Are you getting Manual or Auto?

[blackfireball5]

I have always owned auto's and i daily drive my 3000GT SL Auto. (God awful auto i might add). I've always wanted to own a manual but in my current situation i dont think its right. I live with 3 other guys, all dont drive sticks and manuvering vehicals in the driveway every morning is common. On top of that i just got a job downtown that requires daily rush-hour driving and i don't want to deal with that.

I'm very happy to hear so many good responses about the auto in the FRS. I just got home from my vacation driving my dads 2009 Lancer Ralliart in autocross, road-course, and drags, and i have to say, if its anything like that despite being a twin clutch trans, I'll be happy.

[Jedi1]

The FRS auto is comparable to the Mercedes AMG tuned torque converter auto and dare I say the Porsche PDK dual clutch. The PDK is a tad more crisp and a little quicker to make the shift in Sport and Sport Plus modes than the FRS is in VSC Sport or TC off modes, but the Scion is very very close performance wise.

[Jose_Timberlake]

Originally Posted by HotLava

A lot of manual owners probably have nice traffic to deal with. But it's hard to tell because they never say. Shifting 75 times to go eight blocks to Office Depot=not fun. I come from a 05 Mustang GT MT that I had in LA traffic for five years. There's nothing like an open freeway or road to make a MT sing. But when you race onto the freeway and come to a complete stop and then take one hour to go seven miles, well that kind of just takes the fun out of a manual. So I went with the auto.

Well said sir! Lived in So Cal (LA specifically) and traffic is horrendous! Owned & driven m/t's majority of my time driving and majority of my daily commute is on 405 which is notorious for bumper to bumper traffic. Having to drive in this type of congestion on a daily basis, switching back and forth from 1st to 2nd, then back to 1st...making it all the way to 3rd for a split second, downshifting back to 1st, I told myself never again! I'll admit that there is no a/t that can ever fully replicate the feel of a manual tranny & shifting through them gears, but when you're constantly on/off that clutch pedal with a commute of 13 miles that takes over an hour, I'd say m/t gets old really quick. So yep, I too chose to go with an a/t...and having driven one, the shifting is surprisingly smooth. Very impressed.

[AznBRZer]

Originally Posted by Jose_Timberlake

Well said sir! Lived in So Cal (LA specifically) and traffic is horrendous! Owned & driven m/t's majority of my time driving and majority of my daily commute is on 405 which is notorious for bumper to bumper traffic. Having to drive in this type of congestion on a daily basis, switching back and forth from 1st to 2nd, then back to 1st...making it all the way to 3rd for a split second, downshifting back to 1st, I told myself never again! I'll admit that there is no a/t that can ever fully replicate the feel of a manual tranny & shifting through them gears, but when you're constantly on/off that clutch pedal with a commute of 13 miles that takes over an hour, I'd say m/t gets old really quick. So yep, I too chose to go with an a/t...and having driven one, the shifting is surprisingly smooth. Very impressed.

Sounds like my commute in and out of Boston.

[pmdc]

I can't imagine owning a car like this with an AT. Personal preference and all that, but this car is about driver experience and engagement... An AT disconnects you, and forces you to fight with it to do what you want. Honestly, with enough experience, driving around town/highways like a normal person a manual is pretty much automatic anyway. I don't think about it at all unless I'm driving with some enthusiasm.

Plus my friends would tear me up if I bought an automatic sports car. Almost as much as I would if they did the same thing.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 4 Beta

[Sigh-on-Rice]

I used to live in a place where my 10 mile commute took 1 hour 15 minutes, but I had no problem shifting MT between 1st and 2nd endless number of times. Once in a while, I drove my wife's AT car and I had hard time staying up in the traffic.

[sc10nFRS]

I was decidedly impartial to which transmission I was going to get. The Wife doesn't know how to drive MT, but she's got her own AT car. I didn't drive a MT before, but my commute is easy. Sports cars are meant to be MT, but paddle shifters. MT is cheaper up front, but yields lower gas mileage.

I got a MT honestly because that's the first FR-S 10 series my dealership had in stock, so it was either take it, or wait until they (maybe) got an AT 10-series later on. Had the car a week today and I'm glad it's a MT. It is an experience that not a lot drivers get with AT. It turns a commuter into a driving enthusiast.

EDIT: To be clear - I have driven a MT before. I learned on a '86 Prelude that my Dad had let me borrow to drive to and from a summer internship.

[Jose_Timberlake]

With all that being said...eff you L.A. traffic, eff you!!!

[m.wood0213]

I went auto because it was the only frs/brz in 50 mile area, plus auto is actually fun, no clutch worries, and mpg is better.

[topazsparrow]

I test drove and auto before buying my Manual. The auto was a hell of a lot more refined in traffic. No noisy clutch rattle or jerky drive train.

Still love the 6 speed though.

[D4S]

I'm getting another one. So many benefits to a manual aside from being fun to drive.

[FM]

Just got my AT. Really wanted a manual, but didn't like the way the clutch felt. It just seemed to feel too light or 'tinny'. Kind of hard to describe. Of course, I think I'm trying to compare it to my '69 Opel GT

It is pretty cool for an automatic...

[Dadhawk]

Originally Posted by FM

....Of course, I think I'm trying to compare it to my '69 Opel GT ..

Welcome to the AT Darkside...

Can't believe you have an Opel GT! I love that car, always wanted one. Here's a photo of one in honor of the Independence Day!

[Anaxilus]

Originally Posted by Jedi1

dare I say the Porsche PDK dual clutch. The PDK is a tad more crisp and a little quicker to make the shift in Sport and Sport Plus modes than the FRS is in VSC Sport or TC off modes, but the Scion is very very close performance wise.

I'd disagree w/ this personally. I'll likely get the auto but during my test drive w/ VSC Sport, the auto was noticeably slower than my other SMT. Surprisingly quite slower in downshifts than I was expecting too. I often found myself tapping twice because of waiting. Not to mention no control over 1st gear at all. The SMT is noticeably slower than a PDK, the Auto was slower still by what felt like the same margin at times.

I'm not sure if perhaps the ECU's logic had not yet learned my driving style being a new car, so that may have been a factor. But so far, I would not say the Auto is even remotely close to a PDK. If a SMT is 150-200ms, I'd say the Auto was nearly double that based on butt dyno.