Your current car!

[jakeroot]

In May, I bought the replacement vehicle, a 2018 Subaru Forester, which has all-wheel-drive and high ground clearance while fitting better into inner-suburban parking spaces that had been a tight squeeze for the Titan. It's already been on one major road trip, to Colorado and back.

A few months ago, I really seriously considered trading in my Golf for a 2018 Forester with a 6-speed manual (not a fan of CVTs). I ended up not pulling the trigger, but it remains one of my favorite vehicles with a manual due to its size; "large" vehicles with manual transmissions just don't exist anymore. Since the 2019 model is doing away with the option, the closest now is probably the Golf SportWagen, or the Kia Soul (and until last year here in the US, the Mazda CX-5). I'll probably end up buying the SportWagen at some point in the future.

The problem with the Forester is that you can only get the manual gear box in the 2.5L engine configuration.  While most manufacturers offer a 2.5L option for that size vehicle, that engine size generally only offers about 170hp,  so it's not a very powerful drivetrain.

I test drove a Forester when I bought my Escape a couple of years ago, and while I really liked it, you need to go with the 2.0L turbo option to really get any sort of feeling of power.

My 2.0L Escape is actually pretty fun to drive.  There is a touch of turbo-lag, but otherwise the car really accelerates nicely.

That would be the reason that I strongly prefer turbo diesel engines when the option presents itself (low-end torque + turbo). Otherwise, I generally don't mind the smaller engines. I don't drive manual because it's faster (it's usually not, unless paired against a CVT, or some automatics, with the same engine). I drive manual because it's fun. It keeps me engaged, and focused on what's ahead. Since I do drive a lot in traffic, manuals allow me to drive closer to someone without using my brakes all the time, reducing the chance of that "rubber-band braking effect" that tends to cause jams.

As far as a quick car with a manual that has lots of room? Probably any "hot hatch". Hell, my Golf TDI nearly fits the bill.

[Takumi]

I'm in the process of selling the TSX and picking up something with an automatic. I'll still have the Prelude for when I feel like rowing my own.

I'm pretty sure that, in order to "save the manuals", one must not own an automatic.

Left foot getting tired?

No, I just neglect the Prelude because the TSX does the manual-Honda thing so much better. By getting an automatic car I'll end up driving the Prelude more when I want to just go driving.

[Brandon]

A 2017 Jeep Renegade Altitude.  1.4L in-line 4 cylinder turbo engine mated to a 6-speed manual transmission.  It's just the FWD version, but it seems to sip fuel, getting 32-36 mpg on average. This last tank is at 38 mpg so far.  With A/C on, and going 75 mph.  I'm up to 45,000 miles already.

I commend your decision to opt for the manual. It looks like you would have anyway, based on your history, but I've heard nothing but bad business with those FCA automatics.

I learned to drive on a 1981 Dodge Aries that had the 2.2L engine mated to a 4-speed manual.  Ever since, manuals just seem right for driving, and automatics seem so odd and strange.  I find myself looking for the clutch pedal with my left foot while grabbing the gear selector with my right hand in an automatic (someone else's or a rental).

[Gulol]

Working for an auto manufacturer has me rotating cars out frequently ... for now it's a 2018 Dodge Durango.  That's my ride for many of the states that I have to drive out to for work.

[jakeroot]

A 2017 Jeep Renegade Altitude.  1.4L in-line 4 cylinder turbo engine mated to a 6-speed manual transmission.  It's just the FWD version, but it seems to sip fuel, getting 32-36 mpg on average. This last tank is at 38 mpg so far.  With A/C on, and going 75 mph.  I'm up to 45,000 miles already.

I commend your decision to opt for the manual. It looks like you would have anyway, based on your history, but I've heard nothing but bad business with those FCA automatics.

I learned to drive on a 1981 Dodge Aries that had the 2.2L engine mated to a 4-speed manual.  Ever since, manuals just seem right for driving, and automatics seem so odd and strange.  I find myself looking for the clutch pedal with my left foot while grabbing the gear selector with my right hand in an automatic (someone else's or a rental).

I find driving auto funny after only three years behind the wheel of a manual. I can't even begin to image how bizarre an automatic would be after driving manual for 30+ years! Of course, at the rate manuals are disappearing, I'm sure an automatic will be in my future at some point. But I'll be damned if I'm gonna choose an automatic in a car that offers a manual, even if it means choosing the shittier engine.

[Takumi]

The car I’m buying (2012 Acura TL) actually only offered the manual with the better engine (and exclusively AWD), but they’re extremely rare, even more so than in my outgoing TSX, and it wasn’t available with the options I wanted.

[jakeroot]

The car I'm buying (2012 Acura TL) actually only offered the manual with the better engine (and exclusively AWD), but they're extremely rare, even more so than in my outgoing TSX, and it wasn't available with the options I wanted.

I thought I was in the same boat searching for a CX-5 with a manual, but then one day, one just popped up at a dealer 20 minutes away. The guy was desperate to sell it, but I don't know why. People around here love manual. Someone would buy it; it was gone the next day.

A manual gearbox in a rare vehicle always sucks for buyers, because the sellers know that it's unusual, and they're gonna charge for it. Can't really blame you for giving up. Even if you found one, you'd end up paying quite a bit I'm sure.

[riiga]

Funny how it is the other way around here. Automatics are more expensive and harder to come by, and people will charge extra for it unless it's an older car as old automatics aren't known for their reliability.

[jakeroot]

Funny how it is the other way around here. Automatics are more expensive and harder to come by, and people will charge extra for it unless it's an older car as old automatics aren't known for their reliability.

Well, if you're selling to some schlob who doesn't know right from left, you're probably gonna have to reduce your sale price if you're selling a manual here. On the other hand, ethusiasts seek out manuals, so if you have an unusual manual, you can charge more in the used market because there are buyers looking specifically for those cars who will pay extra for the stick, vs an automatic of the same type. A future classic will probably be the Cruze Hatch Manual Diesel. Chevy is dropping the manual this summer, so that combo was only sold for like a year and half; it's also an extremely rare combo period. Guaranteed any used models will be private party sold well above any other combo for that car.

[Takumi]

The car I'm buying (2012 Acura TL) actually only offered the manual with the better engine (and exclusively AWD), but they're extremely rare, even more so than in my outgoing TSX, and it wasn't available with the options I wanted.

I thought I was in the same boat searching for a CX-5 with a manual, but then one day, one just popped up at a dealer 20 minutes away. The guy was desperate to sell it, but I don't know why. People around here love manual. Someone would buy it; it was gone the next day.

A manual gearbox in a rare vehicle always sucks for buyers, because the sellers know that it's unusual, and they're gonna charge for it. Can't really blame you for giving up. Even if you found one, you'd end up paying quite a bit I'm sure.

Exactly. The TL I'm buying has the Advance package (which adds things like blind-spot detection and ventilated seats, as well as some good-looking wheels), which wasn't available with the manual. I also have only ever seen one manual 4th gen TL for sale.

[Takumi]

Finally bought this yesterday. 2012 TL SH-AWD Advance.

[jakeroot]

Those mid-Atlantic earthquakes have really taken a toll on Richmond. Your car is upside-down!

How much you pay? If you don't mind saying.

[Takumi]

Huh, it renders fine for me. Car was $19k before all the taxes and such. A bit above average for them, but it has fairly low mileage.

[jakeroot]

Huh, it renders fine for me. Car was $19k before all the taxes and such. A bit above average for them, but it has fairly low mileage.

Sometimes you gotta pay a little to get a little. Sounds pretty reasonable to me!



I've seen this happen before. No idea what causes it. Probably on my end.

[J N Winkler]

The picture is upside down for me too.  The car still looks sweet, though.

[Max Rockatansky]

My fiancé has a 2018 Subaru Forester with the 2.5 Flat four.  For what it's worth I've found the off road capability to be adequate, really the best trait is that there is a ton of cargo room.  I got a 80 inch long grand father clock to fit with about an extra foot left to spare.  The 2.5 seems fine to me given how light the Forester is, I'm having a hard time seeing why it's bagged on so much.  The CVT seems okay but I haven't really tried it on a Hill with a huge grade yet. 

[oscar]

My fiancé has a 2018 Subaru Forester with the 2.5 Flat four.  For what it's worth I've found the off road capability to be adequate, really the best trait is that there is a ton of cargo room.  I got a 80 inch long grand father clock to fit with about an extra foot left to spare.  The 2.5 seems fine to me given how light the Forester is, I'm having a hard time seeing why it's bagged on so much.  The CVT seems okay but I haven't really tried it on a Hill with a huge grade yet.

Compared to the sportier-looking Subaru Outback (longer but not as tall), the Forester does have that soccer-mom-mobile look to it, which might be why my sister got hers. At the Colorado hot springs resort I visited earlier this month, there were a lot of Outbacks (in keeping with Subaru's popularity with the hiking/outdoors community), but there were a few Foresters besides my own.

I had to travel about a dozen miles on unpaved county roads to get there and back. I was comfortable with that, though it helped that before the trip I had purchased a full-sized mounted spare, since the standard donut spare is probably pretty worthless on gravel. My next road trip might include a few hundred miles of gravel roads, which will be a better test of the Forester's bad-road capabilities.

I found the 2.5 engine and CVT adequate for mountain driving.

[Max Rockatansky]

My fiancé has a 2018 Subaru Forester with the 2.5 Flat four.  For what it's worth I've found the off road capability to be adequate, really the best trait is that there is a ton of cargo room.  I got a 80 inch long grand father clock to fit with about an extra foot left to spare.  The 2.5 seems fine to me given how light the Forester is, I'm having a hard time seeing why it's bagged on so much.  The CVT seems okay but I haven't really tried it on a Hill with a huge grade yet.

Compared to the sportier-looking Subaru Outback (longer but not as tall), the Forester does have that soccer-mom-mobile look to it, which might be why my sister got hers. At the Colorado hot springs resort I visited earlier this month, there were a lot of Outbacks (in keeping with Subaru's popularity with the hiking/outdoors community), but there were a few Foresters besides my own.

I had to travel about a dozen miles on unpaved county roads to get there and back. I was comfortable with that, though it helped that before the trip I had purchased a full-sized mounted spare, since the standard donut spare is probably pretty worthless on gravel. My next road trip might include a few hundred miles of gravel roads, which will be a better test of the Forester's bad-road capabilities.

I found the 2.5 engine and CVT adequate for mountain driving.

I've been meaning to try it on the Sierra Scenic Vista Byway which includes gravel and dirt segments.  New Irdia Road and Panoche Road are also on the short list for when the weather cools.  Personally I still prefer how the Forester looks over the Crosstrek.  Essentially there isn't much difference but the Crosstrek has styling that screamed Soccer Mom to me.  Either way it's pretty much perfect for my significant other.  I'm considering looking at an Impreza once the Sonic has reached the end of it's useful life to give me some breathing room on chain control zones in the winter.

[cjk374]

Well...I finally bit the bullet. I bought a new Challenger:

The new car. by Jess Kilgore, on Flickr

Not exactly the color I would have chosen for myself, but when it is the lowest priced Challenger on the lot, you instantly become a fan of the color. 

The note is $8 less per month than what I was paying for the other Challenger (2011). Same interest rate as before, so I will pay a little less for this one than I did for the last one.

It is just a plain-jane, no-frills SXT model. It had 80 miles on it, and they let me use it to pick up my wife from work...65 miles one way! I hope it will provide many miles of trouble-free road scholaring.

SO....can I interest anyone in a used 2000 Saturn SL1 or a 1998 Ford Ranger?     Both are for sale at a VERY reasonable price!

[Max Rockatansky]

Well...I finally bit the bullet. I bought a new Challenger:

The new car. by Jess Kilgore, on Flickr

Not exactly the color I would have chosen for myself, but when it is the lowest priced Challenger on the lot, you instantly become a fan of the color. 

The note is $8 less per month than what I was paying for the other Challenger (2011). Same interest rate as before, so I will pay a little less for this one than I did for the last one.

It is just a plain-jane, no-frills SXT model. It had 80 miles on it, and they let me use it to pick up my wife from work...65 miles one way! I hope it will provide many miles of trouble-free road scholaring.

SO....can I interest anyone in a used 2000 Saturn SL1 or a 1998 Ford Ranger?     Both are for sale at a VERY reasonable price!

Nice, how does it compare to the 2011?  I know both cars had the 3.6L but it felt like the fit, finish, and handling performance of the Challenger took a significant leap forward after the 2015 quasi-1971 model refresh.  I noticed there is some guy at the same gym as me that has a Plum Crazy Challenger but it's an SXT...I thought that was odd that all colors were on all trims now. 

Speaking of current cars despite my best efforts to keep a good 3-4 month detail on my daily driver Sonic the roof is starting to fade.  I'll probably be giving the top surface of the car a good spot buff later in the month but it's almost like putting lipstick on a pig with close 100k on the engine and a current assessed value of only $3,500-$4,000.  I'll probably be dropping collision coverage soon and saving the money up for a new car which should be coming up in about two years when I hit 150k.

To that end I was looking at the Impreza but I'm not sure how well the CVT will do on downhill slopes and I really don't want a manual for a daily driver.  To that end looks like I'll be shopping the Sub-Compact/Compact a little more than I have in the past.  Really my only stipulations are a light paint color and cruise control.  I really liked my 2012 Fiesta but I don't know how well the 2018 stacks up since I believe the transmission changed. 

[cjk374]

So far it feels just like my 2011 Challenger when it comes to handling. The technology upgrade is the biggest change in 7 years. It has a back up camera in the spoiler, and a big in-dash screen (9 inches) with a crystal-clear picture. There are all kinds of buttons to push on the screen with the u-connect thing. I am not really a friend of technology, so I probably won't hardly use any of it.

Now there is something really cool in the options screen behind the steering wheel: a 0-60 timer & a braking distance gauge. Can't wait to try those out.

There was this environmental spray fee on my invoice for about $600. The dealership told me that on my car purchase anniversary for the next 3 years, they will spray on a new coat of clear coat on the car. I also get free oil changes for the next 2 years every 6000 miles.

[jakeroot]

Do either of y'all get claustrophobic driving the Challenger? When I drove the Challenger and Camaro at my last job, I got it really bad. Sometimes gave me a headache.

[Max Rockatansky]

Do either of y'all get claustrophobic driving the Challenger? When I drove the Challenger and Camaro at my last job, I got it really bad. Sometimes gave me a headache.

Definitely not in the Challenger but my fifth generation Camaro felt like I was riding some sort of gun slot.  The Camaro has all sorts of sight-lined; namely over the hood and straight out the back.  I used to back into places with my door open because the sight line was so bad out the back, definitely felt like the kind of car back up cameras were meant for.  There was also little to no head room and I'm only six feet tall. 

The Challenger on the other hand is a lot bigger car and feels like it inside. What I find interesting is that despite the size it's easy to tell where the hood ends due to the body slope up front.  I have a back up camera but usually stick to my mirrors back into my garage. 

What I found interesting was how comfortable the SXT Challenger was in Seattle.  I had no trouble getting into right parking spots with the sight lines.  The suspension was definitely more oriented towards ride comfort than my Scat Pack.  My SS Camaro had a really firm suspension that got tossed around really easily on bad roads. 

[cjk374]

Do either of y'all get claustrophobic driving the Challenger? When I drove the Challenger and Camaro at my last job, I got it really bad. Sometimes gave me a headache.

It is the roomiest car I have ever owned. The driverside seat (electrically) slides all the way against the backseat.

I noticed there is some guy at the same gym as me that has a Plum Crazy Challenger but it's an SXT...I thought that was odd that all colors were on all trims now.   

Plum crazy, black cherry, and the darker blue are beautiful on Challengers, but I too noticed these were assigned to trim packages. Maybe the guy at the gym special ordered his?

[Max Rockatansky]

So far it feels just like my 2011 Challenger when it comes to handling. The technology upgrade is the biggest change in 7 years. It has a back up camera in the spoiler, and a big in-dash screen (9 inches) with a crystal-clear picture. There are all kinds of buttons to push on the screen with the u-connect thing. I am not really a friend of technology, so I probably won't hardly use any of it.

Now there is something really cool in the options screen behind the steering wheel: a 0-60 timer & a braking distance gauge. Can't wait to try those out.

There was this environmental spray fee on my invoice for about $600. The dealership told me that on my car purchase anniversary for the next 3 years, they will spray on a new coat of clear coat on the car. I also get free oil changes for the next 2 years every 6000 miles.

The performance pages are an absolute blast to play with.  The best I've been able to do on my Scat Pack was 4.6 seconds to 60 but I definitely couldn't do better on good asphalt or a drag strip.  The U-Connect is actually pretty good but I don't find myself driving my Challenger enough to use it much...either way it's better than MyLink.  Mine actually has a launch control menu I've only had the chance to use twice so far.