I've been driving my FR-S since last may. Yes, automatic. Cause I love the peddle shifters. Daily drive to work (20 miles a day) and had 2 long trips. I live in Detroit area and I had no problem in the crazy snow with winter tires.

Just love everything about her except the chipping noise. But I have access to Ethanol free gas so it won't really be an issue. Or you don't even care about this noise. Also I am getting the TRD intake. Some say it might ease the problem.

Anyway, FR-S is definitely a fantastic car to drive, no matter it's a DD or for fun. Go for it man!

I have the 10 series auto. My commute to work everyday is 45 miles to and from so I drive just about 90 miles 5 days a week. It is 99% highway driving in central California so i'd say it is about 95% flat so I have a smooth drive all the way. I love that after a long day of work, I can have a smooth drive home rain or shine with the automatic. The noise is not too bad, you will get used to it and I like the paddle shift option too. What I like about it is that in an emergency, I wont have to worry about my wife or any other family member not being able to drive it because they don't know how to drive manual. Because I drive 99% highway driving I set my cruise control to 65-70 and just coast so I get 36-38 mpgs. I do like driving manual sometimes but all my life I have driven pretty much auto cars so it doesn't bother me at all because I love my car in general so I don't regret not choosing the manual transmission. And I don't regret it because I am 99% sure I am not going to drift it, race it, or take it to the track, and only mods I would only probably do on mine is window tint, air filter, and maybe exhaust. But that's just me, and oh it's pretty comfortable and has enough power for my work commute too and I weighed 280 lbs :iono: when I bought the car.

If you're OK with the relative lack of power & refinement, the FRS makes a wonderful daily driver. I love driving mine every day :burnrubber:

That being said, you'll want the manual if you're young. I did. Got the auto, and within a few weeks was already regretting my decision. Now I happily own a M/T Asphalt.

I don't think I'd pass up half of the car being paid off though :P The manual isn't that good that I'd rather pay 12.5k more for it. If you want it, definitely try to convince your mom!

EDIT: Either way its a wonderful car. Don't let all the kids tell you the Auto sucks and you should go to hell for even thinking about it, etc. The auto is wonderful. Best automatic I've ever driven in a cheap car other than Volkswagen's DSG (which is dual clutch so obviously better!). I never felt like the auto shifted too slow, or I didn't have control over the gears. Great in stop & go and LA traffic. What I didn't like about it, was the LOOOOONG gearing (past 3rd at least) - 4th felt like 5th in my Manual, meaning the car felt a *lot* more slugglish on the Highway.

In backroads driving, they both felt relatively similar in speed (manual obviously having more involvement, but the auto is *very* good like I said). If I didn't want to track & mod my car I probably would've stuck with the Auto :)

Tell your mom you need the standard because its a great skill that everyone should know:)

Just on the fuel economy discussion, I did a bit of an experiment about 10months ago, when I was driving from home (Armidale, NSW) to work (Tamworth, NSW) with a calculated distance of 118.7km.
I drive a 2012 86 GTS 6AT which had approx 17,000km on the clock.
Stock HP Primacy tyres, 38/40psi as supplied by Toyota. Stock 17" wheels. Everything was as from factory except for ceramic pro paint protection.
I did exactly the same route every working day for about 2months, which averaged 1187km per week.
I used my other car for town driving and shopping.
The route was laid out: about 5km of not stop-start town, then the rest was highway until the last 10km which was still highway but speeds changed constantly. There was also about 7km of easy mountain about 2/3 down the road.
I used D and cruise control and kept it at the speed limit at all times (averaging out the times where I was stuck behind slower people and when I sped up to pass them).
I managed to average less than 5.7L/100km calculated by both my maths and an app on my phone, basing on how much I put in to full (where it was literally pooling in the filler from being overfull - just so I knew that it was always same) against my odometer.
I was never getting less than 850km per tank and my car never started sputtering. I do not know how far I could have truly taken it before conking out but that is an experiment I refuse to I try.
Since I have put on the new wheels (18x8.5/18x9.5 with falken FK453 tyres (245/35 and 255/35) pumped to 42/44psi) I only got about 700km max.

That all said and done and dusted...I drive in manual mode, don't shift until it's screaming (unless I'm in town) and average 7.9L/100...but I don't care...what's an extra $5/100km for that big smile forever stuck on my face.

Had mine for 22 months and
 

The only issue is I have to eventually get out of it. A true blast to drive daily. MT for me all the way.

Do not bring shame to your family. Drive auto like the rest of good Asian boys and make sure you get your medical degree.

Love the car as a DD I drive about 30miles per day with winter grade has and not caring about gas mileage I've been about 28mpg remember these cars take 93 premium fuel don't listen if someone says otherwise! Make sure your mom and anyone driving it knows..

Cons:
Loud road noise
Rattles of interior mine sounded like hell within 1200miles..turn up radio or go faster!
Don't take off the safety's you will slide out in 2seconds I'd your not careful
Crickets! Just look them up
Pros:
Excellent comfort! Drove from Nj to key west and back no issues
Great mpg when you try I was loaded down and still got 34mpg!
Fun fun fun
Love it in manual although drove the auto and it was excellent
10800 miles and enjoy it everyday

I dd the FRS and its awesome! I live in Canada so I drive it in snow as well and it drives and handles great with a set of winter tires. Get the car you won't regret it. I absolutely love driving because of it.

Sent from my SGH-I747M using Tapatalk 4

Car is fine as a DD. Its a pleasant car to drive and contrived to feel sporty at regular commute speeds.

Get the Auto, I think this car suits the manual better than the 6 speed. (I have the 6 speed) Unless you are going to track the car, (or street race) there is no measurable parameter that will be better served by the manual box. The manual appeals to the gear-head romantics who are looking for a reason to feel superior to the rest of the road lemmings.

The radio does suck.

got my AT fr-s on 10/1/2012 and daily driven ever since. only problem is I live in northeast and car definitely doesn't like snow. while I haven't gotten stuck, there have been a few tough situations. may put on snow tires next winter.

I don't ever mind having an automatic, but there are many times stuck in traffic that I've cussed a stick.

If/when I buy my BRZ I'll probably go for the manual simply because it's more fun FOR ME to drive. I'm sure I'll cuss it when I'm stuck in traffic or trying to eat a drive through meal on my way somewhere, but it's a small price to pay for the fun of driving a stick down a twisty road.

I sit in hours of stop and go traffic every week. It's really not a big deal. I think this is a super easy manual to drive in thick traffic.

I wrote:
[quote= The manual appeals to the gear-head romantics who are looking for a reason to feel superior to the rest of the road lemmings.
[/QUOTE]



You wrote:

correct me if I am wrong, but are we not saying the same thing with the only difference being one of us is a romantic and the other is a balloon bursting cynic?

If you want to convince me that a manual gearbox is some kind of an asset in a car that performs its main duty as a commuter vehicle, you need to bring numbers to the table. What exactly does a manual car do better on a commute?