Nail34

To me, M mode works better because it stays in the gear you choose.

58Gemni

rarely.... mostly when I want to slow down a bit faster and engage the regenerative braking more without touching the brakes.... otherwise, novelty to me

HontoKuro

2nd most useless feature on an RX in my opinion. Only reason they have them on the RX is they use the same steering wheel on all the other Lexus models so they probably figure why remove it just keep it as a novelty and give RX owners something they can pretend makes a difference trick.

azinn

After having two RX's (2014 F Sport & 2017 F Sport) with the paddle's I've learned to like them. Come in handy when I don't agree with the 8 speed transmission's selection or when using to change gears quickly when passing. I use them on a daily bases. Just my 2 cents.

alexsea

Nail34

Observations from yesterday re the paddle shifters.

Going uphill to my house I downshifted into 2nd gear and as soon as I let off the gas a bit to make a gentle turn I came out of 2nd. I downshifted again with the paddle shifter and the car went into1st gear. Anyone who has ever downshifted in M-mode into 1st gear while the car is moving knows how negatively the car reacts. I go up that hill in M2, no problem. I'm sure the paddle shifters were not designed to be used uphill.

When downshifting at a high rate of speed the car went into 5th gear. I would much rather drop gears in M-mode, much smoother.

I find that it is just as easy, maybe even quicker, to rapidly accelerate in sport mode rather than using the paddle shifters.

When going downhill with the paddle shifters and it goes back into D-mode it usually involves braking, something you are trying to avoid when going downhill. I'd rather control the speed in M-mode.

When downshifting into 2nd gear while going downhill it's very difficult to keep the rpm's under 4k.

I don't usually hold my hands in that position on the steering wheel.

The paddle shifters are fun to use!!

TeKKieNYC

I guess the only time I'd use them is help the idiot transmission find its gear, otherwise I never touch them. IMO, paddle shifters belong on 13 seconds and faster cars.

DaytonaV

i only use them if i want to stay in the same gear.. take the revs up high

ocarr

I use to use the paddle shifters in my other car but would sometimes downshift when I was going too fast and I'd get that engine surge so I stopped using them.

I LOVE the smoothness of the 450h CVT but I sometime miss the good ole days of the manual transmission. The last two times that I was traveling and needed a rental car I tried to get a manual but didn't have any luck. I bet most millennials don't even know how to drive with a manual transmission without cars to teach them

mikemu30

Not many around any longer but they were fun to drive indeed.

AquaMayne

I know this is a couple years late, but i heard somewhere if you are in park and hold down the traction control button for 5 or so seconds, on non f sport it will bring up a traction control light on dash, and something similar on f sport - you wont see the automatic shifting when using the paddles, and this is without being in M-mode. Can anyone confirm this?

WIZARD1325

iTrader: (1)

Quick answer is no .

Where they do shine is when you live in a moutain area going down steep hills. So you use engine braking. Thats were i got the money worth out of them.

Hooe that helps

bamalam

Good callout. I use the paddle shifters all the time for engine braking on hills. The downshift paddle gets far more use than the upshift paddle.

MattRX

I mainly use it for engine braking while getting off the highway or for steep hills. I find the paddles to be kind of unresponsive under hard driving, especially when you want to upshift. Then again, it's still an automatic transmission (one designed to achieve the best fuel economy to boot), not an SMG like on our M3 track car - or dual clutch. I like that they're there if you want to use them.

Riba

Can you add paddle shifters alone or need to change the whole wheel?