The Interactive Manual Drive system, also referred to as a “virtual manual gearbox”, allows drivers to change gears in a traditional way by using paddle shifters, however there is no clutch pedal.

Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda, who wants EVs to be fun to drive, was the catalyst behind adding a system to the revised midsize SUV that replicates the feel of having a manual transmission.

Part of the crisis of the ongoing transition to electric vehicles, some enthusiasts say, is that EVs are less fun to drive, in part because there’s no use in an EV for a manual transmission. Those ...