# Why do you prefer a stick-shift over an automatic transmission? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [August 28, 2020, 9:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279 "2020-08-28T21:59:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 8
**Author:** ![jz78817](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jz78817/32/1028_2.png) [@jz78817](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jz78817)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 6:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/141 "2020-08-31T18:20:08Z")
the most economical gear to be in is the highest gear that doesn’t lug the engine. ---
**Author:** ![Dogginit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dogginit/32/16920_2.png) [@Dogginit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dogginit)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/142 "2020-08-31T18:26:35Z")
> [@lobotomyboy63](#): > > Another issue: if you switch from a left hand drive car to right hand drive, the stick will be in your other hand. Anybody tried it? Did it when I spent a few months in Tonga, everything there is right-hand drive. Was odd at first, but not undoable. My first Chevy truck was a 3-on-the-tree, that was different enough! Did make my daughter learn to drive a stick, stood her in good stead when a lady she went to a dog show with broke her ankle at the show, & my daughter had to drive her manual Toyota truck back from Bend. I like the sticks, but love my Allison transmission for towing up & down the mountains…will engine brake going downhill if you have it in cruise, or you can switch to manual & select the gear you want. Not shifting, as such, but the best of both worlds, IMO. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/143 "2020-08-31T19:07:03Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > My Miata (and I imagine a lot of manual cars nowadays) has a display on the dash that tells me what gear the computer thinks I should be in. When I’m driving on a city street with a 35 mph speed limit I’ll be in 4th gear going somewhere between 35-40 mph. As long as I maintain a steady speed the display suggests that I should be in 6th. I assume it’s trying to recommend the most efficient gear. My G37 didn’t have an indicator like that on the display, but of course it showed instantaneous and average MPG, so you could get a coarse idea of how things were going if you cared to pay attention. > [@jz78817](#): > > the most economical gear to be in is the highest gear that doesn’t lug the engine. This - but of course nobody wants to drive a manual like that, because it assures that you will have to downshift the moment you want to accelerate even a little bit. Unless you’re driving a diesel. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/144 "2020-08-31T19:13:21Z")
When on the Freeway, my Volvo c30 t5 with six speed manual does just fine in 6th gear, plenty of acceleration. ---
**Author:** ![Dark\_Sponge](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dark_sponge/32/121_2.png) [@Dark\_Sponge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dark_Sponge)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 7:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/145 "2020-08-31T19:15:38Z")
I prefer it for sports cars because it is more fun and gives a greater feeling of control. Shifting with the paddle shifters just isn’t the same. ---
**Author:** ![Jasmine](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jasmine/32/2964_2.png) [@Jasmine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jasmine)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 7:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/146 "2020-08-31T19:16:37Z")
I don’t anymore. I love it because I love the process of driving, and I enjoyed changing gears and the extra control a stick shift provides over an automatic transmission. Then I moved to a major city and discovered that you are constantly shifting. By the time you shift through the gears, it’s time to slow down or stop at a stop sign or light. Never having a free hand got real old. ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [August 31, 2020, 7:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/147 "2020-08-31T19:24:22Z")
I learned on 3 on the tree, and drove a lot of manuals before I got my drivers license. First two cars where autos. Second three where manuals. And last two autos. Driven in all kinds of city, open highway, and mountains. Frankly, I don’t care which it is. Once you know the car, I don’t even think about it. Stop and go traffic never bothered me in a manual, nor do hills at stop lights. EXCEPT - Uphill on ice covered curvy mountain roads, I prefer a manual. If it decides to down shift on an icy curve, it can mess you up. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 10:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/148 "2020-09-01T10:58:26Z")
> [@DrDeth](#): > > When on the Freeway, my Volvo c30 t5 with six speed manual does just fine in 6th gear, plenty of acceleration. Depends very much on the car. My G37, sixth gear was low enough to have plenty of get-up-and-go when cruising on the interstate (the downside was reduced MPG). On the car I owned before that, sixth gear was awfully tall; I got pretty good highway MPG, but in spite of having a nice big V6, you really needed to get out of sixth gear if you wanted to meaningfully change your speed. ---
**Author:** ![WildaBeast](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wildabeast/32/6_2.png) [@WildaBeast](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WildaBeast)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 4:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/149 "2020-09-01T16:20:22Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > On the car I owned before that, sixth gear was awfully tall; I got pretty good highway MPG, but in spite of having a nice big V6, you really needed to get out of sixth gear if you wanted to meaningfully change your speed. I had a Ford Focus as a rental car once, which I assume had Ford’s now notorious 6-speed dual clutch auto. 6th gear on that car was so tall when I’d move over to the left lane to pass a slower vehicle I would step on the gas and not much would happen. So I’d give it a little more gas, and then it would downshift and accelerate fairly rapidly and then upshift back to 6th. That really annoyed me how it needed to downshift every time I wanted to accelerate on the freeway even the slightest bit. And getting back to the OP’s question, if that car had been a manual at least I could have downshifted it myself in anticipation of wanting to accelerate, rather than waiting for the computer to figure out that’s what I wanted. Although I think I’d find the need for downshifting to get any meaningful change in speed annoying regardless of the transmission type. ---
**Author:** ![filmore](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/7993a0/32.png) [@filmore](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/filmore)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/150 "2020-09-01T16:39:22Z")
After you’ve been driving a manual for a while, it doesn’t feel like any additional effort to shift unless you are in heavy traffic. For the most part, shifting just becomes another automatic action like steering and pressing on the gas. The benefit of being able have finer control over the transmission is a nice enhancement. It’s like having better steering or suspension. But the extra work is very evident in stop-and-go traffic and it’s not really worth it in those conditions. ---
**Author:** ![DrDeth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b487fb/32.png) [@DrDeth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DrDeth)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 4:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/151 "2020-09-01T16:47:21Z")
Yes, around town i get maybe mid- 20mpg, I can get 30MPG only on long freeway trips in 6th. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 4:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/152 "2020-09-01T16:56:11Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > I had a Ford Focus as a rental car once, which I assume had Ford’s now notorious 6-speed dual clutch auto. 6th gear on that car was so tall when I’d move over to the left lane to pass a slower vehicle I would step on the gas and not much would happen. So I’d give it a little more gas, and then it would downshift and accelerate fairly rapidly and then upshift back to 6th. That really annoyed me how it needed to downshift every time I wanted to accelerate on the freeway even the slightest bit. > > And getting back to the OP’s question, if that car had been a manual at least I could have downshifted it myself in anticipation of wanting to accelerate, rather than waiting for the computer to figure out that’s what I wanted. Although I think I’d find the need for downshifting to get any meaningful change in speed annoying regardless of the transmission type. A DCT is pretty much a given on high-performance sportscars; paddle shifters behind the steering wheel give the driver full control over gear selection, and shifts can be completed faster than with a manual. If Ford left paddle shifters of of your rental Focus, AND they didn’t provide the gear selector lever with a +/- shift feature, then yes, it was a guaranteed-to-disappoint turd. ---
**Author:** ![Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a87d85/32.png) [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tired_and_Cranky)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/153 "2020-09-01T17:05:39Z")
I prefer them because they are more fun. When I’m driving, driving is the only thing I can do, so it’s more fun to involve both my feet and both my hands in the action. I also appreciate that the car does what I want it to do rather than occasionally surprising me with some unwanted downshift. > [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](#): > > I think nowadays computers are better drivers than most manual driving humans. Perhaps for some people. I currently have two cars, one is an automatic model year 2019 mid-size sedan and one is a model year 2006 Miata. The sedan is rated at 23 mpg city and 34 highway. I can beat 34 highway pretty comfortably if I really try but usually, I just about match it. I struggle to get 21 in the city. I generally get 18-19 mpg around town. My overall average in this car is 22 mpg in 6,000 miles. My Miata is rated at 20 mpg city and 28 mpg highway. It is mostly worn out with 130,000 miles. I flog the hell out of it when I drive it. I can’t seem to get less than 30 mpg in it. Every manual car I’ve owned, I have handily beaten the rated MPG. I only had one automatic I did that with, and that car was built in 1986. My more recent automatics have all been mileage disappointments. > [@Lancia](#): > > Manual transmissions almost never fail. Clutches do, but manual transmissions are pretty bombproof. To the person driving the car, a clutch failure is a transmission failure. It stops the car from moving and it costs a lot to fix. There is little difference to the user between that and a transmission failure. > [@Jackmannii](#): > > The future at some point may hold a self-driving car with guaranteed impeccable safety, at which point I’d be too ancient to care how deadly dull it is. I look forward to self-driving cars because I’d rather be reading than driving through traffic. Until then, I’ll make get the most enjoyment out of my driving time with a manual. > [@Muffin](#): > > A stick shift for on-road driving is the automotive equivalent of a penis – wonderfully fun to play with but a bit of an embuggerance because it is always demanding attention. I’m equipped with both pieces of equipment but only one requires constant attention. Perhaps something is wrong with yours. > [@bump](#): > > If I got a real sports car like a Ferrari or a Corvette, (not a “sports coupe” or something like that), I’d absolutely get a manual gearbox. We know someone who hasn’t been shopping for new Ferraris or Corvettes lately. > [@Dr.Strangelove](#): > > Automatics are reactive. They only start doing something _after_ the process has started. But in a manual I can anticipate my needs and prepare for it. For example, passing a car on a two lane road–in an automatic there will always be some delay when I floor it. But in a manual I can downshift in advance and only then ease out to pass. Agreed. Within the first couple of weeks of getting my new daily driver, I was still used to my old manual. A guy coming up from behind me on the highway was veering from lane to lane and swerved into my lane from the left going about 20 mph faster than me on his way into the lane to my right. I was pretty sure that he misjudged the distance and was about to clip my passenger side rear corner so I did what came naturally to me. I steered a bit to my left and floored it to get whatever space i could get from a fraction of a second’s worth of acceleration in top gear. Instead, I got a downshift that didn’t finish until the guy had safely transited to the lane to my right. Maybe he would have missed me even if I had done nothing. Maybe the evasive steering helped enough to give him the space he needed. I do know, however, that the ill-timed downshift cost me a few inches of space I didn’t want to lose. ---
**Author:** ![Ashtura](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ashtura/32/2963_2.png) [@Ashtura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ashtura)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/154 "2020-09-01T18:13:42Z")
Haven’t driven one since the mid 90’s. The anti-theft aspect I guess is appealing, but, while I have gotten my car broken into, nobody’s stolen the car. I guess at the time it “felt cool” to shift through the gears, but I pretty much forfeited that since I bought my first minivan. ---
**Author:** ![Lamoral](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lamoral/32/16078_2.png) [@Lamoral](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamoral)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/155 "2020-09-01T18:31:07Z")
> [@Tired\_and\_Cranky](#): > > To the person driving the car, a clutch failure is a transmission failure. It stops the car from moving and it costs a lot to fix. There is little difference to the user between that and a transmission failure. A new clutch is far less extensive of a repair job than a new transmission. The parts of a clutch are very simple. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 6:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/156 "2020-09-01T18:49:11Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > My Miata (and I imagine a lot of manual cars nowadays) has a display on the dash that tells me what gear the computer thinks I should be in. There is no such nanny/nagging feature on my 230i, and I would be reluctant to buy such a car if you couldn’t turn off that option. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 7:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/157 "2020-09-01T19:28:42Z")
This is not something that is chirping or beeping at you. It’s just a readout that says what gear you’re in, and then an arrow with what gear it suggests you should be in. So, it might read 3\>5. There’s nothing nagging or annoying about it, unless you drive staring at your dashboard, and even then, I’m not entirely sure why it would be annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 8:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/158 "2020-09-01T20:22:30Z")
I had one in my Saturn years ago. It wasn’t nagging, just another piece of information. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 8:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/159 "2020-09-01T20:35:10Z")
> [@WildaBeast](#): > > My Miata (and I imagine a lot of manual cars nowadays) has a display on the dash that tells me what gear the computer thinks I should be in. Yeah, my Hyundai Venue has that, too. It isn’t annoying, and in fact it is kind of amusing as I’m almost always at least one gear lower than it thinks I should be (except on the highway, of course). Guess I’m a torque-whore. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [September 1, 2020, 8:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279/160 "2020-09-01T20:57:25Z")
> [@pulykamell](#): > > There’s nothing nagging or annoying about it, unless you drive staring at your dashboard, and even then, I’m not entirely sure why it would be annoying. I am blessed/cursed with excellent peripheral vision. 🙂 Maybe I could adjust to having that feature, and even lane deviance warnings. Maybe not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279.md?page=7) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-you-prefer-a-stick-shift-over-an-automatic-transmission/919279.md?page=9)