KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

Has Lexus axed their 6-speed manual transmission option on the 250 for good? I see it appears to have been dropped for 2013 models. Does anyone know if this is a permanent change or just cost-cutting before the new IS models are released?

surensm

you can get MT by talking to your dealer. It takes something like 90 days to deliver though. But you can no longer order it online, which is a bummer.

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

No they can no longer be got. They are not being manufactured. 2012 was the last year the MT was available.

Jeff

KillaIS250

iTrader: (1)

That doesn't surprise me, the manual transmission for the 2IS had some quirks and wasn't built for the car (it was borrowed from a Toyota Truck).

I wonder if they will even bring it back in the next IS. If they do, hopefully its one built for the car.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

That's a shame. Thanks for confirming, guys. I do wonder, however, if they still offer it in the European market? I'd be surprised if they didn't. Seems like a very simple thing to keep on the option list but they did the same with the SC300 late into its life cycle.

B16da9

iTrader: (7)

I'm going to miss my 6MT IS250 .

kyoso23

Wish they'd do a 6M on the 350 this time around.

juvi22003

iTrader: (2)

All my cars being manual and i must the IS was the worst. i got the short shifter/Quick shifter installed over the weekend that made a big difference. Although i have been complaining how tired i am of driving manual i think if the 350 came with manual transmission i would definitely go for it.

kickin8

iTrader: (1)

EVOs, STi's they all have MTs

wished they have MT IS-F.....

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

And Lamborghini, Ferrari, and increasingly even Mercedes and Porsche don't.


The clutch pedal is an antique relic of a bygone era, soon heading the way of the crank-start engine and the buggy whip.

KahnBB6

iTrader: (5)

That's a bit theatrical, don't you think?

This is primarily because people today who generally afford Ferraris, performance Porsches and Black Series Mercedes generally have never driven a real high performance car before or for whatever reason don't feel that operating a manual is their thing. It has nothing to do with the craftsmanship and operation of a well designed driver interface. Offering an expensive product to someone with the means but lacking in experience serves the same purpose as before manuals went on the decline: maximizing sales.

If you're going to look at shift times and racing environments then that's different-- dual-clutch electronic manuals are superior in that they will produce better lap times by taking far less time to change gears, but we aren't talking about primarily track-oriented cars.

There is nothing "antique" about a three-pedal manual transmission and hand operated stick. Hey, some people even argue that the entire concept of a driver-operated car is an antique relic of a bygone era. That doesn't make the assertion right... it just makes it a trend.

Marketing has largely determined the fate of traditional manuals. Not every car needs one any longer but for those of us who aren't trying to beat Nurburgring lap times and just like an engaging driving experience, manuals are far from comparable to a crank-start engine or horse-drawn carriages.

How do you draw such drastic comparisons? It's a transmission that allows the driver to control the engine's power band by hand versus a computer doing it for you, not a holdover from the bronze age.

Jeff Lange

iTrader: (1)

It's a personal preference. Like the manual transmission or not, it's a dying breed and less and less cars are coming with them. Lexus no longer offers a single car with a manual transmission.

I like it, but people aren't buying them, so what are companies supposed to do?

There are more modern ways of allowing a driver to control the gear the car is in. DSG, or the auto in the IS-F/FR-S/'14 IS F-Sport are prime examples. That is Kurtz's point, not that selecting your gear is antiquated, but doing so manually with a third pedal is. Personally I find a great deal of enjoyment driving a manual transmission that just isn't there when I use a paddle shifter, but that doesn't mean it's not a dying option. For Lexus, it appears it is dead.

Jeff

Kurtz

iTrader: (1)

exactly right

That's why the porsches with the PDK are crushing the ones with the antique clutch pedal on tracks, even with professional drivers.

It's not that people aren't good enough drivers to use a clutch in a manual car, it's that it is a demonstrably inferior, slower, less efficient way to control a transmission.

F1 realized this many years ago, they didn't switch to paddles because the drivers "have never driven a real high performance car before"...now the tech is just finally becoming common in more "regular" cars.

surensm

Wow really? i asked my dealer they said if it's ordered then they can bring it in 90 days.