RKSTRAT

I recently purchased my IS300 AWD Fsport Caviar/Rioja. I am happy with it, but I would have liked the option of the
IS350 AWD Fsport. Out of curiosity, I am simply not seeing any inventory of the 2017 or 2018 IS350 AWD in this area (PA),
although I have not looked exhaustively. At the time of my purchase the dealership (combined locations) had about ten IS300 AWD
Fsports, but no 350s, except for maybe one non-Fsport. They actually had two IS300 AWD Fsports Caviar/Rioja.
I got a tremendous deal on what they had in stock. Clearly, the IS300 AWD is a simple package for the Northern states.
The IS350 is either RWD or AWD of course.

Being new to this forum, I am seeing posts from Canada and New England
discussing IS350 AWD Fsports and many reviews on line feature the AWD IS350.
Is a special order typically required for the IS350?

skiracer

Here in Los Angeles according to Cars.com there was only about 10 IS 350 F-Sports within a 100 mile radius as of a few weeks ago.

RKSTRAT

Looking on cars.com, I am now seeing a few 350 AWD around here, but not many.

shadrach47

Last month I picked up a 2017 IS350 F Sport, southwest of Philly. It was the only one they had and any dealers around me. Didn't see much around when looking for the 350, so not many options to choose from. Luckily, the one they had was what I was looking for.

RKSTRAT

AWD, right? What color?

I already did the deed on the IS300, so I'm just trying to rationalize, post-purchase.
I wanted to work with my local dealer and perhaps do a swap. Asked them to locate an IS350
with ML sound, but not much came up. As the price started to drop on the 2017 IS300, I gave up
on pushing the swap.

So, a highly notable difference from the IS300?

shadrach47

Yes, AWD, didn't realize I missed that part. The color is caviar with black interior, but not ML package. Difference from the 300 to 350 was about $3,000. Only drove the 350 so not sure how the performance difference is.

RKSTRAT

Thanks!

I originally wanted Caviar/Black, which the dealer had also in the Fsport IS300, but I was suddenly was drawn to the Caviar/Rijoa when I looked at them in the lot side-by-side.

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

There are a lot in Canada.

That said, if I were you, I'd look into reflashing your ECU (if that doesn't bother you). The IS300 AWD is a detuned IS350 AWD, and reflashing the ECU will give you the same performance as the IS350 at a fraction of the price.

Just an idea, warranty issues aside.

Jeff

RKSTRAT

When I bought my 2017 IS300 Fsport in late November 2017 the dealer had a large volume of IS300 Fsports, but no 350s.
I had my pick, and got an incredible deal.

I noticed that of the new 2018 inventory, the only Fsports they have are the IS350 (2). All the other
IS300s are non-Fsport. Not sure if this reflects a change in overall availability, or if it is random.

rune403186

I test drove both 2017 IS 300 AWD AND A USED 2014 350 AWD BOTH F-SPORT I END UP GETTING THE 350 DUE TO LOW MILEAGE AND HORSEPOWER,INTERIOR NOT MUCH DIFFERENCE AND SAVE ME 15K..

patgilm

Weird, I keep seeing posts in this forum about the somewhat rarity of the IS350 F-Sports and when I got mine, there seemed to be plenty and the deals were very good on them.

RKSTRAT

I assume your 350 is AWD?

patgilm

RKSTRAT

Interesting. As I said, when I purchased my 2017 IS300 AWD Fsport at the end of November 2017, there were about
7 or 8 IS300 Fsports to choose from. But no IS350 AWD Fsports at the dealership (2 locations).
Now in January 2018, they have several 2018 IS350 Fsports, but no 2018 IS300 Fsports.
Tactical or coincidence? It worked out well for me as the 350 is 3K more than the 300 in the AWD versions,
plus I got a tremendous discount on the 2017 300.

RKSTRAT

Update:

Okay, now I see some 2018 IS300 Fsports in the inventory. About 4 300s and 4 350s in stock.
The 2018 IS300 Fsports seem to be running a bit cheaper MSRP vs 2017. Maybe the accessories.