Originally posted by DROD2045
That appears to be a pop up Nav screen from the top of the dash similar to The I30's and Volvos. If so, it wouldnt be a touch screen. rather, that set of buttons and joystick would be on the center stack or somewhere by the armrest.

Now that it has a five-speed manual transmission for its IS 300, Lexus is getting a little closer to BMW. Not as close as Lexus would like you to think, not as close as it intimated at the IS 300’s introduction a year ago, but close. The BMW 3 Series is still king of the sport sedan segment and the Audi A4 is still a prince of a four-door, but the IS 300 is now hanging out in the throne room. By allowing us to shift by ourselves, this car becomes, as they say in California, whole.

It’s certainly a fun, stylish car with the five-speed electronically controlled automatic, but a manual gives drivers better control of the engine’s 215 hp and 218 lb-ft of torque. Loads more control. Clutch engagement is quick, not Tilton-racing-clutch quick, but faster than most manual transmissions. You almost have to pay attention to do it smoothly. The throws in the new gearbox are relatively short, closer to the throws of a Miata than a Corvette. And there is absolutely no ambiguity; the feel for each gear is clear, you never find yourself wondering if this is third, fifth, or, worse, first.

The transmission has a numerically lower final drive than the automatic (3.727 vs. 3.909) but higher ratios in first and fifth. It drives as if the engineers tried to make the most of the manual driver’s inclination to hold shifts all the way to the 6200-rpm redline. On our drive we found no holes in the transmission where one gear had run out of oomph before the next one was handy. This is not a drivetrain that cries out for a six-speed.

It’s not just the transmission that distinguishes this car from its stablemate. It gets a stiffer suspension than the automatic, though Lexus hasn’t said exactly how much stiffer. It certainly feels more responsive, offering flatter cornering and a tighter feel through the steering wheel. It still has double wishbones front and rear and four-wheel discs with ABS. Tires on our test car were the stickier, standard 215/45ZR-17 “summer” tires. The 205/55R-16 all-season tires are an option.

Lexus says the new transmission knocks off half a second in 0-to-60-mph times, from 7.3 to 6.8. We think the IS 300 manual is quick but we’ll withhold an endorsement of that claim. Lexus listed 7.1 for the IS 300 when it came out a year ago and has since backed off by two tenths. The closest we got when we tested the automatic was 7.99 seconds. Given that, our estimate for 0 to 60 mph would be in the low sevens. But it feels quick. Behind the wheel, flinging the car through twisting mountain two-lanes, riding low in the electrically adjustable, nicely bolstered seat, you almost feel like a touring car race driver. Indeed, just two days before we got into this bright red five-speed manual IS, a Lexus IS 300 won its first race, the Grand Am Cup in the Sports Touring class at Virginia International Raceway. Another IS 300 finished third.

But it wasn’t the Lexus press release announcing the win that made us think of this as a touring car. It was the car.

The manual arrives in showrooms in August and Lexus expects to sell 1600 in the remainder of 2001. After that the division is looking at 4800 a year. We think that’s conservative, but we like fun cars with manual transmissions. Whether there are enough people like us in this automatic transmission world is the big question. We certainly hope there are. Manufacturers are only starting to realize there is a large market of import drag racers who have been around so long that many of them are growing up, getting real jobs and can afford nicer cars. This is perfect for them and for the still-young ones with rich and generous parents.

Our experience on the streets of Southern California and Detroit is that younger buyers loved the IS 300, even when it first arrived a year ago with its automatic. If Lexus means what it says about trying “to attract younger buyers,” this car will do it. Its styling alone makes it appeal to youthful buyers, those who may have just blown up their last Civic Si.

A straight six, with five gears stacked behind it routing power through a Torsen limited-slip differential to the rear wheels is about as nice a setup as any young racer could ask for.

Except maybe that turbo-charged version offered in Japan. But let’s take this one big improvement at a time.