, GX, LX etc.

It only makes sense to up-charge on colors when there is a measurable enough difference in the production cost *and* the consumer will pay for it.

 

I'm not a fan of white because I associate white as a female car color. When it came down to picking a color, for me it was between black vs silver. I liked black on the tail light (it looks amazing), but with black you can't see the air ducts at the front of the car. It's just all black and washes in with the color.

I eventually went with silver because in my opinion it was the best of both worlds. The back still looks decent (not as nice as black), I can see the lines on the car much better, and the front I can actually see the curves and air ducts.

Maybe this will be the unofficial silver IS picture thread!