Blue300is

Do the newer gen is300's come manual? I mean.. I know the first gen does from 00-05.

mmarshall

According to the specs I've seen, the last IS model to come with a three-pedal manual was the IS250 Convertible of 2009.

Scott610

iTrader: (3)

look up philadelphia Craigslist and you'll see my friend selling his but Idk if it's your body style you'll looking for . It's black and is manual ( sorry think he took the post down but my other friend saw it on offer up I'll have to call him and ask .pm me

Blue300is

Aw thats a shame man... I would think that a japanese car would come in stick. especially the new 2014-16 body styles, gawd how could they not have manual?!

mmarshall

It's been a while back, but I remember test-driving a 2002 IS300 with the 5-speed manual. There was very little market for that version, and Lexus didn't seem to put a whole lot of emphasis on how the transmission was designed. I found the shift-linkage notchy, imprecise, and not terribly pleasant to use......especially compared to the superb, easy-to shift manuals that Honda was doing at the time. The chrome-steel ball on the shift lever, while a interesting styling touch, didn't help much, either, as it could get hot enough to burn your hand if it sat in the sun.

Aron9000

The gen 2 IS250 could be had with a manual. Very rare/hard to find, and IMO not that good of a car. The 2.5 V6 makes 100 less hp than the 3.5 V6 and only gets 1-2 better mpg. The 2.5 V6 also has a bad problem of carbon buildup in the engine, which depending on how bad it is can lead to total engine replacement. Since these cars are now out of warranty, I'd avoid them like the plauge. I've driven an IS250/automatic combo and thought it was pretty darn sluggish, since the 2.5 is a really revvy/low torque engine that doesn't pare well with an automatic trans. I'm sure the manual version will feel a bit faster and be a lot more fun to drive though, but the 3.5 V6/automatic is the way to get your 2nd gen IS spec'd IMO.

As for the 1st gen IS300 manual, I wanted one of those for the longest time. I thought the shift action was pretty direct and easy to use, though not as good as a Honda. Problem was(when I was looking 4 years ago) the prices for used manual trans IS300's was insane. I'm talking like anything under 10k was ratty, dirty, used, probably wrecked, and abused with more than 100k miles on it. I looked at a decent one owner car for $11k but passed on it because it was an up north car and I could see rusty bolts and crap on the underside.

svelt

'01 IS300s did not come in manual, only 02-05. I had one for 8 years and it was a smooth performing transmission, producing better numbers than the automatic. I would recommend one if you can find them - they are very rare and mine sold quickly for a competitive price once I listed it.

The last Lexus vehicles to carry a manual transmission were the 2012 IS250 line of vehicles, but these had identical (or marginally worse) performance numbers and worse MPGs than the auto 250, giving buyers very little incentive to opt for them aside from fun-factor (of which there was little of). Even rarer is the IS250C with a manual - you can look for one nationwide and find maybe one or two in the entire country at a given time.

MTs are fast fading in the automotive world and is just too niche for Lexus to build - I highly doubt there will ever be another Lexus with one. Even Infiniti has dropped it from the Q60 and Ferrari from their entire lineup.

blacksc400

iTrader: (4)

I have a 2001 IS300 auto and 2003 IS300 manual at the same time before. While the manual is no faster, I'd take the manual out all the time and just left the auto with my wife