Simple Math; 300 plus five makes this Lexus complete.(Lexus IS 300)(Brief Article)(Evaluation)

Now that it has a five-speed manual transmission for its IS 300, Lexus is getting a little closer to BMW. Not as close as Lexus would like you to think, not as close as it intimated at the IS 300's introduction a year ago, but close. The BMW 3 Series is still king of the sport sedan segment and the Audi A4 is still a prince of a four-door, but the IS 300 is now hanging out in the throne room. By allowing us to shift by ourselves, this car becomes, as they say in California, whole.

It's certainly a fun, stylish car with the five-speed electronically controlled automatic, but a manual gives drivers better control of the engine's 215 hp and 218 lb-ft of torque. Loads more control. Clutch engagement is quick, not Tilton-racing-clutch quick, but faster than most manual transmissions. You almost have to pay attention to do it smoothly. The throws in the new gearbox are relatively short, closer to the throws of a Miata than a Corvette. And there is absolutely no ambiguity; the feel for each gear is clear, you never find yourself wondering if this is third, fifth, or, worse, first.

The transmission has a numerically lower final drive than the automatic (3.727 vs. 3.909) but higher ratios in first and fifth. It drives as if the engineers tried to make the most of the manual driver's inclination to hold shifts all the way to the 6200-rpm redline. On our drive we found no holes in the transmission where one gear had run out of oomph before the next one was handy. This is not a drivetrain that cries out for a six-speed.

It's not just the transmission that distinguishes this car from its stablemate. It gets a stiffer suspension than the automatic, though Lexus hasn't said exactly how much stiffer. It certain-ly feels more responsive, offering flatter cornering and a tighter feel through the steering wheel. It still has double wishbones front and rear and four-wheel discs with ABS. Tires on our test car were the stickier, standard 215/45ZR-17 ``summer'' tires. The 205/55R-16 all-season tires are an option.

Lexus says the new transmission knocks off half a second in 0-to-60-mph times, from 7.3 to 6.8. We think the IS 300 manual is ...