2JZ_Josh

Paddle Shifters - The Boring Future. Its more practical.
Manual Trans- Fun Fun Time. 3 Pedals. I wont fall asleep at the wheel

lol

Coffey454

Depends on the car. Manual is the obvious choice when available, but some hard-core cars have great paddle shifted systems. The best paddle shifted cars I have driven are the Gallardo and the Ferrari 360 Challenge race-cars with the F1 paddle-shift system... Just perfect. Ironically, the street driven Ferrari's are better with the conventional manual transmission (for longevity of the clutch).

dunnojack

i vote for PDK for all.

i hope all lexus cars have this option/standard in the near future.

mmarshall

It not only depends on the car, but the road and traffic conditions too. Conventional, clutch-operated manual transmissions can be a pain in the a** in urban and dense, stop-and-go traffic conditions. That is the main reason why they are on the way out...more and more areas are getting like that nowadays, even if that is not the case where you live in Canada.

JDM

I actually don't mind driving in LA traffic with stick, I've been doing it ever since I started driving. I guess I'm not the norm.

primecut

iTrader: (1)

FYI - you were likely in auto mode when you tried to use the paddles to override. In manual mode it will hold the gear until you want to shift, and it will only downshift for you if it senses that the car is going to stall.

I can understand how some people believe that it's more fun and engaging to drive a true manual, but personally I've always found it to be a hassle rather than an enjoyment. And now that the performance of paddles/tip/auto matches or exceeds that of a manual, I don't really see a reason to go manual. It's more or less a matter of preference now.

In terms of not being able to skip gears during downshift, that may be a concern, but it doesn't happen too often and can be easily remedied by a few quick taps.

CDNROCKIES

It could also be that the car was still cold. The paddles are not even eligible for use until the oil temp gets up to a certain level. I had to confirm this with my Lexus tech, as I was getting po'd that I couldn't have fun on the on-ramp 2 blocks from my house.

I8ABMR

This may sound kind of lame, but last time I was in LA I drove a 20 year old Honda Accord with a manual transmission and I have to admit I thought it was fun. I really enjoyed the drive and the car only had something like 110 hp .

The practical usage of the paddle shifters allows you to hold the wheel with both hands, but it gets kind of awkward when you are trying to shift coming out of a hard corner or turn that required you to turn the wheel that little extra bit that would require you to let go of the standard 10 and 2 position. I think in the end I prefer the middle. I guess this would mean the "tiptronic" or standard manual shift mode is the best imo. I have to say that imo to date the automatic transmission in the G sedan and coupe, with the Rev Match feature on down gearing, gives me the feeling of more control with the automatic than any other Japanese luxury brand. It even shifts when you tell it. Even if the shift point is not the optimum it will still shift. More control with no clutch.... not a bad compromise imo

CDNROCKIES

Sorry, but that's not exactly true. If you are really going to push your car that hard and need to not be in a 10 -2 hand position, you can just as easily have your left hand on the wheel and your right hand shifting the gear shifter with your right....just like in a true manual....except the motion is straight up and down.

I8ABMR

I thought that was what I was trying to say. Maybe I didnt convey it properly, but I agree with you. I think the manual shift or tiptronic mode is the best. The paddle shifters is the way of the future it seems

Ryeno

iTrader: (3)

What do you mean it doesn't happen too often? At EVERY red light or anytime traffic slows down, you have to tap the gear shifter like 5 times to go down into the right. And everytime you tap it, the car feels awkward since your in a gear you shouldnt be in. Plus if the traffic picks up right after it slows down again, its all ackward shifting, Since you have to keep tapping the gear shifter. You have to look on the guage cluster to figure out what gear your in. Then if the traffic slows down again, you have to tap the shifter like 5 more times to go down.

To put it bluntly, the paddle shifters are litterly useless. Your better off leaving the car in automatic mode since it's ridiculously tedious to use the paddle shifters in daily driving. I guarantee, you use the full auto mode more then paddle shifter mode on your is-f.

Tekknikal

not a fan of automatics with manual modes (eg is,g37,etc) cant comment on the ones with full lockup claiming really fast times.

but, between the best smgs,dsgs and 6mts, its a taste thing.

like flavors of ice cream.

Koma

iTrader: (3)

I think my biggest gripe about automatics is that they use a torque converter which loses more power than a manual transmission.

suislide

Can you push start a car equipped w/ paddle shifters??? I'll take the the manual

Koma

iTrader: (3)

I think that's a really moot point and I drive a manual as a DD.
If you're worried about push starting a car ever then you should just look at more reliable vehicles.