Thanks for the writeup.

 

i was about to post the same thing. yeah at first people weren't too sure about the "flappy paddle" gearboxes but as they increasingly become the de facto exotic gearbox, people seem less obliged to comment on it.

my take on this is that cars like the ferrari are SO fun in terms of power, sound, handling, etc. that rowing your own gears just seems... mundane. shifter feel? clutch feel? who gives a flying f*ck? you're having too much fun doing everything else.

that's my point. it seems cars like the evo get the brunt of the "hate" for paddle shift trannies because they don't have the power of the exotics, the handling, the look, the feel, the price tag, the exclusivity, etc....

 

Yeah good point. I don't ever remember hearing anyone brave enough to suggest they would rather be rowing their own gears on a Bugatti Veyron. I would think, what with the road flying at me at 250+ mph and all, I would like the least amount of distraction as possible too, while on my world land speed record attempt (which, in this case, can be literally just a button press and a long stint on the gas away). And for the miniscule number of people who actually WOULD prefer a standard box in a Veyron, I'd bet dollars to donuts that given the likes of a real F1 car, they would be finally at the point they are concentrating SO HARD on keeping their head attached to their body, they would let go of the notion that gears should always changed with a stick and a pedal.

Like you say, the Evo is of course NOT the fastest production car on earth, and lacking such capabilities, I guess I COULD see how you could get bored letting the computer sort everything out at the track...while reading the newspaper...in your slippers...smoking a pipe...and listening to the radio.

I'm curious to know if the OP would have the same point of view given an Evo with 200 or so more horsepower and some track preparation. In other words, if it IS the case that the better the performance, the less the lack of gear-rowing technology matters, I wonder where the threshold lies for the OP between the Evo X FQ300 SST and Bugatti Veyron? Is it simply a case of adorning a prancing horse, or a bull? Is it X number of horsepowers or Y torques? F1 car type handling and steering that requires all of your attention? Would you say the same of a WRC-spec, paddle-shifted rally machine while lapping that very Pro-Drive track? I mean, after all, the computer is shifting so...time to check up on the football scores, right? They are both about 300 hp, AWD, etc., so by your reasoning, am I safe to assume it would be a snooze-fest as well?

 

i think some of you going far to compere the X for the Bugatti or the WRC or F1 cars by any means. Wont matter it is a tranny or anything else. Simularity between those cars and the X is , they running on 4 wheel .
WRC -F1 cars got custom tune for the track, weather, etc. So no simularity there.
Compere to the Bugatti Veyron... i honestly think you guys are kidding...

 

You know, I've been struggling with the choice between the SST transmission and the manual transmission even since I heard they were releasing such a box on the Evo. Initially I was smitten with the idea of a computer shifiting as fast (faster, even) than humanly possible each and every time for me and swore that when (if?) the car is finally released here it would be my choice. I've since been second guessing that choice.

For someone like me, who isn't going to be going to the track every weekend, my main goal is to enjoy the driving process and to feel involved in the spirit of driving. To predict my speed and whether it's appropriate or not for a lower or higher gear, to select the optimum gear at the optimum time before going around a corner, to know that when I know I can change into a lower gear that decision will not be rejected by a computer. All these things add up to the driving experience and most of them are rendered null and void with the advent of SST style boxes. Hell, the main reason I drive my beater over my wife's far newer, more powerful car is because mine is manual versus her automatic - I feel like a passenger driving her car and that is how I would feel alot of the time in the Evo, I think. I realise the SST style boxes are fantastic technology and most likely here to stay, but at what cost? I might change my mind at the time of a test drive, but I don't think so.

And to those who are saying that 5th gear and Top Gear love the SST type boxes, refer to the recent 5th gear episode where Tiff drives the Lexus IS-F - he gets quite annoyed with it.

 

i think if you are not the "tuner " type. And you willing to finish your upgrades with minor bolt ons. Like TBE and intake, then the MR will be perfect for you.
Abd will be serve you better then the 5 speed.

If you feel, you might will go further , then you better off with the 5 speed version.
This is what i get out from the info's.
Also when it comes to race , you want to have a simpliest car is possible. /K.I.S.S./ /
There is many reason why. So i think for hardcore racers the MR will be a bad choice, or may i say , waste of money.

 

Great review... the x is really nice

 

NOBODY in their right mind would compare the X to the veyron or an F1 car, and the comparison to the WRC car was just to make a point because on paper they have similar attributes. you fail at reading comprehension.

 

NOBODY in their right mind would compare the X to the veyron or an F1 car, and the comparison to the WRC car was just to make a point because on paper they have similar attributes. you fail at reading comprehension. however, for clarity, my question to the OP was simply that given that the SST is a fantastic gearbox, and given he thinks the X is boring to drive with it, and assuming at some level of overall performance from the X (starting point) to the veyron or F1 car (end point) that the lack of a standard gearbox ceases to be a negative, what is that threshold? what things, in his opinion, tip the scale to favor new over old? i'm just curious as to the parameters of said threshold since I've been dreaming of a brilliant sequential gearbox in an affordable performance car for the masses for a long time, and don't understand all the pushback. i understand not enjoying the execution of any given example, and i understand the logistical and reliability problems of fielding any high-tech system for racing. i just would like to know what exactly it is about the sequential boxes that are so off-putting and boring to so many. the OP is in a fairly unique position to answer this question given his nice review of driving the X SST in anger around the PRO-DRIVE circuit, and given he is anti-sst in preference.

 

No problem mate.


Turns out Im not allowed my own opinion on the SST after driving it. I have to like it because its the future. Not much else left to say then is there. I wont bother reviewing my FQ360 on here when it arrives in case I get my opinion wrong again.

 

If i made it sound like i was ******* your opinion i sincerely apologize, as that was not my intention. i was just curious as to the specifics of the reason behind your preference. i respect your personal preference and appreciate your review, and i also hope will you re-consider posting more reviews here. i'm sure lots of others would as well. again, sorry if i came off as harsh on your opinion. didn't mean to! i guess i went overboard in forming the premise for my question.

 

I think we need to looking for an answere in the reality, and not in the theoraticly.
So the BMW ,VW, etc.would be a better base for the argument.
I wouldn't even mention the new GT-R in this case ,but basicly you could.

 

Scroll through the pages, Ive said its a brilliant gearbox but why i dont like it/want one

 

point made, I'll shelf my questions, and thanks again for the review. it was more informative than many articles I've read in magazines.

 

The Lexus ISF's transmission is not a dual clutch transmission! And not comparable to the Evo X's SST transmission. People think that all "flappy paddle" gear boxes are the same! Dual clutch transmissions are the future. Same reason BMW and Mercedes Benz are developing 7-speed dual clutch transmissions for their high performance line of vehicles. Research is a newbie's best friend