I would have bought my 350 with a manual had it been offered. If they offered up the 200t in a manual, I'd likely trade mine to get it.

 

I'm sure if lexus released a limited number of sticks, they'd sell out...maybe 5000

 

I was doing a pretty nasty commute when I had my Porsche. And still knew my next car would be stick. I know a Lexus is somewhat different and the manual market being slim to none. For the current IS I would still want the top of the line auto car over the lower model with stick.

I don't always think the car is about quickest shifting or whatever. A stick is just fun to drive. If I wanted the fastest car I would be excited about driverless cars or just go ride a rollercoaster.

And really getting a stick BMW is nearly impossible, Lexus has a chance to go after another market. The whole BMW ultimate driving machine can't be taken seriously if they offer a stick but don't sell them.

 

They will sell way more automatics, especially at the entry level where performance is not the primary reason for purchase. In reality they would sell maybe 1% of the cars with a manual and they cost to develop and certify it would mean a loss to do it. There is even a good case study for this, Kia did not offer the Rio SX with a manual. They had a ton of people ask for it, the car was already manual certified due to the EX model have the option, and Kia caved to enthusiast. There was a total of 489 manual transmission Kia Rio SX brought over in 2012 (can't remember which model year). The initial 200 were off the lots in a couple months, people had even had them on order for 4 months waiting for the car. Once the buzz for it died down, the rest took MONTHS to sell. The last one sat on a dealer lot for 13 months before it was sold.

So I totally understand were Lexus is coming from on this.

 

There's really not that many people who know how to drive stick in the US as DMV doesn't require a manual car for the exam.

For me, I know how to drive stick. I drove a stick BMW before and I was really having fun times with it....when there's no traffic. I lived in Westwood (LA) back then and whoever live there should know how bad the traffic is on I-405 and I-10. As a daily driver, I prefer auto.

 

Driving a stick is something that many of us over 40 know how to do. It has its place and it can be fun. It is not fun while commuting IMO, but then, I commuted from South OC to Century City in an AE86 years ago. Thankfully, I was young. I still have the AE86 and will complete the restoration soon. I will row the gears in that car when I feel like it, but I really want an auto for DD in SoCal.

 

Not hard at all, if you special order. Of course that also gets you away from AWD, another unnecessary cost and weight adder.

 

As much as I do not want to say it, Toyota / Lexus is not really an enthusiast brand. They have no need to make manuals for the North American market, as the majority of the people who purchase these vehicles do so for reliability and daily transportation. However, even Porsche is moving strictly to PDK. The manual trans is no longer desirable

 

Do you have a cite for Porsche moving strictly to PDK? I don't believe it. Manuals will always be desirable to true driving enthusiasts.

 

Pretty sure luxury cars are moving away form manuals now.

 

With the great transmissions available today, many automatics are faster and get better fuel economy than manuals. However, there's a lot to be said for the pure driver involvement of driving a manual. Nothing else compares.

Granted, driving a manual in an urban setting with lots of traffic sucks. That's why I bought and automatic IS for my DD and have an S2000 for my weekend car - so I can get my shifting fix.

Fans of automatics don't often understand why MT drivers are so passionate, especially now that AT's offer performance benefits. A simple analogy can help. Mad Dog 20/20 can probably get you drunk faster and more efficiently than a fine wine. But I'd rather sip a decent wine any day. Unless it's in traffic. ha!

 

^^^that sums it up perfectly! I miss my 03 is300 manual. it was fun...until I got on the 405...haha.

 

I just wish that Lexus would develop an actual "sporty" automatic transmission ie. one that can downshift multiple gears at a time and quickly! I really hate the 8-speed in my 350 F-Sport since when aggressively downshifting with the flappy paddles, it goes at it one gear at a time and it seems to take nearly half a second per gear. There are times when I am on the highway cruising in 8th and I tap the left paddle four times to get down into 4th to accelerate quickly and it takes a few seconds to get the transmission where I want it to be and usually this is not enough time for the downshifting to be effective. And then when you pop down two or three gears when going around a turn to get back in the power-torque band, the transmission takes its good old time and then bangs into 3rd gear, at which time you have to overcompensate for the unexpected surge in power.

Note that I spend about 90% of my time in Sport+ mode with the flappy paddle shifters. With a manual, you just double clutch and pop from 6th to 3rd or 4th to get into the fat part of the power-toque band. I leased the IS350 F-Sport because I liked it enough to serve as my daily driver but not enough to keep it for 5+ years (like my outgoing Subaru Legacy Spec.B 6MT). If the IS200t came with a manual, that might be enough for me to actually buy the car instead of "renting" it. I get that automatics are now more efficient and shift faster and that the cost to design an alternate ECU system in order to certify the car with a manual transmission is excessive, but I miss the engagement and feel that you get from a good MT setup. I used to DD my Spec.B in a mix of DC area highway and stop-and-go traffic and never once yearned for an automatic. It is just so hard to find any sports sedans with MTs these days...

 

 

I completely agree with Jeff. If Lexus offered one I'd strongly consider it, especially now that they come with a factory turbo engine, however lowly compared to the V6 and V8 models. I prefer manuals. I drive in L.A. traffic and I don't mind the manual at all. I do mind being stuck with an automatic. I find them utterly boring and uninteresting despite the modern advantages of faster shifting and better fuel economy.

Driving a manual is about the experience it gives, not ultimate speed (or fuel economy). If Lexus feels they don't want to offer one in even an affordable enthusiast driver's sedan then fine. Other companies do, though it is dismaying to learn that it's getting harder to actually FIND a manual car on a BMW lot. But there will always be people who enjoy them, will order them (if available on the option sheet) and aren't bothered by the supposed tradeoffs.

^^ This. It's absolutely not about faster shifting or the fastest lap time or fastest 0-60. It's the experience and involvement.

I can comment on the W58 5-speed manual offered in the SC300 and, since it was also fully R&D'd for the car and offered in Japan, the R154 5-speed manual. When in fresh condition I have found both to be very satisfying, though it should be noted that the R154 is very much a "muscle car" transmission in that, when driven very aggressively likes to be shifted with a slight bit of heft. With the R154 when driving normally it's fairly docile. There is also some minor gear noise from the R-series which, again, is a characteristic of a "muscle car" transmission. Think of a late model Pontiac GTO manual transmission. That said, given the character of the Lexus model it's in, it feels like it should have come that way originally. Which it did, technically. Just not in the States.

W58 is a tad smoother and feels "lighter" to shift and rev with, owing to its smaller internal gears. It also has a synchro on reverse unlike the other one. Very fun and easy to drive.

I disagree with Lexus USA deciding not to offer the R-series gearbox in the SC but I can understand why there might have been an argument from the brass who felt a Lexus vehicle "shouldn't drive like that". Nonetheless a nearly identical version of the car was sold with it overseas for a decade and it's definitely a satisfying enthusiast choice.

I cannot comment from experience on the W55 in the IS300, the manual from early ES300's or the IS250 6-speed.

The LFA was mentioned earlier and I don't feel a three-pedal manual transmission should have been offered in the supercar. First off, it actually does have a manual: a dual-clutch. And a very fast one needed to keep up with the insanely fast revs of the Yamaha V10. That car's design M.O. was not about offering a stick-shift experience and rightly so. The same could be said of the R35 GTR's, Porsche 918, MacLaren P1 and every top-line Ferrari offered in the last few years.

However, until fuel economy regulations make them completely impossible to offer from a technical standpoint (which isn't yet the case), manuals belong on the cars that aren't trying their best to showcase the newest technology, F-1 inspiration and best Nurburgring lap times. Everything from the FR-S to the Chevy SS to the Mustang to the BMW 2 and 3/4 Series to the Cadillac (old) CTS and ATS to Subaru Imprezas to Miatas and too many other models to list. Some of those manual models may indeed have Nurburgring times but is that really the point of offering them?

Lexus would do no wrong by offering a stick in (take your pick) the IS200t, RC200t, RC350 or IS/RC-F. They won't but there are definitely people who want it. Let's not forget an available Torsen LSD option for non-F models.

It doesn't matter though. Lexus may have sold some manual models in the past but they don't seem to be at all interested in catering to a driver/enthusiast manual trim for even one model. It would even be interesting if a true dual-clutch transmission with paddle shifters were offered in the IS and RC models. Unless the 8-speed auto really is lighting fast, won't argue with the driver over downshift inputs and can take some abuse and shrug it off. Neither is the same experience as having three pedals and a stick but a DCT is technically the correct way to evolve beyond the "antiquated" technology in a traditional manual.