Do you prefer driving automatics or manuals?

[US 41]

My 2017 Nissan Versa is a 5 speed. I drove my friend's 6 speed Dodge Dart when he first bought it since he couldn't drive stick. It was pretty easy to drive.

I'm currently looking for a second car that is a manual just to drive it back and forth to work without running up miles on my newer car.

[yand]

A 1-speed electric motor or a good cvt-like beats any multi-gear transmission any day.
The added workload is unnecessary when a hands-off design can do the job better. Added workload is added workload - feels like second nature until it isn't.
I do see some value of driving manuals in terms of having the skill set (bragging rights, having more options).

[MikieTimT]

A 1-speed electric motor or a good cvt-like beats any multi-gear transmission any day.
The added workload is unnecessary when a hands-off design can do the job better. Added workload is added workload - feels like second nature until it isn't.
I do see some value of driving manuals in terms of having the skill set (bragging rights, having more options).

While an electric motor is probably the best option for the future and certainly can be used in the most power-hungry heavy duty vehicles like they already are in locomotives and huge mining trucks, CVT transmissions are a stopgap measure at best.  When I see them in heavy duty vehicles, I may change my mind about them, but until then, I have longevity and towing capacity concerns about them.

Manual transmissions are good for emergency situations like on-the-ground towing and roll starting when starters go out.  I tend to drive vehicles much longer than average, so emergency situations may be more likely in my case than others, but they can and do happen on occasion and it's good to be prepared.  Manuals are far superior for engine braking, which is an everyday occurrence in the terrain I live in.

No automatic is as good for passing scenarios on the short passing zones you get in the northwest half of Arkansas.  I can get around a car in 4 seconds and not many feet by dropping my WRX from 5th to 3rd, something that just cannot occur as quickly in any automatic.  Even my old 1 ton diesel with a 6 speed manual with dropping from 6th to 4th (rolls a fair amount of coal doing it, though) is better at passing than our Odyssey with a 5 speed auto(although VTEC helps a little).  It's pretty much why I don't claim the van, even though my wife loves it.

Personally I'd love a Tesla Model X or maybe a Pacifica Hybrid to replace the van in the future when it wears out, but the pricing is going to have to change significantly before that'll be possible.

[RobbieL2415]

Five speed manuals will always have reverse over to the right and down.  Six speeds seem to do it every which way.  Some use a yoke that you have to pull up and then move left or right.  Some keep it over to the right and down next to 6th.

[1995hoo]

Five speed manuals will always have reverse over to the right and down.  Six speeds seem to do it every which way.  Some use a yoke that you have to pull up and then move left or right.  Some keep it over to the right and down next to 6th.

That first sentence is not accurate. I drove a VW Passat five-speed rental that had reverse up and to the left of first. (So the top "row"  on the shifter had R, 1, 3, and 5 in that order left to right; the bottom row had 2 below 1 and 4 below 3.)

I understand at least some BMWs are that way too.

[jakeroot]

^^
Yep. As far back as I can think, VW has had 5-speed manuals arranged as so,

R  1  3  5
    2  4

I drove an older Vanagon a few months ago...same layout. Reverse is still left-and-up even today. Although it lacked a 5th gear.

There were some early 2000s Audi's that had the reverse as right-and-down but I think the arrangement was short-lived.

[abefroman329]

^^
Yep. As far back as I can think, VW has had 5-speed manuals arranged as so,

R  1  3  5
    2  4

I drove an older Vanagon a few months ago...same layout. Reverse is still left-and-up even today.

There were some early 2000s Audi's that had the reverse as right-and-down but I think the arrangement was short-lived.

I believe the original VW Beetle was a four-speed manual with reverse in the above position, but unmarked.  I knew someone in high school who owned one and, for the first several months after buying one, didn't even know it had a reverse gear.

[Beltway]

As far back as I can think, VW has had 5-speed manuals arranged as so,
R  1  3  5
    2  4
I drove an older Vanagon a few months ago...same layout. Reverse is still left-and-up even today.
There were some early 2000s Audi's that had the reverse as right-and-down but I think the arrangement was short-lived.

I believe the original VW Beetle was a four-speed manual with reverse in the above position, but unmarked.  I knew someone in high school who owned one and, for the first several months after buying one, didn't even know it had a reverse gear.

I had a 1968 Beetle, and that is my clear recollection, like the above minus the 5th, and the reverse was marked.

[US 89]

Many automatics these days have paddle shifters or a +/- option to manually change the gear (though of course, without a clutch pedal). That solves at least some of the issues people have with automatics (you can gear down to pass someone, or for engine braking). The only thing it doesn't solve is the issue of "doesn't change when I want it to", but as someone who's never driven a stick myself, I don't really have a problem with that because I don't know any better. Ignorance is bliss I guess...

[jakeroot]

As far back as I can think, VW has had 5-speed manuals arranged as so,
R  1  3  5
    2  4
I drove an older Vanagon a few months ago...same layout. Reverse is still left-and-up even today.
There were some early 2000s Audi's that had the reverse as right-and-down but I think the arrangement was short-lived.

I believe the original VW Beetle was a four-speed manual with reverse in the above position, but unmarked.  I knew someone in high school who owned one and, for the first several months after buying one, didn't even know it had a reverse gear.

I had a 1968 Beetle, and that is my clear recollection, like the above minus the 5th, and the reverse was marked.

I modified my post. The Vanagon did not have a 5th gear, but it was still arranged the same. So, identical to those older models as well.

[abefroman329]

As far back as I can think, VW has had 5-speed manuals arranged as so,
R  1  3  5
    2  4
I drove an older Vanagon a few months ago...same layout. Reverse is still left-and-up even today.
There were some early 2000s Audi's that had the reverse as right-and-down but I think the arrangement was short-lived.

I believe the original VW Beetle was a four-speed manual with reverse in the above position, but unmarked.  I knew someone in high school who owned one and, for the first several months after buying one, didn't even know it had a reverse gear.

I had a 1968 Beetle, and that is my clear recollection, like the above minus the 5th, and the reverse was marked.

Well, this person I knew might not have been the brightest light in the harbor.

[jakeroot]

^^
I'm not sure what exactly you mean by that, although I will say that I don't remember any markings indicating the gearbox layout in the Vanagon I drove.

Comment for the Beetle drivers: did you have to push down to go into reverse? The van was like this, as is my modern Golf.

[abefroman329]

Many automatics these days have paddle shifters or a +/- option to manually change the gear (though of course, without a clutch pedal). That solves at least some of the issues people have with automatics (you can gear down to pass someone, or for engine braking). The only thing it doesn't solve is the issue of "doesn't change when I want it to", but as someone who's never driven a stick myself, I don't really have a problem with that because I don't know any better. Ignorance is bliss I guess...

The car also isn't going to let you do something that would be harmful to the engine and/or transmission (downshift to a gear where you'd be redlining, remain in a particular gear while redlining, etc.).  It's a happy medium that's absolutely pointless.  I have this feature on my car that I've owned for almost six years and I've never used it.

[abefroman329]

^^
I'm not sure what exactly you mean by that, although I will say that I don't remember any markings indicating the gearbox layout in the Vanagon I drove.

I meant that the person that owned the Beetle that was probably approximately the same model year as Beltway's may have been too dim to notice that reverse was marked on the shifter or gearbox.  It wasn't me, nor was it anyone on this forum, and I never looked at the shifter or gearbox in his Beetle.

[US 89]

Many automatics these days have paddle shifters or a +/- option to manually change the gear (though of course, without a clutch pedal). That solves at least some of the issues people have with automatics (you can gear down to pass someone, or for engine braking). The only thing it doesn't solve is the issue of "doesn't change when I want it to", but as someone who's never driven a stick myself, I don't really have a problem with that because I don't know any better. Ignorance is bliss I guess...

The car also isn't going to let you do something that would be harmful to the engine and/or transmission (downshift to a gear where you'd be redlining, remain in a particular gear while redlining, etc.).  It's a happy medium that's absolutely pointless.  I have this feature on my car that I've owned for almost six years and I've never used it.

The issue there is exactly what constitutes "redlining", which will likely vary across different makes and models. But of the two cars I've ever driven that had this feature, it's given me enough leeway that it hasn't really been a problem.

The one thing I really want a transmission to do is let me go down a 30-35mph hill in third gear, which is enough engine braking to avoid the choice of 1) go down at 40mph and tap the brakes every once in a while, risking a speeding ticket, or 2) ride the brakes every time and replace the brake pads 10,000 miles earlier.
Anything beyond that is a bonus (real-life example: going down the same hill in first gear in a bad snowstorm, where the road was completely covered. Didn't have to touch the brakes at all, and maintained about a 10mph speed.)

[1995hoo]

I recall on my brother's 1974 Beetle I had to push down to shift to reverse. I don't remember for sure where reverse was except it was on the left. EDITED TO ADD: I did a Google search. To the left and down (next to second gear). It's always made sense to me that reverse should require shifting towards the rear of the car.

On my 1977 Granada, reverse was to the left and up and you had to lift the shifter to get to reverse.

I once had to help someone find reverse in a manual-shift Volvo 740 wagon. I don't remember where reverse was, but the thing he wasn't getting was that the shifter had a sort of collar above the boot and below the knob. You had to lift that collar before shifting to reverse.

[RobbieL2415]

Five speed manuals will always have reverse over to the right and down.  Six speeds seem to do it every which way.  Some use a yoke that you have to pull up and then move left or right.  Some keep it over to the right and down next to 6th.

That first sentence is not accurate. I drove a VW Passat five-speed rental that had reverse up and to the left of first. (So the top "row"  on the shifter had R, 1, 3, and 5 in that order left to right; the bottom row had 2 below 1 and 4 below 3.)

I understand at least some BMWs are that way too.

Actually, now I remember test driving a used '00 Jetta TDI with a 5-speed (and with R in that spot) and had a tough time shifting it.  I don't know if the gearbox was broken or not but I had trouble getting it into 1st and then from 1st to 2nd.  I stalled it two or three times and felt  embarrassed for myself and the owner.

[jakeroot]

^^
I'm not sure what exactly you mean by that, although I will say that I don't remember any markings indicating the gearbox layout in the Vanagon I drove.

I meant that the person that owned the Beetle that was probably approximately the same model year as Beltway's may have been too dim to notice that reverse was marked on the shifter or gearbox.  It wasn't me, nor was it anyone on this forum, and I never looked at the shifter or gearbox in his Beetle.

Are you insinuating that reverse was marked on their Beetle? I don't think there's any way to know that for sure, especially as they may have owned it after the plate indicating the layout fell off, or gear-knob markings were rubbed off.

[abefroman329]

^^
I'm not sure what exactly you mean by that, although I will say that I don't remember any markings indicating the gearbox layout in the Vanagon I drove.

I meant that the person that owned the Beetle that was probably approximately the same model year as Beltway's may have been too dim to notice that reverse was marked on the shifter or gearbox.  It wasn't me, nor was it anyone on this forum, and I never looked at the shifter or gearbox in his Beetle.

Are you insinuating that reverse was marked on their Beetle? I don't think there's any way to know that for sure, especially as they may have owned it after the plate indicating the layout fell off, or gear-knob markings were rubbed off.

He told me that it wasn't marked and that he had no idea that his Beetle could reverse until someone told him how to put the car in reverse.  This was pre-Internet and presumably he didn't check the owner's manual.

This is far more effort than I wanted to put into recapping a conversation I once had 2 years ago.

[kevinb1994]

^^
I'm not sure what exactly you mean by that, although I will say that I don't remember any markings indicating the gearbox layout in the Vanagon I drove.

I meant that the person that owned the Beetle that was probably approximately the same model year as Beltway's may have been too dim to notice that reverse was marked on the shifter or gearbox.  It wasn't me, nor was it anyone on this forum, and I never looked at the shifter or gearbox in his Beetle.

Are you insinuating that reverse was marked on their Beetle? I don't think there's any way to know that for sure, especially as they may have owned it after the plate indicating the layout fell off, or gear-knob markings were rubbed off.

He told me that it wasn't marked and that he had no idea that his Beetle could reverse until someone told him how to put the car in reverse.  This was pre-Internet and presumably he didn't check the owner's manual.

This is far more effort than I wanted to put into recapping a conversation I once had 2 years ago.

That's what she said. 

[Beltway]

Comment for the Beetle drivers: did you have to push down to go into reverse?

Yes -- on the 1968 Beetle

[1995hoo]

Regarding shift pattern markings on the Beetle, I seem to recall my brother's had the pattern duplicated on the dashboard, I think on the front of the ashtray though I don't recall for sure.

[Beltway]

Regarding shift pattern markings on the Beetle, I seem to recall my brother's had the pattern duplicated on the dashboard, I think on the front of the ashtray though I don't recall for sure.

Yeah, I do seem to recall that...

[Brandon]

^^
I'm not sure what exactly you mean by that, although I will say that I don't remember any markings indicating the gearbox layout in the Vanagon I drove.

Comment for the Beetle drivers: did you have to push down to go into reverse? The van was like this, as is my modern Golf.

When I drove a Beetle in Mexico (rental) it was push down, left and up to go to reverse.  It was the same as the manual transmission in our 1981 Dodge Aires.  The Caliber I had was down and to the right, no pushing or pulling anything.  The Renegade I have currently has a collar you pull up then go left and up for reverse.

[jakeroot]

^^
I'm not sure what exactly you mean by that, although I will say that I don't remember any markings indicating the gearbox layout in the Vanagon I drove.

Comment for the Beetle drivers: did you have to push down to go into reverse? The van was like this, as is my modern Golf.

When I drove a Beetle in Mexico (rental) it was push down, left and up to go to reverse.  It was the same as the manual transmission in our 1981 Dodge Aires.  The Caliber I had was down and to the right, no pushing or pulling anything.  The Renegade I have currently has a collar you pull up then go left and up for reverse.

I'm fairly certain that left-and-up is the "proper" European thing to do, although there are some exceptions (a few Audi's, Saab's, and a couple others). Your Renegade is Italian, so it gets the left-and-up treatment. The new Wrangler JL, oddly enough, switched to left-and-up from the JK's right-and-down, despite going from a Mercedes-sourced gearbox to a Japanese (Aisin) gearbox. So it's obviously not always true.

As far as entering reverse, BMW's have always struck me as odd. No lock-out feature requiring pushing or pulling. Just a strong pull to the left, or (what I used to do) going into 2nd, and then pushing left-up in a diagonal direction.