While we were hooning the IS-F, we also had a chance to play around with the ’08 IS-250 Manual. Surprisingly enough, the F’s baby bro was borderline more fun to drive than its V-8 sibling. The right combination of power, rear wheel drive and a manual tranny makes for Fiendish bliss all the way around. priced a full on $30k or so less than the big guy, we were less worried about bouncing it off immovable objects. Click on for a quick look at the car.

As the name implies, the IS-250 Manual comes with an honest to goodness 6-speed manual transmission, complete with a clutch pedal and everything. There are no paddles, funky amalgamations or words like “sport,” “shift,” “electronic,” or “step” — just the good old fashioned stuff. The dog box only comes in rear-wheel drive, and while it’s a blast to send the sedan’s ass out around a corner, we wonder just what the all-wheel drive version would be like. Fast. Probably fast, though Lexus doesn’t seem to have any desire to give us the glory of AWD and a manual. Maybe the best part about the IS-250 is the fact I could happily drive it every day. The seats are comfortable, the ride is just smooth enough and the 204 horse 2.5-liter V6 provides enough get up and go to shake commuting monotony. Of course, F Sport options like massive brakes and calipers and more aggressive spring rates give the IS-250 the edge it needs for some quasi-serious canyon carving, all options we would check if picking one up for the long-term. Maybe in 2009.