Hi-
I recently test drove (and fell in love with) the IS350. I have NEVER owned an automtic, because I HATE driving mountain roads and having the automatic downshift on its own when accelerating out of corners.

I was dealing with the internet manager, and when I showed up at the dealership without an appointment, he was understandably busy, and sent me on the test drive with his assistant.

I wanted to test the manual mode, so the assistant salesperson put the shifter in the "S" position, and showed me how to put the display in the mode that shows the gear I was in on the dashboard display.

Now the question: traveling about 40MPH (?) the car displayed "4" as the gear I was in, and I hit the gas pedal pretty hard, and the car quickly downshifted to 3rd. I was not expecting the car to downshift on its own when in "manual mode".

I asked the assistant salesperson if that was normal, and she said, she recommends just leaving it in "D", and that the internet sales manager "knows more about these things". I asked him about it after the test drive, and he said that no, it should not downshift unless "you are about to hurt the car". I understand it should upshift if you are at redline, or downshift if you are about to stall, but can't figure out why it would downshift when it did.

So, I guess I am wondering if this is normal, or if maybe I didn't get the car fully into manual mode. When I test drive it again, is there something else I should know?

thanks in advance,
-bob

 

This is normal operation of the "manual" mode. There are alot of posts on this if you try the search. The manual mode of this trasmisson is not as fun as my last cars steptronic (BMW 540i) IMO. But on the upside, the automatic in D is very smooth and quick to shift especially in pwr mode. It will also hold gears in the corners. In full auto mode I think it is one of the best automatic transmissons.

 

The car doesn't have a true manual mode. The mode you had it in (sport mode) allows you to control the maximum gear that the auto will shift to.

The Internet sales manager is wrong. There is no way to prevent a downshift. The only thing that sport mode will do is to prevent an upshift.

Coming from a car with a manual tranny, I'd hoped that sport mode would suffice when I got the urge to shift myself. Unfortunately, it didn't. I find sport mode nothing but frustrating, and practically never use it.

 

Try snow mode to prevent the downshift. You might find it more to your liking.

 

I suggest you test drive the BMW 335i. It will hold gears in manual mode. Also, with the Lexus you are losing 3% of your power for every thousand feet you go up in elevation. With the 335i you won't have this problem either since the turbos compensate for thin air at altitude. Good luck on your decision.

 

i love my IS350, but honestly, if you've always had a manual, the IS wont cut it for you. As every day goes by, i wish my IS was a manual. I love the car to death, but the automatic takes so much away from the "sports sedan" expierance.

This is a great car, but it wont replace a manual tranny by any means.

Good luck

 

so everyone has their opinion and my opinion would be if you've never had anything but a manual shift car, now is to time for change. give it shot, i can almost guarantee you will not look back. a car's transmission is not your entire life, so what if it doesn't do exactly like you want it to do, big deal. when you are driving, the tranny only matters less than half the time you're driving (mileage) anyway. once upon a time i swore i would never purchase a vehicle that wasn't a manual tranny. now i'm finding these sport shift cars to be the best of both worlds, now it's just a matter of find which ones are the best in their class. don't pass up the is350 just because it doesn't offer a true manual transmission.

 

The manual in the IS250 is nothing to write home about either. The gear changes are loud, 1st and 2nd gears have a grinding feel, the clutch slips on any kind of uneven pavement, and the list goes on.

The thing that really kills the driving experience is the hanging revs issue, where the revs will hang for about a second before descending back down. The shifting process takes about 2 seconds and it makes merging into any kind of traffic a nightmare.

Just like you said, I love this car to death as well, but the transmissions that Toyota decided to put into these cars really take away from the sportiness.

To the OP, if you must have a manual, I suggest looking at another car.

 

Thanks for all the responses.

It wasn't that I "must" have a manual, I just want to go in to this with my eyes open. I love the idea of the automatic for most of the driving I do, I just wanted to know what to expect, and whether the salesperson put the car completely into "manual mode". Now, knowing that "is what it is", I can re-test drive the car, and see how annoying (or not) I find it.

Like most here, I drove most of the competition. I test drove the A3 and loved the DSG, but the car was too small. I drove the A4 2.0T Quattro, but I worry about reliabilty of anything german (and I think the IS looks better). I simply didn't like the G35. I just wish toyota still made the mid-engine style MR-2!

-bob

 

I too test drove the A3, and LOVED the DSG, a great transmission. but the FWD just didn't feel right and the NAV is the pits.

I drive almost exclusively in the sport mode in my 350 and find it to be quite satisfying. The paddle shifters do not feel as responsive as shifting with the stick. After driving clutch cars for 15 years it's a pleasure not to have to deal with it anymore.