Manual Transmission cars?

[corco]

So, since you've never driven a stick, just out of curiosity does it bother you when a car is between gears when driving up a hill? Or do you not even notice?

[Sanctimoniously]

I learned how to drive in a Buick LeSabre, and never had a car of my own in high school, so I didn't learn how to drive manual until I was twenty-one in Afghanistan, driving a Toyota Land Cruiser around the base. I'd like to have a manual transmission for my next car so I can experience the, well, experience of daily-driving a manual. I'm looking to either get a similarly-equipped Focus manual, or a new Fusion SE with the special-order-only manual.

[Takumi]

how do you burn out an automatic, unless you're pushing to the limiter on every gear?

Simple. You drive a Honda with an automatic made between 1997 and 2002 and it just randomly breaks on its own!

As others have said, I'd prefer my next car to be newer and a manual as well, which doesn't give me many choices. The biggest new car I can think of that offers one is the Accord V6 sedan, or maybe one of its competitors.

[leroys73]

Learned on stick, 3 on the tree.  I did not own and almost never drove an auto until 15 years later I bought a used full size Chev PU.  I still own my 1973 Corvette which I bought new.  It has a 4 speed close ratio, 370 gears, with the L82, and by today's standards a killer clutch to push.  I ride a motorcycle also and can't imagine riding a motorcycle with an automatic.   

I prefer the stick on the floor for almost all driving.  It is handier on the floor.  I believe it makes you more in tune with the vehicle and gives you a better feel of the total environment around you, especially on less than perfect surfaces. However, for traffic and backing a trailer the auto is handy.  My wife's Town and Country has the "slap" stick auto.  I have used that feature a lot in the mountains until the manual down shift stopped working.  Now it is almost dangerous in the Rockies without being able to down shift to save the brakes.  It is being warranted out.

   

[JREwing78]

My parents had manuals when I was growing up. My first two cars were automatics, but the first one I bought with my own funds was a manual, and I took it to 202,000 miles. The Cobalt I currently own is a manual, and it's much more responsive than the automatic versions I've driven.

After driving stick for 10 years, I was in the habit of holding higher gears and using throttle to accelerate in regular driving. It's an adjustment driving an automatic (a Ford Five Hundred), because my normal reflex to floor the throttle out of it; I'm then surprised when it does a 6-3 downshift and jerks ahead with 2 or 3 times the acceleration I intended. Other times, I'm annoyed when the downshifts don't come fast enough or the transmission stays in 2nd instead of shifting down to 1st coming to a stop. It's really a good automatic; it just took me a while to get used to its behavior.

My personal preference is to drive a manual, and I'm happy to buy them when it's an option.

[Darkchylde]

Whoa, you had an 87 Honda with a 6 speed?

It was advertised as a 5 and geared like a 5, but had a lower gear past 1st (which I actually put to use once or twice pulling cars out of ditches.) My nephew used to call it a 'granny gear.'

[formulanone]

I've had a manual on half my cars, including my current vehicle. Just more fun and more involving.

[ghYHZ]

I learned on the family's automatic but a buddy had a stick so as soon as I had my license.....I was driving that too.

My little sister on the other hand, learned on my future bother-in-law's  Z-28 (& that's ZED-28). The first time she got in my automatic she had to ask "what do I do next??"

[Revive 755]

I am the opposite of most people here: I have never driven a stick and never really had an opportunity to learn since no one in my family owned one.

You are not the only one here; when I was learning to drive the last manual car in the family got traded in for an automatic.  But after suffering on I-44 through Missouri with an automatic that waits too long to downshift, and then experience the same problem at a much greater level on EB I-70 through Colorado, I'd certainly like to learn to drive a manual.  Though I'd also like to try a continuously variable transmission once for comparison.

[bugo]

I've heard bad things about CVTs.  The engine revs at a constant RPM and emits a droney sound.  Performance isn't as good as with a typical slushbox either.

[bugo]

What is depressing to me is that Ferrari no longer offers a car with a manual transmission (paddle shifters do not count.)

[Mdcastle]

I do in fact use the manual override on automatics, I'll normally shift out of overdrive going up or down steep hills, when I'm about to pass, etc. I learned on a manual (but don't miss them one bit) so maybe that's why I do whereas my sister, who's never driven a manual, never takes hers out of drive.

[1995hoo]

What is depressing to me is that Ferrari no longer offers a car with a manual transmission (paddle shifters do not count.)

I don't doubt part of that is that the paddles are considered high-tech by many Europeans because of the association with F1.

More generally, Confucius say: Baby conceived in back seat of car with automatic transmission grow up to be shiftless bastard.

[leroys73]

1995hoo,
Love your back seat quote.

[bugo]

The only time I manually shift my automatic is if I'm passing and it doesn't automatically kick down and during snowy and icy weather where I'll put the lever in 2nd and take off in second gear.

[SidS1045]

I've heard bad things about CVTs.  The engine revs at a constant RPM and emits a droney sound.  Performance isn't as good as with a typical slushbox either.

Based on my 2011 Prius and 2005 Civic Hybrid, both with CVT's:  They do no such thing.  Engine speeds rise and fall with gas-pedal position, just like with any car.  In normal mode (the Prius has a "power" mode available by pushing a button) their acceleration is dialed back a bit, but in the long run that trains you to drive with a lighter touch on the gas, and that's part of the reason why they get such good gas mileage.

[pctech]

My current car (2010 Mazda 3) is an automatic. It has a manual mode that I've used in heavy traffic to prevent having to "ride the brakes" all the time. At times I've wished that it had a manual, I had two Honda civics that were 5 speed manuals and were fun to drive. From what I read these new dual clutch "automatic manuals" can shift better than most people.

Mark

[kphoger]

What is depressing to me is that Ferrari no longer offers a car with a manual transmission (paddle shifters do not count.)

You're considering not getting a Ferrari now? ... 

My current car (2010 Mazda 3) is an automatic. It has a manual mode that I've used in heavy traffic to prevent having to "ride the brakes" all the time.

I forgot about that application.  Yes, I've popped the automatic into a lower gear in traffic jams before, as well.

[realjd]

I know how to drive a stick shift but prefer automatic. The gas mileage is the same, the performance is the same, and driving in traffic is much easier.

My wife has a CVT in her Nissan Murano, and I drive Altimas with CVTs as rentals regularly. They're great. It's neat accelerating without the engine revving up.

[formulanone]

I've heard bad things about CVTs.  The engine revs at a constant RPM and emits a droney sound.  Performance isn't as good as with a typical slushbox either.

They've gone a long way towards quelling the noise and reliability in a lot of CVTs, but sometimes they do sound as if they've dropped two gears, and won't upshift properly. But it tries its best to out-think someone who drives a manual car. For fuel economy, they're perfect, but for spirited driving, it leaves something to be desired. Braking performance is s little odd, if you're on flat terrain, since it doesn't respond quite like typical power braking systems do (very all-or-nothing, if you need to brake rapidly). I will say they're great at dealing with steep downhill climbs, if it offers an "overdrive off" button like some current Nissans do. Basically, they've come a long way, but there's some ways left to go.

Dual-clutch autos are quicker than stick, and many conventional autos have dissolved the performance gap (even inverted gap, in many high-performance applications) between manual and automatic transmissions. But in most older, low-price-end, or low-powered vehicles, it makes a less interesting vehicle a little more enthusiastic (and usually quicker)...but the manual's demise is due to a lack of demand.

[The High Plains Traveler]

I've heard bad things about CVTs.  The engine revs at a constant RPM and emits a droney sound.  Performance isn't as good as with a typical slushbox either.

They've gone a long way towards quelling the noise and reliability in a lot of CVTs, but sometimes they do sound as if they've dropped two gears, and won't upshift properly. But it tries its best to out-think someone who drives a manual car. For fuel economy, they're perfect, but for spirited driving, it leaves something to be desired. Braking performance is s little odd, if you're on flat terrain, since it doesn't respond quite like typical power braking systems do (very all-or-nothing, if you need to brake rapidly). I will say they're great at dealing with steep downhill climbs, if it offers an "overdrive off" button like some current Nissans do. Basically, they've come a long way, but there's some ways left to go.

I just bought a new Nissan Rogue, and was convinced by taking a 600 mile "test drive" in a rental. The transmission takes a little getting used to, and I think some of the performance concerns are perceptions by the driver that not feeling the engine drop to a lower gear than actually needed with a lurch means the car is underpowered. I was very pleasantly surprised taking it into the mountains, both with uphill power and (as you referenced) the ability to use the overdrive-off button for downhill downshifting. I'm taking a long road trip soon and I'm looking forward to seeing if my opinions above are borne out when, for instance, passing on 2-lane roads.

I had considered the Jeep Compass, since its CVT offers manual shifting as an option (thus more options for downshifting on steep grades), but was put off by its reliability ratings.

To respond to the OP, I had at least one stick shift vehicle from age 18 until just a few years ago, when I unloaded my Jetta in favor of a car with automatic.

[leroys73]

I remember back in the "olden days" Chrysler's push button, 727, at the drags came in very close to manuals. They were tough too.

[Laura]

I've only ever owned automatic cars. However, when my fiancé Mike and I were just friends, I had him teach me how to drive a stick shift in his 1998 VW new beetle. It was a lot of fun driving a stick shift, but he replaced that car with an automatic after it died at 263,000 miles.

The only downside I found to driving a stick shift is the constant shifting when stuck in traffic or when driving in urban areas.

[cpzilliacus]

The only downside I found to driving a stick shift is the constant shifting when stuck in traffic or when driving in urban areas.

It's all I have ever had - and I drive a lot in the (often congested) Washington, D.C. metropolitan area.

Because I am so used to the congestion, having to shift does not bother me at all.

[formulanone]

The only downside I found to driving a stick shift is the constant shifting when stuck in traffic or when driving in urban areas.

Because I am so used to the congestion, having to shift does not bother me at all.

It's not too bad for a 10-15 minute traffic jam, but really annoying for a two-hour stop-and-go crawl. You try for that rare chance to slide into 3rd gear, which makes one feel a sense of accomplishment.