In a previous life, I sold Lexus vehicles. My choice was more about recession-era employment than the type of vehicle, but I imagine Lexus has always been a fine vehicle to sell—after all, it wasn’t too long ago that the brand made the Germans (and Americans) take notice and up their game. Now it appears that one of the brand’s bread-and-butter may be discontinued, a reflection of an aged generation combined with a changing market.
The Lexus IS was the first of Lexus’ Bimmer 3-Series fighters. I myself never warmed up to it but, when I had an opportunity to drive one, I changed my tune. The SportCross, the shooting brake-esque that was available for 2002-05, was pretty cool, though not available with a manual transmission in the U.S.
The second-generation version, sold in the U.S. as the IS 250 and IS 350, featured the availability of AWD on IS 250 models (which also introduced a four-cylinder for the American market). Also available for several years were the IS C retractable hardtop coupe and the IS F, a nice BMW M3 competitor featuring a 5.0-liter V8 and 416 horsepower. These are the cars I’m most familiar with from my experience at the Lexus dealership. The tight rear seat and tepid performance with AWD were the biggest misgivings that I recall.
The third and current generation of the IS has been in production since the 2014 model year. Hasn’t seemed as long, right? Depending on the year, there has been an IS 200t (with a turbo-four), IS 250, IS 350, and IS 350h featuring a four-cylinder and an electric motor. The IS 500 F Sport Performance continued to use the 5.0-liter V8, now with 472 horsepower.
The market has changed a lot since 2014, and sedans (and coupes—don’t forget the RC spin-off) like this don’t sell as well as they used to. When this current generation debuted, Lexus sold over 51,000 in the U.S. for the calendar year. For 2024, it’s around 19,000 plus another 1,800 RC coupes, and sales so far for 2025 project the final tally will cut that by a third.
So when Car and Driver reported the announcement of the 2025 Lexus IS Ultimate Edition, the periodical couldn’t help but think this is a swan song to go out with a bang—in fact, when approached, a Lexus rep said the company “could not comment on future product plans,” though we’ve known that the RC was already on the chopping block. This special IS 500 model features the basic 472-horse V8 and will be available a white hue called Wind, with matte-black BBS wheels and red brake calipers. The cabin is finished in two-tone red, and all 500 built will be numbered on a plaque.
For all the misgivings about Lexus’ “spindle” grille and angular hallmarks all over, I feel the latest IS continues to wear it quite well. Unfortunately, it might be time to bid adieu to another RWD sedan/coupe in the marketplace for the moment.