I was reading a new article for the IS250 AWD where the reviewer spends a nice whole paragraph on the paddle shifters. To my surprise he describes our paddles different from my own; “They're nicely shaped, and feel good to the touch, with a really nice rubberized texture on the back...”

My paddle shifters are plastic all the way around, no rubberise texture in the back. Now the title of his review says ‘06 but if this is a brand-new car, I doubt the dealers have any ‘06 left in stock. So it might be a ‘07. In either case, what’s going on here? Can you guys put some light on this?

http://www.luxurycarcanada.com/featu...IS%20250%20AWD

 

'06/'07 paddles are same

 

I actually think that there may be a market for "paddle covers" for the IS.

It would be nice to have a leather or gellie cover (similar to iPod or cell phone gel covers) for the paddles. Not just for looks but for the feel of it.

I dunno. Just a suggestion...

 

a high quality rubber on the back would make a nice addition to the paddles. full leather padding though, i'm not so sure about

 

are the paddles easy to take off? maybe then I could have someone make aluminum ones or have them wrapped in leather like the new G35's. the bmw's only have a couple screws hold them in.

 

Aluminum ones would be nice. Engrave the + & - onto it.

 

i would prefer lit + & -. just like how the trunk and gas button are lit in the 07s but not on the 06

 

I wonder what Larry Yap is talking about with this "rubberized texture"?

 

I never use those stupid paddle ****ter. I think they are craps.

 

LOL! Yes I can somewhat agree with you. It's utterly useless with Toyota's automatic. Plus, what's the point of having "sport shift" after you go through all the gears, come to a stop, and you gotta "tap, like you never tapped before" to bring it back to FIRST GEAR? NONSENSE! If you don't do that, guess what? The car starts to shift for you.

Even on cars like the Acura TL, when you come to a stop, you start all over from first gear on the automatics when you use "sport shift" mode.

 

I think the paddle shifters on the new G35 are actually made of Magnesium with leather trim... they look effing sweet!

 

but isnt an advantage of paddle shifters is to be able to downshift when you want to drop to a lower gear quickly?

 

But you can do that from the console shifter. That still feels natural to me.

Aloha,
Larry

 

I used to do the console shifter with my old TL. However, with the paddle shifter, it is a lot faster to downshift 2 gears at one time.

 

I find it easier to shift if you're doing any turning with the console, otherwise the paddles are annoying. The only times I really shift myself are in spirited twisty drives.