Missed Misnomer’s post above regarding the ‘work’ of manual shifting. It never felt like work to me either, but the fact of the matter is that one is required to manipulate three pedals instead of two, with the clutch in some cars being pretty stiff. Sitting on a steep snowy hill in winter waiting for a light to change can be quite annoying, particularly when other vehicles creep right up on your bumper. Unless you really ride the clutch, there’s always a bit of rollback. Auto lets you ride gas and brake instead of clutch and gas (unless you have three legs).
A lot of newer manuals have hill start assist- freaked me out the first time I used it, but I’ve grown to like it- car detects if you’re stopped on a hill, the brake remains engaged for half a moment when you switch from brake to gas. Saves a lot of wear on the clutch and no rollback.
A couple of months ago I put a little dent in my then-7-month-old fender, so I got a rental for the week that it was in the body shop. Of course it was an automatic, but I was surprised at how often I didn’t stomp on the floorboard: I reached for the shifter a couple of times, but never tried to engage a clutch. When I would drive my ex’s car, I was constantly going for the shifter and a clutch.
(In a way that was a good thing: the brake pedals in automatics are massive, and I sometimes wind up accidentally braking with my left foot.)
My car is a manual. Buying it compared to the auto version saved me a few hundred pounds, it gets slightly better mileage (something like 8% according to official figures) and has marginally better performance. I find driving a manual slightly more enjoyable than an auto, but that’s not a big deal to me. If I did more stop-start city driving I’d seriously consider getting an auto, as creeping in long queues of traffic can get very tedious after a while.
I hate the way these threads usually devolve in a religious flame war, with a liberal sprinkling of disinformation. There are pros and cons to to each type. Manuals are cheaper, and nearly always give better economy and performance. There are some exceptions, some of the more expensive autos use a computer controlled clutch rather than a planetary gear set. The big advantage of an auto is obviously that you don’t have to change gear. How much of an advantage that is to you depends on your driving skills and where you drive.
Driving my own car is hardly ever a problem to me. Once every couple months I might fumble a gear change, and even more occasionally I’ll stall it. I don’t roll back when pulling away on a hill. However, getting into an unfamiliar car can be a real problem. The biting point on the clutch and the way it releases can vary wildly from car to car. Some I can drive straight away with no problems, others I feel horribly clumsy in, to the point it can even affect safety. It takes me a long time to adapt, there is nothing special about my driving skills. It’s much easier to switch between autos. Also, finding a comfortable driving position can be more difficult than in an auto, as I have to be able to depress the clutch fully without feeling cramped when releasing it.
Up until this car I always drove a stick. My last car went bad and I needed to buy something quick.
I will keep this a few more months, until I am more comfortable with my finances, then I’ll buy something brand new. It will probably be a stick. Although maybe not - do hybrid’s come in standard?
Manual. I bought my car (Subaru, ~26/28 mpg) new for $24k and then told them to put leather on the seats and they charged me an additional $1600 (IIRC). We also upgraded our new (low-end) Toyota minivan to leather when we bought it for a similar fee. It wasn’t a big deal; won’t most dealers upgrade you to leather when you buy a car if requested?
He mentioned snow. Without it, it’s not difficult to prevent the car from rolling back, but in snow you can’t be quite sure what will happen when the handbrake is released.
Not all vehicles with manual transmissions have handbrakes. My Ranger doesn’t- it has a foot-operated parking brake that’s really useless for holding on a hill- not that I would need it.
My parents only ever bought manuals, so I learned on a manual. It’s what I like; it’s what I’m used to. I recently got a very good deal on an 08 Subaru Outback because it was a manual and it was sitting on the lot. Thank goodness for whoever bought it new and traded it in. FWIW, my two best girlfriends also drive manuals. We all agree, we like to drive our cars, not just guide them.
My first car, the car I learned on, was a manual. I remember vividly driving my mom’s automatic (with her in the passenger seat–I still only had a permit) and lurching us to a stop in the middle of the street–fortunately a residential street with no traffic–because I went to stomp in the clutch and my left foot hit that ultra-wide brake pedal instead. I felt sure my mom would never let me drive again, but surprisingly she took it in stride.
These days I drive an automatic. I made the switch when I had a child. It required too many hands to deal with driving and a baby with a manual transmission. I can still drive a manual if I need to (most recently my husband had a left foot injury and so we switched cars for a couple of weeks–his is a manual) but I prefer the automatic. I don’t obsess over the lack of precise control or anything. I used to think manuals were fun, when I was a lot younger. Now I just think they’re more work.
Control of what? The specific point of gear shift?
For the past 12 years I’ve driven cars with “manumatic transmission” (like the BMW Steptronic) that allows me to shift gears whenever I want to, but will shift automatically if I don’t want to shift. Seems like I have more control.
Let’s compare your list to a car with a Tiptronic-type transmission:
[ol]
[li]Generally a lower sticker price when new: Yes. And, often for used cars as well. [/li][li] Better acceleration when needed. Yes, some cars more than others, but what do you mean by “when needed”? And, how much more acceleration do you need?[/li][li]Fewer engine revs during normal driving yield longer engine life, oil life and less noise: No. And, I’ve noticed that, in areas where automatic transmissions are prevalent, those drivers who choose manual transmissions tend to be more aggressive and rev their engines higher: More revs, more wear and tear on the engine, and more noise. (And, some even get a noisier exhaust system.)[/li][li]More driver involvement = less distraction or falling asleep at the wheel. No, more distraction, and yes, some more driver involvement, if it’s not enough for you to pay attention to your steering, braking, acceleration and the way the car handles, plus the sounds and smells from your car, and paying attention to the various dashboard gauges and indicators, and to the cars in front of you, to the side and behind you, and the traffic signs and lights, and the pedestrians and cyclists, along with figuring out how to get to your destination. Without manual transmission, I would practically fall asleep. And, of course, on long highway rides when it’s more common for people to fall asleep at the wheel, the driver is constantly changing gears, right? :dubious:[/li][li]Better control of which gear the trans is in at any given time: Nope.[/li][li]Quicker downshifts: Slightly, depending on the transmission.[/li][li]Access to engine braking: Nope.[/li][li]Safer driving down very steep hills or mountains (less chance of overcooking the brakes): Same as #7.[/li][li]Better vehicle control during sub-optimal driving conditions: How so?[/li][li]Folks who want a stick will pay a substantial premium for a used car with a stick vs an automatic: I’ll take your word for it.[/ol]There is one another advantage to a manual transmission: You can make the shifts jerkier if you’re trying to shave a few fractions of a second off your acceleration times, which makes the g-forces more pronounced and gives some people a feeling of greater power. [/li]
Also, on the issue of fuel consumption, things are shifting (:eek:) in favor of automatics. Compare the 8-speed automatic and the 6-speed manual transmission on the new BMW 3 Series: The automatic has slightly better fuel consumption than the manual.
I drive an automatic Jeep Wrangler and in hindsight, I wish I had bought the manual, newer, Wrangler I had looked at before making the purchase. I am not opposed to learning to drive a manual transmission vehicle but I was just scared of screwing something up and costing even more money or being out of a vehicle all together.
Because, believe it or not, very few people who are looking to buy a car in that price range are interested in buying a car with a manual transmission. Car makers won’t make an offering which sits on the lot. It’s become a self-fulfilling prophecy now, as many drivers now have never driven a car with manual, and thus would never consider such a car.
About the only cars which you can buy these days with a manual are:
Very inexpensive entry-level cars (and, even that’s becoming less common). Once upon a time, automakers charged extra for automatic transmission, and so, a manual transmission was a less expensive way to go. I’m not sure that that’s even the case anymore.
Higher-end performance models, like the BMWs you referenced, in which some drivers want the additional control / performance that they can get from a manual transmission (see the earlier posts).
I just bought a Ford Mustang with a stick. I wanted the V6, not the V8 (several thousand dollars cheaper, and the new V6 in the 'Stang is a well-regarded engine). It was a real hassle to actually find a V6 with a stick; most of the V6 Mustangs on dealer lots were automatic (whereas sticks seem to be considerably more common on the more expensive V8 version, especially at the premium trim levels like the GT).
