Auto & Manual

[Teddy]

Just out of curiousity,

Do you have a manual, auto, or tiptronic. I have come across a couple of anti auto postings, and just being curious as to why you will prefer an auto to a manual and vice versa.

[Wallace]

Hi Teddy, here is my pennies worth. Mine is the six speed manual IS200, i have also had test drives in the Auto IS200 and the IS300. I found the four speed auto of the IS200 was never in the right gear, they are talking of changing it to a five speed sometime. The IS300 was totally different, perhaps as it had more power and a five speed auto. I liked using it as a manual box also, the only complaint was using the paddles and trying to change gear going around corners are roundabouts. Lots of wisted arms.

With my manual i often froget what gear the car is in, but it seems to pull in most gears, so its as good as an auto.

[Parthiban]

i have an auto and i love it. i would prefer it to be a five or six speed auto because its a bit irritating that you lose so much performance because of it but the four speed is much smoother for the passengers because it changes around much less.

as i live in london, there is hardly any use to a manual at all because you cant enjoy the driving experience (except the odd 100 metre dash from one set of traffic lights to the next! woo-hoo!) and just end up living on the clutch. you can always switch around using the gear positions on the auto selector anyway

with an auto, can just sit back relax and enjoy the comfort of the lex

P.S. wouldnt mind a tiptronic though :P

[bloofire]

I have a IS200 SE manual and it's been ok. I have to say i've always found it a bit of struggle to match revs correctly changing up or down into 2nd gear. Also the box seems to develop a rattle in 6th gear that gets worse until i take it back to Lexus.

I've always driven manual cars but have decided to buy at 5AT Altezza. I reckon being able to keep both hands on the wheel is no bad thing, particularly as I razz it round the Suffolk B-roads (avoiding tractors obviously!) Even being auto I think the Altezza is about 1.5 secs faster to 60mph than the IS200.

I will miss that feeling of dropping down a gear (or 2 in the IS200!!) to overtake someone tho...!

[Teddy]

I have always thought autos were for robots :P You can.t redline it if you want to.

The first time I drove me mate,s Auto I stalled it. Yes I did. It was faulty though so I had to keep my left peg on the brake and the right lightly on the gas to keep the revs up whenever I got to a traffic light.

Anyway, I prefer to control, rather than be controlled when it comes to gearing. Before I got my manual, I toyed with the Altezza Tiptronic idea, but I wondered how it would be possible to kick down and floor it round a bend. Or as Wallace put it, how do you change gears at roundabouts, and steer at the same time.

[ricky_is200]

but I wondered how it would be possible to kick down and floor it round a bend. Or as Wallace put it, how do you change gears at roundabouts, and steer at the same time.

You change down gear before the bend or roundabout similar to when you drive a manual.

The tiptronic is a bit of a toy, its good for the transition from a manual to an auto car but most people find after the first couple of months they don't use it, apart from the occasional spin down a country road. The reason for that is that the auto is just so good on its own.

[ricky_is200]

i have an auto and i love it. i would prefer it to be a five or six speed auto because its a bit irritating that you lose so much performance because of it but the four speed is much smoother for the passengers because it changes around much less.

With a good auto box you should barely be able to notice it change gear.

[Geoffers]

I will miss that feeling of dropping down a gear (or 2 in the IS200!!) to overtake someone tho...!

You can still drop the auto box down, and redline it if you control the stick outside of "D" and through the change yourself.

I'll show you when you come this way.............

[ADVANCE]

I have a Manual in me IS300 (yes, 3L)...and i have drivin the E-shift 3L. The E-shift seems to lose a lot of torque (is this what you all call it? torque?) so the Manual has a lot quicker start.

[Monster-Mat]

sorry.....manual's all the time

[vince-com]

E shift just gives you a smoother gear change, but I don't think it loose torque on the way.

Now assuming the auto box in jamed city is way cool than having the foot on the clutch all the time, as I previously said in an another thraid around here, I use the Sport X at 90% in auto, in Paris, with people or my wife, and I set to E shift alone on twisty roads. For a good using of the E-shift, you need some times, to reduce a bit before than a manual one, cost m time on that and probably someone driving it for a short while won't like it.

Having previously probably the best manaul 6G you can wonder to have on the IS200, I was a bit confused by the 300, now I won't turn back, auto boxes when you're using most of the time your car in the city is the best to have, and when I want to set to the 200, just have to ask to my father who bought me my IS200 Lexus family :-)

@d'taleur

[Matthew_McNally]

sorry.....manual's all the time

I used to have that attitude Mat, but the more automaticswith cruise control I drive - the more I want it.

wouldn't have got flashed on Sunday either if I had it

[bloofire]

QUOTE (bloofire @ May 14 2003, 01:45 PM)

I will miss that feeling of dropping down a gear (or 2 in the IS200!!) to overtake someone tho...!

You can still drop the auto box down, and redline it if you control the stick outside of "D" and through the change yourself.

I'll show you when you come this way.............

Yep i thought you could and it's got the e-shift as well. The sport button holds it in gear until 7,500rpm - sweet.

No worriers geoffers you're welcome to take it for a spin!

[ricky_is200]

Lots of manuals do have cruise control - just not the IS200. BMW's do even my old Vauxhall Vectra did.

I now drive an auto, 5 speed with tiptronic and love it, especially as most of my driving is on motorways or in heavy traffic. Very rarely do I get to drive on a clear open road.

[Parthiban]

You can.t redline it if you want to

Stick it on ECT-PWR and it redlines itself, OR you can shift through the autobox yourself

I wondered how it would be possible to kick down and floor it round a bend

whoever said before was right, because you would want to change gear before the bend rather than through it because firstly you want to carry the power through the bend, and secondly, downshifting mid-corner can be quite dangerous as you can lose the tail quite easily

With a good auto box you should barely be able to notice it change gear

yeah you're absolutely right and it is a good auto box but i'm just trying to find some justification for whythe nice people at lexus only put a 4 speed in the 200

basically, i have nothing against manuals, but the auto is far more practical in the city and driving is soooo much easier, especially when you need to make a phonecall (with a hands-free kit ) or have a drink, or a snack......

[ADVANCE]

E shift just gives you a smoother gear change, but I don't think it loose torque on the way.

well, i will have to agree that the e-shift is a smoother shift, but I have happend to race many IS300 e-shifts here in the US and my manual beats them about one car length at the start and pulls away about another half car length every gear change. The reason i pull away on gear changes is because the gear ratios are different and i can say in each gear longer than the e-shift.

on a side note- yes its true u can get manuals with cruise control. Mine is equipt with cruise control but can only be used when in 4th or 5th gear.

[Doodlebug]

I chose an auto because most of my driving is in rush hour traffic jams or motorway driving where the cruise control comes into its own.

I dont understand all the talk about 4 or 5 speed autos. Mine only has 1 forward gear and 1 reverse gear. Thats the way it seems as the gear change is almost undetectable.

When you need to push on a bit you can use the kickdown, change down with the gear lever or push in the power switch. More options than a manual.

In the end it all comes down to personal choice.

:D :D

[UKPulse]

Horses for courses. I used to be an "enthusiastic" driver (Renault 5GT Turbo, 200SX, Skyline GT-R33, etc.) but I guess age and the ever increasing number of gatso's got to me :P

Jan 2002 decided I wanted effortless refinement, so opted for a 200SE Auto - loved it, the auto box is easily as good as the rental C Class 200 Kompressor Auto I got my hands on, and light years better than a dreadfull Omega 2.6 V6 Auto I had the misfortune of doing 2,500 miles in.

The only reason I changed up to the IS300 5-speed was for the extra shove (even so it's still not hugely fast). So for sheer laziness, I'd go auto, especially as Lexus make such nice auto boxes! For involvement and fun, I'd opt for manual! :)

[Scorpion]

Yep gotta go with Mat on this one,i got a sport so manual for me

and i LOVE it

[Parthiban]

can i ask any manual owners, whether there has ever been a situation (stuck in a traffic jam etc.) where they have thought to themselves

'wish i had an auto'

and how many auto drivers have thought

'wish i had a manual'

i'm quite sure that this will be quite one-sided, well hopefully

simple reason is that with an auto, can still shift around through the gate (or with paddles for e-shift) but with a manual, there is no auto option (ignoring hiring a chauffeur :P )

[UKPulse]

Well whenever I get burned off by some Bee'Em 325i, I wish I had the manual IS300 coz them puppies are supposed to really fly!

[Teddy]

can i ask any manual owners, whether there has ever been a situation (stuck in a traffic jam etc.) where they have thought to themselves

'wish i had an auto'

and how many auto drivers have thought

'wish i had a manual'

i'm quite sure that this will be quite one-sided, well hopefully

simple reason is that with an auto, can still shift around through the gate (or with paddles for e-shift) but with a manual, there is no auto option (ignoring hiring a chauffeur :P )

If you are stuck in traffic, say in 10mph style traffic, all you need a gentle lift off the clutch and you are away.

You don,t need much lift, cos too much and no spped will stall it. I think it,s an old fashioned excuse. IMO, manual gives you real driving pleasure.

[bam-bam]

I drove both when purchasing my previous IS,it may just have been the individual examples of cars but the manual seemed quite "notchy" through the gearbox,with quite a bit of pressue needed into 3rd gear.

My latest addition has a 5 speed auto,which when driven hard doesnt miss a beat,with no loss of acceleration during shifts.

These cars have been the only vehicles to persuade me not to own a manual,and sure,there are times where I wish I could reminisce about the GTR skyline of old but owning an auto IS does not make me feel un-inspired to treat this as a true drivers car,as it certainly does perform like one!

[PaulFromSwindon]

I was very tempted to get an auto, cos I wanted Cruise Control. What puts me off is the fact that the auto is 2-3 seconds slower to 60, which I think is rather a lot. I'm no boy-racer by any means, but I couldn't stomach the thought that I'd have a 15-grand, 3yr old, 2 litre, 6-cylinder car that is slower to 60 than my old J-reg Rover 214!!!

Having said this, my 200 sport was in for a service last week, and they gave me an IS300 sport for the day with auto/switchtronic/cruise. Now, we are talking - very quick, very smooth gearchanges, loved it a lot. If I hadn't been made redundant recently, I would seriously consider getting one.