Manual vs Automatic

[BigTex_21]

So I'm in the market for a new car and I'm debating whether to get a manual or an automatic and this got me thinking; I enjoy a manual because you have to pay attention to what you're doing and you truly get to enjoy the drive, much like using a DE or a straight, whereas to me an automatic is like a cartridge razor, yeah it does a good enough job, but where's the fun and passion?

Now I turn to ask you B&Ber's what your opinions are on this topic? Manual or automatic or do we have some Fred Flintstones out there?

 

[BigFoot]

I have a 2010 Jetta with a 5 speed. That car would not be 1/2 as much fun with an auto.

 

[RF1963]

I drive an automatic and I don't miss driving a manual. I had manuals for years because my ex wife was always about to learn to drive and insisted she wanted a manual licence. Just before we came to NZ in 1999 I had an automatic VW Passat hire car which was a revelation and that was it, ever since then I've been driving automatics.

 

[Spacegeezer]

Autos are great for getting around, but manuals are involving, entertaining, and personally I am unwilling to consider cars without stick shifts and clutch pedals. I will admit that many older cars have painfully stiff clutches, and many newer cars have frustratingly over-boosted and numb clutch pedals. You definitely need to test-drive the stick-shift model just in case it has one of those awful overboosted clutches (Mazda3, I'm looking at you).

 

[weenerdog3443]

depends on the vehicle your looking to get. If youre getting something to just get you around town no thrills go auto. same goes for muddin and off roading, just easier to concentrate at low speeds low rpms. but if your looking for something fun sporty gotta go manual.

What you looking to get?

 

[life2short1971]

If you live in the city you'll appreciate an auto. If you live in Gods country get what you want!

 

[georgekyr]

All the fun of driving lies in the clutch+gears combo...I have tried the new manuals with the automatic clutch which feature paddles on the wheel. I know I will never manage to change manually the gears as fast and as smoothly as that but still...I like my clutch and stick

 

[jansob]

I'm an auto kind of guy UNLESS I'm driving a sports car on a nice road. Which I seldom am. I'm usually in the city in traffic.

But it sounds like your heart is set on a manual...in that case I wouldn't dream of getting an auto! Every time you get in it you'll wonder what it would be like with a stick.

 

[galopede]

What's an auto?!!

I did try one many years ago and frightened the life out of myself, as well as the guy driving behind me, when I "Changed gear" and used the brake pedal as the clutch, banging my head on the windscreen as I did so!

Never again, takes too much thinking about.

My daughter recently came back from three weeks visiting rellies in Australia and she now hates autos as well!

Gareth

 

[Clovis Man]

My daily driver has TEN forward gears. I'd LOVE to have an automatic!

 

[BurkDarkpatches]

If this matters to you, the tide has turned on manuals re fuel efficiency. Nowadays, many automatics can get better gas mileage than manuals (e.g. 2011 v6 Mustang).

Steve

 

[BCatl]

I've almost always drove a manual, however last time I bought an automatic.

My city has one traffic jam after another on the highways and I got tired of downshifting constantly when I was caught in a traffic jam.

 

[njpaddy]

My wife and I had manuals for many years, but now we have automatics. NJ traffic and too many traffic lights are probably our main reasons for no longer wanting to deal with a clutch. My wife does occasionally say she misses our old 4-speeds.

 

[DrColossus11]

If you live in the city you'll appreciate an auto. If you live in Gods country get what you want!

+1 a manual in the city is no fun.

I have a 2010 Jetta with a 5 speed. That car would not be 1/2 as much fun with an auto.

And 10x the headaches with a VW autotragic transmission.

 

[Shave A Buck]

Stick or manual will last you longer of you plan to run the car into the ground like I do. 2000 VW Jetta in diesel and stick at 234k miles is my commuting car. This spring when I start looking again it will be another stick.

 

[DavyRay]

I commute. My drive to work is 43 miles, and takes about 50 minutes. I drive a stick-shift. If I were driving in town, and constantly getting in and out of a car, I might reconsider and get an automatic.

The fuel economy factor is small. Automatics have gotten better about efficiency. There is still a slight advantage to a manual, unless you have a hybrid. The US manufacturers cook the mileage books slightly, as they get to specify shift points on tests of their manual transmission models. That way, they can make the m.p.g. come out the same for their auto vs stick models.

 

[RaisingTheBar]

Rush hour sucks with a manual. But I don't think I'd get anything else.
I assume by your name you don't live somewhere that gets any real wintery roads where a manual is a huge +.

 

[benb]

I enjoy a manual because you have to pay attention to what you're doing and you truly get to enjoy the drive.

What you wrote here, exactly.

 

[ouch]

My first twenty years of driving was strictly on a manual. Lately it's been automatics, but I find it hard to pay attention to driving. When I was in Europe, every car I was in had a stick.

 

[BigTex_21]

I assume by your name you don't live somewhere that gets any real wintery roads where a manual is a huge +.

Actually, I live in Michigan.

As for what I'm looking to get, I am still very much undecided. I don't need anything flashy since I can always upgrade things later on if I want. I am leaning more toward a manual, but thats always subject to change. I do mostly highway driving and the only time I really hit traffic is coming home from work on Monday's and Wednesday's, so traffic jams aren't much of a concern to me. I guess in the up coming weeks I'll have to do quite a bit of test driving. I want something that is going to last me around ten years, so I better make sure I like it.