Should I go AT or MT?
 

First of all, I'm sorry for the extremely vague question, know you get tired of it.

I'm planning on buying a sporty car soon, and the twins are on the top of my list. The problem is I have never done a manual before and this would be my 100% daily driver for at least 3 years.

Is the automatic still as fan to drive as the MT on this car? Will it make it dramatically more slow when hammering on the gas?

Should I take advantage of the car to learn to drive a stick? I do have to drive a decent amount of traffic on the way home everyday.

Any insight from those who tried both is greatly appreciated. Thank you beforehand.

My BRZ is my first manual ever. I learned to drive stick on her, and boy am I glad. I'll probably never be buying an auto again given the opportunity. If you want the full experience, go standard and enjoy it the way it's supposed to be enjoyed.

Never tried AT, have had MT for 4 years in California city traffic, zero regrets. Totally fine learning on it, worst case scenario you replace a clutch at some point down the road, no big deal.

I think if you never plan on hitting the track/autox having AT will be satisfying. There are a few who track/autox their AT, but I think it's more a note on why people buy their cars than the people who buy them.

MT>AT

Never automatic.

Some people complain about driving a MT in traffic and yes, it can suck. But not once have I seen a thread where someone said "I got the MT but I really wish I had gotten the AT". However, here on this forum you can search and find some threads where some people have commented "I should have gotten the manual".

These are a great car to learn MT on.
That said the "AT" on these is very different from your run of the mill family sedan. You do have the paddles and manual shift mode for when you want to play but can just drive around in auto when you are being just a car.

You will get a huge MT bias on here cuz' racecar but in the long run both trannys have their ups and downs.

Is the traffic in downtown Beaumont excessively obnoxious?

Your call. Either will do nicely.

I bought my BRZ with auto transmission, but I made this decision after driving manual RWD cars for 30 years and finding that for daily driving, the auto suited my needs better.

However, if this is your first sporty car, get the manual and learn to drive stick. The 'more fun/engaging' reason is subjective and I'd argue that I have just as much fun in my auto as I did driving stick, but I really believe that it's good to learn how to drive a manual transmission well. It give you more insight into the mechanics of what's happening in your car and makes you more aware of power bands, throttle control etc. It's also useful if you want to learn how to ride motorcycles.

Downtown beaumont is almost irrelevant lol the hard part is that southeast texas has a ridiculous amount of refineries that cause very bad traffic from 3 until 8 pm for the entire area.

HELLO, TJBarnes and WELCOME to ...... The Forum ...... :clap:

First off, if you're looking for a sporty car, at a relatively economical price ..... you're looking in the right direction.

If you have always wondered what it would be like to drive a MT car, this would be a good opportunity. The FR-S/BRZ, with a MT is an easy car to drive.

I think it boils down to ...... if you like to shift ..... get the manual ....... if you don't like to shift ..... get the AT.


humfrz

That was clever .....did you mean to be clever ...... or did it just spill out ....:D


humfrz

I drove a manual Acura EL (after learning how to drive stick after about an hour) and I found it more 'fun and engaging' than the automatic FRS I drove. Granted I didn't encounter much traffic since it was on an quiet road, but rowing your own gears is something you'll never experience in a automatic. In the end it's entirely subjective which you find suits your requirements but if you're young and willing to learn, I say go for the manual.

One thing though- don't pay attention when people say that paddles are the same as manual. Wrong. It's the CLUTCH that makes the difference not so much choosing your gears.

Learn the heel n' toe shift when you get the car- start off learning to drive the stick right straight away.