link13

Mine still has hints of new car smell and it had been on the lot for 6 months when I took delivery. I was apparently the only one who wanted an Atomic Silver 350 with red guts and no trunk spoiler.

The older Benz cars smell a little like the glue that holds down the package shelf cover. It's not a bad smell.

My IS does not smell funny.

Burrcold

I love the smell of mine. It has retained that new car smell better than most actual leather interior cars I've owned. Maybe that's the smell that you're referring to, but it just smells like new car to me.

Thesickest

arentz07

I'd never say it smelled funny either, but maybe a slightly different "new car smell" compared to others.

Btw, I also have the same color combo. I'd say it's probably one of the best. The red is unique, and Atomic Silver goes nicely with the F Sport wheels. I test-drove an Atomic Silver one with a black interior, and I didn't like it nearly as much.

RX_330

Does anybody remember the smell of the late 80s-90s Toyotas? Those will always stick out in my mind and bring back a lot of memories.

JDR76

I do! I remember when my folks bought their 89 Camry. I remember the scent to this day.

E46CT

Come to think of it i wonder if the smell i am smelling is unique to the red interior. i have the red interior. for those smelling grape is your interior red or black? or some other color. the plot thickens. lol

I notice the 3IS windows "fog" up fast with residue. could be off-gassing from the plastics and rubbers still.

Burrcold

jnesss

probably gonna get hate for this, but my car smells like walking into abercrombie 😂

Tungstn-IS

No, because mine isn't red. I think they call it light grey, it's really closer to white though. I haven't seen many with this interior color.

davyjordi

i have this color, too! i love it -- it's a bit unique with the 3is.

VisualEcho

This is much deeper than you think. Each manufacturer has their own smell, and they stick to it like crazy. The human sense of smell is right by the memory center in the brain, and don't think for a second the manufacturers don't know it, and use it. Toyota has changed a bit over the years, as has Honda, and Ford, and so on, but much of the original smells remain. It used to be the chemical out-gassing, but no more, it's literally added to the glues and dyes.

Next time you find yourself near a Ford dealership, sit in a Mustang, then go set in a Transit Connect (made in Turkey), and you'll know immediately it's not a Ford product just by the smell.

E46CT

^I don't doubt it. I've noticed certain brands like BMW and Ford have unique smells. I wonder how consistent they are though cause both my CTs (2015 and 2016) smell way different than the IS. They smell like normal cars. almost like nothing. The CT is said to be made of eco-friendly materials though. Maybe that has something to do with it. I would imagine supplier has a lot to do with it too and just the particular chemical cocktail used in the manufacturering, dyes, processes, etc.

if you ever sit in a BMW E46, it's the only BMW to smell like crayons. the smell comes from the trunk insulation. pulled some off one day and sniffed it--whooooooooooooooo strong.

VisualEcho

My car has black interior, and the smell you describe. And yes, the residue is common among all new cars, and is out-gassing. But the smell isn't just the glue/dyes, it's an additive.

VisualEcho

Much of the smell, and out-gassing residue on the windshield of my Lotus came from the dash. Once it was replaced with a CF version I never had to clean the windshield again.