ychachad

Are most current IS300 owners with manual transmission dissapointed that only the IS250 comes with a manual and a V6? The unique inline 6 is gone. It's almost that you have to downgrade to get a new IS with a manual tranny.

There were rumours that there would be an IS430, and that could have a manual. But with the IS350 lacking a manual, the IS430, if it ever happens, will never have a manual. That sucks.

Also, 45 grand for the IS350 seems very, very pricey. Now the Infiniti G35 6-sp coupe or sedan may make more sense.

4CYLNDR

I say thats some poor-*** reasoning.

First of all, remember with the old IS's how they waited a year to come out with the manual. Just might happen again.

Secondly, the Lexus is by no means a sports car, no matter how fast it is in a straight line. But it sounds like the IS430/460 is going to be a sports car, to spar with the M3 and the S4, in which case, you can bet your pessimistic booty that its gonna come in a manual.

ychachad

I asked a reasonable question. why such agression and poor language in your response? I was not being pessimistic.

tqlla3k

iTrader: (1)

Well, I think Lexus will change it to include a manual Tranny on the 350, when they find that a lot more people are buying the IS350 than they originally thought....

That or they will raise the price on the 350.

It does make me sad that the IS is a V6 and not a straight six though

S2000toIS350

To me some of the reason (why the 350 has no stick) may reside in the quality of the standard tranny Toyota has to offer.

I have yet to hear the Toyota stick is a phenominal experience whereas I came from an S2000 and for Honda, standards, to use an over used business phrase is a core competance.

In terms of hitting the market, I moved out of the S2000 to avoid sitting in traffic with a heavy clutch.

The paddle shift auto on the IS 350 is pretty good fun though an SMG would be better. On the other hand Toyota likes bulletproof and an SMG will have far more maintenance than the auto.

I also believe Toyota is on the road to slam both BMW and MB at the same time by putting product out with higher Lux than MB and higher peformance than BMW. They will price slightly lower than the competitors for similar equipment.

I doubt we will see as many iterations in the IS as the 3 or C series has but we will see a convertible and an M3 killer. In my mind the release of those will follow the releases of the comparable vehicle by BMW. In other words, Toyota will let BMW show their hand, then Toyota will show a strong hand (repeat, repeat, repeat).

What really has my mind wandering is if Toyota will wait for the new NSX to be released before bringing the LFA based car in an effort to disrupt Honda.

The winning of customers will be completed by the linking of the value of the vehicle to both build and service quality.

I have never owned a Toyota product before and I must say the IS 350 is by far the best car I have ever had.

LeslieRC

Indeed! It's funny that so much emotion can surround an inanimate object that is subject to being quickly cast aside when the next best thing comes along. Too bad that some folks don't care as much about others as they do about their things.

kensteele

I'm not very passionate about a manual transmission. I've had manuals most of my early driving days and have simply gone beyond the need to constantly shift gears. At this point, I would not purchase the 350 in a manual even if it were available. So I'm not disappointed but I can understand how some folks would like to be able to have that option. We'll never know how and why these decisions are made.

flipside909

I'm not really that disappointed. Lexus has thrown some nice things into the IS300 from market demand during it's 5 year duration. The manual was added in the 2nd year of production. Time will tell if Lexus will do something for the IS350...but in realiity, the demand for the enthusiast market as a whole (and we represent if not only 1% of the market demand) is very very small unfortunately. The IS350 is plenty fast in it's form, fast enough to beat that 350z or G35 6MT in the lane next to you. Everyone has their preferences. I prefer a 4 door than a 2 door.

4CYLNDR

1. what exactly did you like about the Inline 6 that is missing from the v6 (beside the supra references and the forced induction capability which is beyond the desire of most people on this board, for good reason)?

2. What makes you think that if the IS350 doesn't come in manual, a sportier model of the IS wouldn't either?

3. What makes you think that if the IS350 didn't come out with a manual immediately, they won't ever come out with a manual?

- marketing strategy has been the same for a while. you always come out with the version of a product that you know will sell simply by virtue of its novelty, and come out with better iterations later on, e.g. a year later, two years later, etc. BMW, for example, ALWAYS comes out with the sedan 3 series first, waits until everyone jumps on the new car bandwagon, and comes out with the more desireable coupe.

tqlla3k

iTrader: (1)

The straight 6 had a lot of advantages over a V design. I dont know most of them, but I know they are natuarally balanced, and its much easier to change spark plugs.

ychachad

Inline 6 engines are perfectly balanced versus V6 engines. They weigh less, and are less complicated, as they do not require balancing shafts like V6. Inlines are more torquey than equivalent V6.
Disadvantage is they cannot ideally fit into FWD cars, and take up extra space.

4CYLNDR

I'll give you the spark plug thing, lol, although i don't think too many of the guys on this forum wrench on their own cars, statistically.

Does anyone know whether its true that inline 6's don't have balance shafts? Most inline 4's do; i'd be interested in finding out. Its just interesting that everyone talks about the inline 6 this or that, but very few people really know why they say its better, other than some hearsay from around the bend.

Itsuki_23

Inline 6 takes more space, long engine hurts weight distribution. Remember that inline 6 is basically same length as V12 Current V6 is full aluminium, dual vvti, direct injection - it's a large step up from the old inline 6. BMW is keeping their inline 6 only because of "heritage" - which is really marketing strategy. BMW has gone throught major difficulties designing their chassies to keep good weight balance. It is easier, financially and technologically sensible to replace it with V6 and Lexus just did that with IS and GS.

Inline 6 (I6) hype has come mainly from tuners, cause I6 engines have larger displacement (compared to straight 4) and are easier to turbocharge because of one exhaust manifold (vs 2 manifolds for V engines). V engines use two turbos which has its limits when you are a hardcore tuner. I6 with single turbo is the most popular configuration for all-out max horsepower.