City driver - should I get auto or manual?

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by Mishiimoosh

City driver - should I get auto or manual?

Yes.

Originally Posted by Mishiimoosh

I live in a really busy city in Los Angeles county and do quite a bit of driving in traffic. Is there anyone here who has a similar issue who is willing to give me some insight?

Unfortunately the experience of other people may not apply to your situation.

This car begs for a manual transmission in most situations EXCEPT stop and go traffic up a mountain. Does your regular commute go up a mountain or long hill in stop and go traffic? If so, you may find that very, very tedious. The only time I've ever wished I wasn't driving my car was in creeping traffic up a long, high bridge. For those of us who don't have a commute like that on a daily basis, we probably wouldn't ever consider that problem.

If you don't have a regular creeping commute up a big hill, get the manual. You'll learn it fast, probably faster than most because you'll get more practice in traffic.

Originally Posted by N1rve

If it's going to be your sole and only car, I'd suggest getting an auto.

Unless you can afford to destroy the clutch while learning it and not worry about other means of transporting yourself to work, then I would get the manual.

I only say this because you said you don't know how to drive manual.

Remember, this car is still a sports car, people drive these cars hard...this isn't your typical corolla.

Nonsense.

First, she can learn.

Second, the clutch is not made of egg shells. She's not going to destroy it while learning.

Third, you contradict yourself when you say people drive the cars hard. If the car can handle being driven hard, it can handle someone learning manual in it.

[SeratoBeats]

I personally think any car of this caliber should be purchased as manual.

It just gives the full experience.

If you're going to get an auto for city driving go buy yourself a more practical car for that sort of thing


I would never buy a rear wheel "sports car" in automatic. Just defeats the whole purpose. I also don't find it difficult to city drive in manual. Sure auto would be better for that sort of thing and be more convenient, but laziness could be apart of not wanting to drive stick in the city as well.

Also, resale value.

Good luck trying to sell this car in automatic. If you do, it will go for way less.

You'll pretty much have to luck out and find some chick that wants to look hot in this car but dosnt drive or want to learn to drive manual.

Originally Posted by Mishiimoosh

Hello everyone! This is my first topic since I joined the site. Right now I have a '15 Impreza and I have actually been having a few mechanical issues with it (Which is pretty shocking to me), so I am going to trade it in at the end of my lease or at the halfway mark. I was hoping to get a used BRZ in white or WRB, but I have noticed that there are so many fewer automatics out there than the FRS!

Right now I do not know how to drive manual - I am going to be learning soon but I can't decide if I want to get an auto or manual BRZ. I live in a really busy city in Los Angeles county and do quite a bit of driving in traffic. Is there anyone here who has a similar issue who is willing to give me some insight?

I know that the auto feels a bit slower and I didn't like the paddle shifters as much as I like them on my impreza right now. But is that enough to make up for the difficulty of driving in hours of traffic?

[Mishiimoosh]

Originally Posted by Pat.Thornton

I am very bias, but i would recommend you get the manual. I also learned how to drive manual on this platform and it was a very easy task for me. This car had an extremely light clutch and a very direct shifter. You almost cant put it in the wrong gear if your being precise .

You also have some of the most amazing roads in the country very close to you to make rowing through the gears very fun

As for traffic, i dont have an issue with bumper to bumper traffic. The clutch is so light in this car that it doesn't tire out your left leg.

HOWEVER... If auto is your thing, this car has an amazing auto tranny with lightning fast gear changes. So either way its gonna be a great time.

Good luck!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you very much! This was very useful, it makes me feel better to know that it isn't a difficult clutch. My dad had a porsche that had a very heavy clutch and he said it was hard to drive. Also makes me feel better that if I had to make a decision to get an auto, it is also an option.

Originally Posted by N1rve

If it's going to be your sole and only car, I'd suggest getting an auto.

Unless you can afford to destroy the clutch while learning it and not worry about other means of transporting yourself to work, then I would get the manual.

Thankfully I would not be fully learning on this car - If I got a MT I wouldn't want to do anything to mess it up! My brother has '92 Miata as his DD that he learned on and he is going to teach me if I get a BRZ or not.

Originally Posted by cjd

If you're interested in the handling and the fun to drive aspect, auto can certainly deliver (and paddle shifters can add to that) - it's only slightly slower. You might lose credibility among people that set rules about what it takes to be a 'real' sports car, but I'm not convinced those are folks whose opinion is worth the time it takes to try caring what they think.

If you've never driven stick, do that before deciding if you can. You might love the experience and be willing to deal with the annoyance, and you might not see what the fuss is about and decide auto is the best.

C

Thanks! Yes, I really just wanted to see what opinions most people have since I have heard a bit of both during my research. I am definitely going to try an MT before I make a decision - I have a year left until I can get out of my lease anyways.

Originally Posted by s0sl0w

I'd recommend manual.

But I'm not a ***** who has to ask people what transmission I should buy. YMMV

Wow. Uncalled for but thanks?

[Mishiimoosh]

Originally Posted by SeratoBeats

I personally think any car of this caliber should be purchased as manual.

It just gives the full experience.

If you're going to get an auto for city driving go buy yourself a more practical car for that sort of thing


I would never buy a rear wheel "sports car" in automatic. Just defeats the whole purpose. I also don't find it difficult to city drive in manual. Sure auto would be better for that sort of thing and be more convenient, but laziness could be apart of not wanting to drive stick in the city as well.

Also, resale value.

Good luck trying to sell this car in automatic. If you do, it will go for way less.

You'll pretty much have to luck out and find some chick that wants to look hot in this car but dosnt drive or want to learn to drive manual.

Thank you very much! Yes, it seems that I am quite torn and the only thing that will change at this point is finally getting my brother to help teach me like he promised and go test drive both. Because even though resale value is bad for the auto, that actually is a plus for me because I am trying to find one in my price range which is $17-20k. But genuinely I want a car that I can have fun in day to day because I do a lot of driving and it gets boring as heck driving a car that has no life in it.

[SeratoBeats]

Once you learn how to drive stick you will fall in love and never want to go back.

It just gives you so much more control over the car and will feel more confident as a driver. It also forces you to stay focused on handling the car and not getting distracted by pointless shit due to automatic being so boring. This makes you more engaged in the drive making things safer and as a bonus more exciting.


Whatever you decide just try to way out the pros and cons. Don't listen to the typical people who say shit like "good luck in traffic" and "wait till you have those days you're so tired and lazy".

1. Your motor skills and muscle memory will take care of the shifting and clutching sometimes it won't even feel like a burden when in traffic just second nature

2. Driving manual will wake you up and give you something to do on that long tired drive home from work. It turns driving from just a means of transportation to a means of entertainment and joy.

Originally Posted by Mishiimoosh

Thank you very much! Yes, it seems that I am quite torn and the only thing that will change at this point is finally getting my brother to help teach me like he promised and go test drive both. Because even though resale value is bad for the auto, that actually is a plus for me because I am trying to find one in my price range which is $17-20k. But genuinely I want a car that I can have fun in day to day because I do a lot of driving and it gets boring as heck driving a car that has no life in it.

[gravitylover]

FWIW my wife hates driving automatics, says they bore her. Her car is an 06 Outback 5spd, when we met she had a Daytona 5spd. We went through two autos in between that she didn't like but dealt with it and have a Durango now that she really would rather not drive.

[Summerwolf]

No manual, no care. City, country, highway, whatever driving.

[saj]

I live in the west valley, and while I don't commute into the city daily, I still know the pain driving on the 405, 5, 101 etc. during stop and go traffic with 100ºF weather. I don't know what you're daily route is like, but if it involves highways, you will know better than anyone if it's something you can live with when traffic comes to a crawl.

That said, other than LA traffic, there's no reason I would pick the auto over the manual.

[N1rve]

Originally Posted by extrashaky

Yes.



Unfortunately the experience of other people may not apply to your situation.

This car begs for a manual transmission in most situations EXCEPT stop and go traffic up a mountain. Does your regular commute go up a mountain or long hill in stop and go traffic? If so, you may find that very, very tedious. The only time I've ever wished I wasn't driving my car was in creeping traffic up a long, high bridge. For those of us who don't have a commute like that on a daily basis, we probably wouldn't ever consider that problem.

If you don't have a regular creeping commute up a big hill, get the manual. You'll learn it fast, probably faster than most because you'll get more practice in traffic.



Nonsense.

First, she can learn.

Second, the clutch is not made of egg shells. She's not going to destroy it while learning.

Third, you contradict yourself when you say people drive the cars hard. If the car can handle being driven hard, it can handle someone learning manual in it.

Hard = more wear and tear on a used car. Which could lead to reliability issue down the road. I never said this car could handle being driven hard.

[s0sl0w]

Originally Posted by Mishiimoosh

Wow. Uncalled for but thanks?

My point stands, you either know what you want or don't. If you don't know then why are you buying anything right now? If you do know then why are you asking us? We certainly can't tell you what's going to make you happy or miserable in 4 years and 50k miles.

Manual is always the right answer because when you start to tire of it it's a reminder that life is hard, so don't be a little bitch about it. The fact that we can drive places in the first place is amazing enough, I'll shift my own gears thank you. But once again, I'm not a *****. YMMV.

[PandaSPUR]

Oh also, I bought this car without knowing how to drive manual. It was my first car, a friend of mine drove it off the lot for me and taught me for a day.

Then I just practiced on my own by going around the neighborhood a few times before taking it on the highway. Got fairly comfortable within the first 200 miles I think?

[murdoc]

Originally Posted by s0sl0w

My point stands, you either know what you want or don't. If you don't know then why are you buying anything right now? If you do know then why are you asking us? We certainly can't tell you what's going to make you happy or miserable in 4 years and 50k miles.

Manual is always the right answer because when you start to tire of it it's a reminder that life is hard, so don't be a little bitch about it. The fact that we can drive places in the first place is amazing enough, I'll shift my own gears thank you. But once again, I'm not a *****. YMMV.

What's a *****?

[extrashaky]

Originally Posted by murdoc

What's a *****?

It's a ..... that blossomed.

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by murdoc

What's a *****?

There are two words that I know that get blocked on here. One is one letter away from duck but that is to short. The other is a word for cat and that is my guess.