Toyota EV with a Manual Transmission

Back in the day, I drove manual transmission cars and said that only people with manual transmissions were "drivers", anyone with an automatic was just a "steerer".

I now drive a Bolt EUV with one pedal driving, meaning that if I lift up on the accelerator pedal, it starts regenerative braking. It's a lot less complicated than using a stick but it's almost as fun.

Driving a regular car without one pedal driving now seems dangerous because the car keeps coasting when I lift my foot off the pedal instead of slowing down.

I also use adaptive cruise control a lot so that the car is speeding up and slowing down as the car in front does. It really reduces the stress of bumper-to-bumper driving.

Yes!! I'm a fan of both EVs and driving engagement. I've driven a manual my whole life, and the thing I'm dreading most about switching to an EV is giving that up. Driving is sooo boring without managing gears, rev matching, and so on. I guess it's unlikely it will ever come to a car I will actually buy, at best I imagine it will be limited to sports cars, but it's at least a glimmer of hope that we could have a less dull driving future than EVs currently promise.

In ICE cars gear shifting gives extra control and power. In an EV it’s emulated by lowering power and reducing the range of control. Technically it’s all backwards.

To me it doesn’t do anything except appeal to feelings and associations drivers have developed in ICE cars.

It’s like adding hiss and crackling noises, and tape rewinding simulator to digital audio.

Sick to death of Toyota. Despite continuing to advertise them, you can't buy a Toyota hybrid in my province or the three nearby. None of the dealers will accept names on a waiting list at this point as Toyota isn't delivering on even the tiny trickle of vehicles they've promised. They're all using 4-5 year old shuttle vehicles because the dealer can't get stock for themselves. Sales critters are angry because the customer satisfaction surveys they're scored on are coming back overwhelmingly negative because of delivery delays and parts unavailability. Dealers claiming that the official line of supply chain issues is a sham, instead that Toyota saw a lot of vehicles being exported overseas to be flipped for a profit, and is now just sending the domestically produced vehicles directly there instead.

I love manual transmission cars and miss them, and like Toyota cars, but couldn't really get behind something artificial like this. I mean, if Toyota made them and someone wanted one, more power to them, but I think for me I'd worry about it being an unnecessary additional subsystem to break down. If it had any functional utility I might feel differently (maybe I just didn't read it carefully enough?)

It's almost as funny as the Dodge Charger EV that little makes vroom vroom sounds. Then again, most gear shift columns, wheels, etc on EVs are just another form of skeumorphism, just not as pronounced.

I am baffled by Toyota's EV strategy. They should be Tesla's biggest competitor. Instead their faffing around with endless concepts, hydrogen cars and this thing.

For what it's worth, I loved driving manual when I drove an ICE car. And I relished the sense of accomplishment that came from mastering it. But when I switched to an EV, I realized that what I really wanted from a car was not control but responsiveness. I want my car to go when I tell it to*, and not at it's convenience (which is how automatics always feel to me). This is just a busybox, the kind of toy you give to infants to keep them amused. And fake engine noises? Good grief.

I wonder if toyota reads hn, because I pitched this exact idea here previously.

To everyone who will say this is dumb and pointless, you are not wrong. But if we were always just practical we’d all just take public transit or drive corrolas and minivans. We do all kinds of pointless things with cars that bring joy into the experience. I’m looking at you “off road” style suvs everywhere. If all of that stuff is ok, this is also.