Manual transmissions are getting really rare these days, but they never have been common at the fancier end of the market. Even if a manual was technically available, so few buyers chose them that used examples are almost unheard-of. But for your consideration and enjoyment today, I have found two small luxury sedans equipped with V6 engines – and manual transmissions.
Yesterday, we took a look at two cars that are rare these days no matter what transmission is in them. You all weren’t happy about the automatic seatbelts in them (though only on one side of the Eagle), but lots of you had stories about one or the other, and I do enjoy hearing them. The vote wasn’t even close; the Mazda MX-6 won by a country mile. I get the feeling that if the Eagle had been a manual, the vote might have been closer.
I’d definitely take the MX-6. As I mentioned, I had a Ford Probe and really liked driving it. In fact, I only sold it because I bought a Miata and needed the parking space. An MX-6 or 626 with a five-speed would be high on my list of cars to look for, if I ever found myself in need of a cheap beater again.
I sometimes wonder if the rise in cell phone use by drivers and the decline of manual transmissions might somehow be related. Before cell phones, if you were a young executive on your way to the office, you had both hands free, and could have a little fun shifting gears before riding a desk all day. But once that phone was glued to your ear, a manual shifter was one too many things to juggle. These days, you have to go on a quest to find a manual, even among the usual suspects like BMW. The makers of today’s choices never were known for manuals, but nevertheless, these two have them. Let’s check them out.
1990 Lexus ES 250 – $3,000
Engine/drivetrain: 2.5-liter DOHC V6, five-speed manual, FWD
Location: Las Vegas, NV
Odometer reading: 122,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
A lot of the early models from Japanese luxury brands – especially Lexus and Infiniti – were just fancy versions of Japanese-market cars that US buyers hadn’t seen before. It was a quick and easy way of adding something “special” to the lineup, to support the flagship V8 sedans. The Lexus ES 250 was just a dressed-up version of the Camry called the Camry Vista, Americanized a bit and sold at a premium. Hey, it worked well enough to establish Lexus in the US.
The only engine available in the ES 250 was the 2.5 liter V6 that was optional in the Camry. I guess a small front-wheel-drive sedan was ok, but a four-cylinder version was just too downmarket. I guess I realized that these were available with a manual transmission, but I don’t think I’ve ever actually seen one before. This one runs and drives great, according to the seller, and it doesn’t have many miles on it, so it should continue to do so for a long time to come.
It has seat covers on the front seats, and the seller isn’t hiding the fact that the driver’s seat is torn up a bit. There’s also a pretty big crack in the dashboard vinyl. The rest of the interior is in good shape, though, and all the power features work as does the air conditioning. I guess for the price, we can forgive a ripped-up driver’s seat. If it really bothered you, you could have it reupholstered.
It’s hard to tell from the photos, but according to the ad, it’s actually really dark green, not black. The only damage I see outside is a missing left front corner light, and the left headlight may be a little out of whack as well. The corner light may be hard to find; these aren’t common cars. But I think it’s a side marker light, and not the turn signal, so you should still be able to signal properly.
2001 Mercedes-Benz C240 – $3,795
Engine/drivetrain: 2.6-liter OHC V6, six-speed manual, RWD
Location: La Habra, CA
Odometer reading: 186,000 miles
Operational status: Runs and drives well
The idea of a “baby Benz” dates back to 1982, when the W201 chassis was introduced. In 1993, when the W201 was replaced by the W202, Mercedes started referring to it as the C-Class, the smallest of three classes of sedan. This is the second generation of C-Class, and probably the last one before Mercedes cars started getting way too complicated to deal with.
The C240 is powered by a 2.6-liter V6 engine, which has a good reputation. It’s usually paired with Mercedes’s equally sturdy automatic transmission, but this one adds some engagement in the form of a six-speed manual. According to the seller, it runs and drives great, and has never once had a check engine light in five years of ownership. For a twenty-plus-year-old German car, that’s really saying something.
This is, unfortunately, the only photo we get of the interior, and it doesn’t tell us much. It’s dusty, and there’s a bunch of junk in the passenger’s footwell, but that’s all I can tell you. The seller does say that everything works. The air conditioner “could use a charge,” they say, but it works. In that instance, I can believe that maybe it really does just need a charge. I’ve had AC systems that were a little weak, but worked fine after a top-up. It’s worth a shot, anyway.
It looks good outside, though it could use a wash and a wax. The headlights are cloudy, which is typical of a car this age. I’ve had mixed results with the polishing kits; usually it’s better to just replace the whole unit, but these aren’t as cheap as some others I’ve replaced. It’s probably worth trying the polishing kit first.
I’m not sure you could exactly call these two cars fun to drive, but they’re more interesting than their automatic counterparts. And if you felt a little bit smug and superior driving them, I guess I can’t blame you; driving a manual transmission is a dying art. We certainly won’t see the likes of these cars again, so if you want one, here’s your chance. Which one will it be?
The post Pick A Three-Pedal Luxury Car: 1990 Lexus ES 250 vs 2001 Mercedes C240 appeared first on The Autopian.
