Toyota’s top-tier brand is allowing journalists to play with the simulated manual for electric fare. Here’s the video.

AN electric car with a manual gearshift?

Actually, there’s no reason why it cannot. The reason why EVs don’t have manual transmissions – or orthodox autos, for that matter – is that they don’t need them. Direct drive is enough.

Still, as has been widely reported, Lexus has decided to develop a prototype EV with a manual shifter. Which doesn’t actually engage real gears. The shifting system mimics the feel of a clutch and a manual shift.

Intrigued how it works? Toyota’s upmarket arm has been giving journalists in Europe opportunity to experience the set-up, in a special version of the UX 300e, which is sold in NZ, that is presently the sole fully electric Lexus.

The video here is from EVO magazine, which broke the original news. It shows how the driver can shift between different ‘gears’ when they get to the far end of the fake tachometer and, if they fluff a shift, can even stall the electric car.

Whether this is a useful technology is debateable. Probably not for mainstream EVS, but perhaps it might be something that makes performance models more enticing.

Lexus itself says the latter reason is why it is trying this out. It reckons driver engagement at this level could become a plus point – this regardless that no current Lexus models have manual gearboxes. Precious few Toyotas do either, save for the GR 86. Oh, and now there’s a GR Supra manual (that’s pictured above).